What would you do differently if you where 20 again?

Fritz makes an Important Point.

If I had all the money I'd spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink.

Afterlife, aftershave dont bother with any of it.

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

Excuse this old expression and allow it.
" when you get to my age " you look back and recognise, if you are honest, your life has been really driven by a continuing series of coincidences and fatefull occasions which put you were you are today.

OK so if you are winning more than you're loosing in the lottery of life think yourself lucky in World Terms.

I mean the accident of birth into an affluent western society instead of some poor village in Somalia for example means you are already way ahead in the game of winning rather than loosing.

Fast forward into the middle years and your eductaion and career path has put you in the situation where you can afford such little luxuries as a classy set of NAIM gear for the family home and you can enjoy it with your family and put your kids to bed in a reasonably secure environment.
Now ask yourself did you plan it in detail? Ok so you had some top level aims but the fine detail? No way!!!
What happened was fate and coincidence got you to this pretty enviable situation. As an example I bought a newspaper waiting for a train that I never normally buy. There was an advert for a job in it that particular day which was a complete change for me but sounded interesting. I applied got the job and moved to Scotland. That was 30 years ago and my whole career has been pretty great since in value terms. What if I had not bought that newspaper I hardly ever read on that day?

A completely different future.

So going back and running this gamut again even with the benefit of hindsight would still be a complete shot in the dark. A spin of the roulette wheel which could put you in a lousy future just as easily as providing a golden path.

There is this thing called the "butterfly effect" which comes from a famous SiFi short story. Basically they have invented time travel and game hunters can go back in time and hunt wild animals. The specific animals that can be killed are selected by viewing their timelines and seeing when they are going to die, then allowing the hunter to kill them only within seconds of when they would die from natural causes, so that there is no impact on the future. One such hunter strays off a carefull mapped path during a dinasuoar hunt and crushes a prehistoric butterfly. When they return to the future all is changed. For example Hitler won the second world war with the resulting world effect. By killing one butterfly the effect snowballs into a completely changed future.

So intellectually it is defintely not a good idea to go back and try to change the future.

Sorry about all this philosophy stuff.

On a basic level sure it would be fun for a while to be 20 again and like many the chance to break out from the rules and do stuff like hitching round the world would be great but for me anyway the coincidence and fatefull effects taht have got me to here and now worked pretty well first time so I have no great desire to try again now.

regards
GEOFF

Listening every day planning to "not fade away"

Be myself and not have any regrets.

I'm working on it....

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tim Jones:
1. Don't smoke. Life, sex and everything is better without fags.
2. Don't waste time with women you're not really interested in.
3. Don't waste time with jobs you hate - even if the money's good.
4. Do that thing where you go to Calais and join the Foreign Legion. It might be a laugh...
5. Talk to your parents. You may miss them later.
Tim

---

Yeah Tim, so that would lead to a selfish, boring, smug, intolerant arsehole that everyone hated! Somehow I think you succeeded by failing your list - luckily eh?!.
I still stick with what I said earlier - do more, fuck up more, and don't be so paranoid about it.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rasher:
[Yeah Tim, so that would lead to a selfish, boring, smug, intolerant arsehole that everyone hated!
.

---

So he would turn out to be called mike lacey?

Regards

Mike

Spending money I don't have on things I don't need.

I hardly think so Mike.

Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans, (didn't John Lennon say that?).

If I could go back and do one thing differently, it would be to put 10-20% of whatever I had between the ages of 18 and 35 in whatever interest bearing account was available through those years. In doing so, my net worth would be about 5 times better than it is today.

I did learn that buying expensive houses and cheap cars was, and still is good advice.

There are a few ladies that I wish I hadn't put on the "catch and release" program, but no real regrets there.

Best advice I was ever given....."Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke".

So Undertone, you walk to a girl, make a joke and if they don't laugh it's clear what you are going to do. But what do you do when they laugh?! Strange motto, seems you win both ways...

Well, I wouldn't have set up a bootleg tapes and lampshades stall in Camden Market with my mate Gabe in December '82. It lasted one day, stall cost £7.00, takings were £0.00; perhaps if I'd have had a wider wswelection of tapes (if you didn't like A Certain Ratio, there wasn't much to buy), and if Gabe hadn't have got a load of really crap 70s cast-off lampshades from his dad's warehouse, we mmight have done a bit better.

The start of my business career, establishing a pattern which has become all-too-familiar ever since.

I would have opened up the kennel in the stackhouse every 2 hours instead of 3 to let the young Mr Tibbs stretch his legs.

Wasn't that Sidney Poitier ?

Fritz Von Nightheating

Potter!!!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Berlin Fritz:
Like most people in this cell if they're being really honest with themselves, if they had all the money they'd spent on drink !

---

As I've never drunk alcohol, I spent it all on Girls and Music and Movies instead.

Hence, I have nothing to add to this thread.



Stephen

So you never bought the girls a glass or two ?

Fritz Von Spent

quote:

---

Originally posted by Berlin Fritz:
So you never bought the girls a glass or two ?

Fritz Von Spent

---

That's abolutely true. I was talking about the whole gamut of experiences.



Stephen

quote:

---

Originally posted by Stephen Bennett:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Berlin Fritz:
So you never bought the girls a glass or two ?

Fritz Von Spent

---

I never said I'd never spent any money on alcohol. I just spent it in the most fun way...



Stephen

---

[This message was edited by Stephen Bennett on Thu 17 June 2004 at 16:39.]

I'd not have said "No, I'm tired; I'm going home now" when Fiona asked me back for coffee after my mate Tina's 21st birthday party (I never saw her again!).

Actually, I wasn't tired; I was GAGGIN' to get back to my portable stereo and tunes - I *had* to hear something (can't even remember what it was now!) and I know I'd have been distracted even IF I'd got the same "coffee" my mate Paddy got off of Fiona's mate.

Well, I've always said music's my life and my wife!

Now, if you're asking about 18, I'd have never bothered going to Uni. I'd not be in debt and no doubt would probably be better paid now anyway. Oh well, you live and learn.

__________________________
Don't wanna be cremated or buried in a grave
Just dump me in a plastic bag and leave me on the pavement
A tribute to your modern world, your great society
I'm just another victim of your highrise fantasy!

I take the view that what you are now is the sum of your life experiences.

I am astonished that so many of you are so dissatisfied with what you are that you would want to gamble, if it were possible, with some other life choice in the past.

You can't change the past, so why not make those changes now - if it would make you happier?

cheers

Nigel

AT 16 I SHOULD HAVE TRIED HARDER AT MY A LEVELS

AT 18 I SHOULD HAVE SAID : NO I DO NOT WANT TO DO AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING IN ENGLAND. I REALLY WANT TO WORK FOR :

PORSCHE HONG KONG AS A TRAINEE MAECHANIC

THE RADIO PEOPLE LTD HK AND BE A HIFI SALESMAN

AT 20 I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE JOB OF CAR SALES AT MERCEDES BRISTOL.

AT 20 I SHOULD HAVE MARRIED MY SWEETHEART FROM SCHOOL

AT 22 I SHOULD HAVE MARRIED THE LOVELY KAREN BUT MY PARENTS CONSIDERED HER A BIT ZOMERZET.

1993 I SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN CAPETOWN INSTEAD OF COMING BACK TO FIND OUT MY MARRIAGE WAS OVER.

BUT AS OTHERS HAVE SAID THAT WAS YESTERDAY.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH TOMORROW.

I WISH MY STUNNING COLLEAGUE KIRSTY WOULD HAVE EYES FOR ME NOW THAT SHE IS ALSO DIVORCED.

BUT HAVE BEEN TOLD MY LOVE IS UNREQUITED.

I NOW AT THIS TIME HAVE A FABULOUS PROTOTYPE LOUDSPEAKER IN MY LOUGE AND AM NOT SURE WHETHER TO BITE THE BULLET AND HAVE A GO WITH IT.

WOULD RETAIL AT ABOUT 6-8K DEPENDING ON FINISHES ETC.

SO LIFE IS STILL AN UNKNOWN


REGARDS DAVID

quote:

---

I take the view that what you are now is the sum of your life experiences.

I am astonished that so many of you are so dissatisfied with what you are that you would want to gamble, if it were possible, with some other life choice in the past

---

I agree..it almost reminds me of the "paradox" so beloved of science fiction writers (eg the original- and best imho- "Terminator" story)

I you changed something in your past you would not be where you are now, and would likely want to change something ELSE about your past.....

As alluded to above, simply by being in a position that makes you a contributor to this Forum, means that you likely have all the benefits of being born and raised in an affluent society, and almost by definition, must be the beneficiary of some of life`s rarer benefits (when considered in the global context)that to complain about anything almost seems like ingratitude, and churlisheness......ie just count your blessings (and all that)..without wishing to make a light hearted thread too "heavy"

My own advice to young folk would be that to waste time is the biggest "sin"......"life is too short to compromise" ...and that procrastination is a close second...trying to delay a decision is a (usually bad) decision in it`s own right

laurie S

[This message was edited by Laurie Saunders on Thu 17 June 2004 at 19:10.]

F**k me - its getting more like Baz Lehrmann's Sunscreen every minute!

Bob

Yeah Laurie - I agree , but without appearing to be ungrateful, living in an affluent society is not everything, and barring starvation and desease etc, a quality and fulfilling life can be had outside of that. It's not about money and possessions, is it! It's about personal development. I should know - I'm still as stupid as I was as a student. I will probably be coming back in the next life to re-sit the test. I'm extremely lucky, 'cos I make so many stupid choices, but it always turns out for me in the end. If I jumped out of a plane without a parachute, I would probably land in an open air mattress factory! But I expect the person who built the factory wishes they had built it 100 metres further down the road.

quote:

---

Originally posted by bob mccluckie:
F**k me - its getting more like Baz Lehrmann's Sunscreen every minute!

Bob

---

I've just set DaveOhorns message to a smooth disco beat..

Nice..If a bit melancholy



Stephen

Try C&W

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rasher:
Try C&W

---

I was thinking of getting a banjo...

Yeee Haw!



Yiipie-ay a

Stephen