As a parent, your priority number one is to raise independent adults. Period.

Now:
How about raising "financially independent adults"?

Read on to learn 10 lessons about how you can raise financially independent children:

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I recently found out I'm going to be a father.

Here are the principles I want to teach my child to live by:

Be Interested

Talent is overrated—interest is not.

Interested people are prone to giving their deep attention to something to discover more about it.

They ask questions, listen, & observe. They open up to the world around them.

Being interested is a key to a fulfilling life.

Different is Beautiful

Growing up, I feared being different—I desperately wanted to fit in.

I made bad decisions grounded in insecurity.

I only realized later: being different is your edge—your ultimate competitive advantage.

No one can compete with you, at being you.

Work Hard

If you want to accomplish anything in life, you have to work hard.

Don't believe the hype. Hard work isn't the sexy, flashy Instagram posts saying "rise & grind”—it's the ugly, painful effort in the dark, when no one is watching.

If you want something, go get it.

Show Up in the Darkest Hour

It's easy to be there for people to celebrate their wins.

It takes character to show up for them in their darkest hour.

People never forget who supported them when the chips were down.

Be the friend who is always there—in good times and bad.

Parents have to choose their battles.

8 fights worth picking with your kids:

Parenting is hard.

We're all figuring it out as we go.

One of the most difficult things to sort through is when to take a stand,

And when to let up.

There's no magic formula for figuring this out,

But these are a few things I've found worth squaring off with your kids over.

The Reading Fight:

Make your kids read.

Of my four kids, one was a natural reader who always had a book in his hands.

For the others, it was a fight.

But it's a fight worth picking,

Because reading is tied to everything from cognitive development to the ability to focus.

My wife teaches ACT prep and works with students on college admissions.

Of all the tips, tricks, and hacks she can provide, there's one thing she says she can't overcome ⏤

A kid who didn't read.

Make your kids read now.

They'll thank you later.

The Outside Fight:

Make your kids go outside.

The natural world teaches us things.

Valuable truths like:

- There's a way things work that I must adapt to (because it won't adapt to me)

- There are things I have no control over

- There are cycles and seasons to life

Learn these 12 rules in your 20s to become a millionaire in your 30s:

1. Grow wealth, not social status

Being wealthy isn't about how much you spend.

It means owning assets that generate passive income.

Forget about "keeping up with the Joneses" if you want to become a millionaire.

2. Allocate income consistently

50/30/20 is the commonly recommended ratio for splitting your income:

▪ 50% - needs
▪ 30% - wants
▪ 20% - investments

To become a millionaire sooner, adjust the ratio: allocate more to “investments” and spend less on “wants.”

3. Avoid credit card debt (and other debt traps)

Interest charges and fees from buying on credit inflate costs, using up money you could invest instead.

If you use a credit card, keep a zero monthly balance.

4. Pay Yourself First

Sometimes we lose focus, overspend, and have nothing left for saving or investing.

“Pay yourself first” means deducting savings and investments from your income first, and only spending the remaining amount.

Discipline is crucial.

I have cleared some of the toughest entrance tests in the country like that for IIT, IIM, IAS. It is not that I was not distracted during studies, but I overcame those distractions.

Small tips on how to overcome distractions and get great focus

A thread🧵

Reducing mobile usage

👉 Measure

Check your phone usage and apps u spent time on every week. Many times you dont even know how much time you are wasting on mobile apps. Android users can use free apps like

Steps to reduce usage

👉 Physical distance
Keep the phone with the internet switched off and away from you while studying. You can also keep it locked and with a parent/ friend. Heavens will not fall while you are studying and if it is something urgent, you will get the message.

👉 Technological solution:

Use apps like Blackout to block internet for at least 6 hours every day. Force yourself to study in that time. It is not a free app, but it is very effective. Once it blacks out the phone, you can't go back for the period

👉 Early morning study

Keep the alarm away from you, on loud volume. Most likely once you get up from the bed to switch off the alarm, you will decide to not go back to sleep and study. Early morning study is the best these days especially as it has lesser distractions