In lieu of my regular format.....I offer 11 rules from Bill Gates' message on life to young people. Bill compiled this list of "rules" from a number of sources (They aren't his own.). In his book, Mr. Gates talks about how "feel good" and politically correct teachings have helped create a generation of young people with little concept of reality, and consequently, how they are set up for failure.

Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.

Rule 2: The world doesn't care much about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You won't make $60,000 a year out of high school. Nor will you be a vice president with a car phone. You will have to earn both.

Rule 4: If you think you teacher is tough, wait until you have a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents would have called it an opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it is not your parents' fault. Don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your paents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are.

Rule 8: Your school might make everyone into winners, but in real life there are winners AND losers.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You won't get summers off, and you don't get to start over every year.

Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you will end up working for one.

Some sarcasm, but a lot of truth. In giving our children everything, we often deprive them of opportunities to learn what hard work and stuggle alone can teach.