Some of the worst advice we give our kids

Tell me if you’ve heard this before as a child: “Don’t talk to strangers.” What a disastrous piece of hypnosis thrusted upon young, impressionable minds. 

You know what life looks like when you don’t talk to strangers? Few friends, few dates, and a career that goes nowhere. Sounds like hell. 

The power of suggestion to the unconscious mind is so strong that when kids hear “don’t talk to strangers” they take it literally - meaning every stranger, and with no expiration date. 

I have grown men who have done two tours of active duty in the military afraid to pick up the phone and call a brand and try to become a reseller of their product on Amazon. 

Killing a stranger is easier than talking to one. 

Your parents forgot to tell you - don’t talk to strangers until you're an adult - and then talk to strangers like crazy. Or how about this - talk to strangers when the circumstances are safe, and if it’s safe, talk to as many strangers as you possibly can!

I have over 150,000 customers, and every single one of them was previously a stranger to me. If you’re broke, the easiest way to make money is to start finding strangers who need help, and then helping them by connecting them to other people’s products and taking a commission per sale. 

Many people are lonely right now or worse, with a partner they don’t really want to be with - so they’re still lonely, just with someone else. 

There is a stranger right now who could become one of the best friends; there is a stranger right now who could open a door for you that no one else could open for you. There is a stranger right now who you could help, who would be grateful to you for the rest of your life if you helped them. 

I wish the advice to kids with strangers also included this: “If a stranger denies you a request, you are still wholly you, and their denial isn’t a lack of your character, or a fault of your being.” 

But I get it - it’s easier just to say: “Don’t talk to strangers.” But can we at least reframe it to a discussion: “How do you know when it’s okay to talk to strangers?” Ask a kid that and don’t be surprised when they already know the answer.

So if you can’t teach, at least don’t unteach. And know this - you already learned it, so if you unlearned it, well… ununlearn it. ;)