You can disagree with George Carlin's shtick but he was right about one thing.

He was right about THEY not caring about you. It doesn't matter if you are an African-American, an Hispanic-American, a Caucasian-American, or an Asian-American. It doesn't matter how you sexually identify yourself. It doesn't matter if you are young, middle aged, or elderly. It does not matter what religion you practice or not practice.

As you go through life, you will be mistreated, disrespected, ridiculed, and used. Everywhere you turn, there will be those who will take advantage of your kindness, your loyalty, and your common decency. The sooner you realize this, the better.

When things like this happen it is easy to think these attacks are personal. You can become bitter, angry and filled with feelings of revenge. These misdeeds are not a personal assault on you. The world is a brutal jungle filled with animals ready to take what is yours and make it theirs. People who you thought were friends will turn on you and stab you in the back.

The only friend you have is a dollar. The more dollars you have, the more friends you have. Wealth is the one and only true power in this life. Wealth is what keeps you out of the ditch that life wants to toss you in and leave for dead. Wealth gives you the option of deciding what kind of career you wish to pursue. Without it, you are forced to take what ever low paying, menial job is offered to you without complaint. Wealth gives you the luxury of choosing where you live, how to dress and what kind of food you eat. Without wealth, you will go through life living in some rat hole dressed in rags eating garbage.

Wealth determines if you remain healthy. Disease is a crap shoot. Everyone is at the mercy of cancer, viruses, and unforeseen accidents that can affect our physical health. It is a fact that the poor suffer from sickness that is preventable if they had the financial means. The lifestyle we lead affects more than our physical well being. It also has a direct influence on our emotional and mental health.

Wealth will help buffer you in times of National financial distress. When the economy goes through rough times, it is the poor who suffer. The wealthy will continue living in a home of their choice. Their cupboards will not go bare. They will not go hungry. Their electricty will not be turned off. They will continue to flourish and prosper. They will not be tossed into the gutter like bags of trash and left there to rot.

These are things I wish someone would have told me when I was a young man of 14 - 15 years of age. I could have better prepared myself for life beyond high school. Life is hard enough and being ill-prepared only makes it harder. You have the opportunity to begin creating the future you will be living in.

The world is filled with treachery. Recognize this. If you want to live in a better world, you have to make it with your own two hands. Desire is not going to be enough. You will need intelligence, discipline, and skill. You need something more than just a job that pays the bills. A career is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. You are the master of your own fate.

The opportunity to create the future you wish to live in is possible. The time is now. Seize it.
It will require a great deal of hard work.