Mine take time, preparation, and dedication but they're the kinds of things that, when I have kids someday, I'll advise them to do with their lives.
- Spend some time living and working in another country and absorbing the culture there.
- Get a firm grounding in the Seven Liberal Arts. Even (especially!) if you're a business major.
- Learn to do your own taxes so you don't get ripped off by some fly-by-night operation like H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt (I worked for the latter---trust me, they're soaking their customers something fierce with those payday-loan-style "instant refunds", and their workers get paid less than McDonald's pays its burger flippers.)
- Be able to talk sports. One of the most overlooked parts of career advancement is being adept at the water cooler. If you know the difference between a pick and roll and a backdoor cut you can sound smart without sounding pretentious.
- Never let your job get in the way of your family, your friends, and your relationships. Forty hours a week is plenty. So take a job you love...or else "1,001 things to do before you die" becomes "1,001 Things you're doing while waiting for the heart attack to end your suffering." Taking the right job might be the most important "thing to do" of all.
