What would you tell your younger self?

[Don Spafford]

I just want to throw out this topic for curiosity's sake. 

After learning tons of great info on BP, If you could go back in time, knowing what you know now and give some advice or pep talk to your younger 14-18 yr old self, what would you say to help you have gotten a better start in REI? Save up to house hack a multi family for your first property instead of buying a SFR? Don't waste your time and money on a higher education? Don't invest in your company's 401k and instead use it to buy real estate? Keep in mind for most people a young teenager isn't going to be interested in what you have to say or maybe won't understand at your current level. So what would you say and how would you say it to help your younger self understand and get that Ah Ha moment early on?

Back when I was 14-15 I worked at a fast food restaurant and the owner would come in and play tapes about making money in Amway. Not that it is a bad thing, but had he instead been playing stuff on real estate, that may have got me interested in the business since to me it would seem a lot easier and achievable and I probably would have started thinking about how to make it work. I did read Rich Dad Poor Dad when I was young but at the time I was probably too young to do anything with it. I was smart but the reality was that a 14 yr old isn't likely to have a way to buy a house even though I had a job that paid an awesome $3.25/hr (this was back in the early 90's).

So I'm curious what others think. I'm trying to instill these ideas into my kids brains so that they get a better start and understand the "why". Thanks BP Nation for your feedback.