Can Teaching Kids About Money Early Help Them Become The Next Bill Gates?
Sometimes as parents when we think of teaching kids about money we look for the traditional routes
. However genius often gets wrapped in non-traditional packages. When you look at your kids what do you see? Is your kid hyper active? Withdrawn? Bored in school? Maybe he's a little different from everyone else? If you have one of these children do you have a problem child or the next great entrepreneur? I hope this little story helps.William was a middle child who grew up in an upper middle class family. He didn't have a silver spoon in his mouth but it wasn't a wooden one either. He had a very close relationship with his mother and would spend countless hours reading. Though he was a very good student, he tended to be withdrawn at school. His parents looking to challenge him, enrolled him in a prestigious school hoping to bring the best out of him. This worked, and during this time William found his passion and a friend that would shape the rest of his life. At age 15 he and his friend started their first business and made $20,000 from their efforts. His desire was to start a company but his parents wanted him to go to college to become a lawyer and so he went. While in college he could never get away from his passion and that drove his efforts and his motivations. After a few years he reconnected with his friend and at the age of 20, they both dropped out of college and started a company. Today you know that company as Microsoft and that William is Bill Gates and his friend is Paul Allen.
What are the lessons you as a parent can learn from this story? The first thing you notice about Bill Gates is that he was an exceptional student. He was a great reader and enjoyed learning. Being a little different doesn't mean your child should not perform to the best of their ability. Sometimes children use lack of interest as a means for low performance and that is not the mindset of an entrepreneur. The business person will still do their best in the things they don't like because they see it as a means of preparing for the things they do like.
Secondly, Bill devoted himself to his passion. Bill lived, ate and breathed computers, that was his life and he never stopped learning about them. Does your child have an interest in a topic that they spend hours devoted to? Is there something they are always reading or learning about? If you see this, you may want to encourage your kids because there may be a business opportunity there for them.
Lastly, parents it's ok to not see what your children see. Teaching their kids about money for Bill's parents meant for him to go to college and become a lawyer. He had another vision, even though he did go to Harvard and scored 1590 out of 1600 on his SAT! His parent's missed his vision but because he was devoted to his passion, he never quit on his dream.
So parents if you have a genius under your roof, encourage them. Challenge them to excel in everything they do and help them to define their vision. When teaching your kids about money keep your options open to the directions you children may go in. Remember their vision for their life may be different from yours but it doesn't mean it will turn out bad. After all I think William turned out okay!
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