This is Wayne Brown from Life Back On Track.

Welcome to the latest episode. I was talking with a friend the other day and we were discussing life skills and there was something that I suddenly realised. My two sons have grown up. They have been through the educational system, and they obviously, you know, learned how to count and add and all of those things that, you know, you learn at school.

But I realised that there was something that they weren't teaching anymore. And it's something I felt was extremely beneficial when I was at school and was also something that has served me exceptionally well. That is, that at school for one year, they swapped boys and girls over for the extra classes that they learned so, as boys we were learning traditional male skills, metal working, woodworking, car mechanics, this sort of thing, concreting and the girls were doing cooking, and sewing and all of this sort of things.

What they did is, they swapped us over. Now I know for myself, I learned how to sew. I learned how to make and did make, cushions these are just ones I can remember. I made a cushion. I made a dressing gown. I made a few other bits and pieces as well. The dressing gown was most complex. But the good thing is, I also learned to cook and do all of these other so called female jobs and what that meant, was, that I was one of these men who could actually do stuff.

One thing that I taught my boys from a very young age is you should learn how to do all of this stuff, and it doesn't mean you have to do it, but you should be capable, and it's the same with women. I know there's a lot of women who can't even change a light bulb, and that's appalling. It's disappointing that they've been let down that they had this huge mystery, that changing a light bulb is a complex thing and they have to call out an electrician and pay $40 to change a light bulb.

It's the same with cars, even with boys, nowadays, they don't tend to teach them basic mechanics, and I'm not mechanical by any stretch of the imagination. I can't service a car, but I understand how it works. I could do minor repairs. And, you know, I understand when the mechanic is talking about things. I know what he's referring to.

I remember years ago I had a female friend. She asked a male friend of hers to check all the fluids in her car, so he was going through. And he's checking. Oil's good. The water's is good. That's all looking good, and he gets to the brake fluid and he opens it up. The reservoir, the little container that holds the brake fluid is empty, like bone dry and, he says, to her. "When did you last check the brake fluid? And she's like, "What's brake fluid?"

She didn't understand that when you apply your brakes, there is, a hydraulic fluid, which is a specific type of like an oil based product, that gets pushed into your brake callipers and activates them. So, in other words, she had been driving around, basically without any brakes. These are the sorts of things that, you know that could have endangered her life. Just not knowing that one simple little thing. That's the sort of thing that people don't get taught nowadays. That's not just the kids that aren't getting taught it. There are lots of adults that don't know how to check tyre pressure and oil pressure, and they can't do basic repairs around the house.

Now I know there are people that are exceptionally good at these things, and I've met women that renovate houses, and that's fine, that's fantastic. That's what I'm talking about, is we should all get taught all of it, especially at school, because these translate to life skills. Also and this is what I have found. It gives you confidence to be able to give things a go. So the fact that I understood how to sew, my boys would, if they have a button come off, they came to see me.

 They didn't go to see their mother because their mother can't sew. So it was a case of, go to the person that's most capable and because even if it was something I hadn't done, I would have gone and I still do, I go, I'll give it a go because I have this mentality of,  "Well, I can do all these other things, and if I can do them, I must be able to do these things. So, therefore I'm going to give them a go". I find that has helped me a lot in my life, I've been willing to go and do jobs, that I have no qualifications for whatsoever. Because I've got that confidence in my abilities, I give it a go, and generally I do pretty good at it.

So look at what it is you don't know how to do. The good thing is, nowadays you can go watch YouTube videos and all sorts of things and learn how to do it. And that's good. As long as, you know, you get a good teacher, someone who's, you know, willing to talk and listen and talk to you and listen to what you've got. To ask questions you've got, and that's probably my best advice is go out, learn stuff and be capable.

For women, there's nothing they like more than a man who can cook and clean and do all of these things, because then they know they've got someone that can look after them. I've had women say to my wife "You've got him so well trained" and I'm like "That's bullshit. I've been well trained my whole life only because I was willing to learn". You know, I enjoy cooking. I enjoy catering for a party. I enjoy doing all of these things. Now, does that mean I have to do them? No, but it means I can, if I need to or if I want to. And there is a big difference between the two.

So go out. Learn some skills. If you've got kids, get them involved, get them helping you learn. Don't be afraid to say to your kids, "I've got no idea how to build a pergola, should we design a pergola and build it together?" There's heaps of books and online resources you can use to learn everything. So get out there, learn, explore and be able to stand back and go. I did that. I made that. I fixed that. I created that.

There is nothing better than being able to say that and be as proud as punch that you did it. That you contributed. That you did all of that. And those things translate into everything in life. You become more capable with dealing with your partner, with your children, with work colleagues with everything. Confidence in one area slowly spills over into other areas, especially if you concentrate on becoming capable and confident and capable of doing things.

All right, that's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed it. And I hope you take me up on my challenge of getting out there and learning things. You're awesome. I'd love to hear what you do. Like to see photos. It'll be fantastic. All right, look after yourselves. And remember, heres to a good life.

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