I've Been Conned

In my last post, I mentioned that my kids are way smarter than I. Some people of my generation were offended at the mere suggestion… damn Millennials!

During the lost 80’s decade I had spent a few years at university without graduating; completed a two-year stint of national service in the South African Army as a Medic; gotten a job; married my gorgeous sweetheart; bought a house (with a mortgage); became a father; quit my job to become self-employed; and gone back to night school (in an attempt to overcome the embarrassment of not having graduated the first time around.)

My sons should not allow themselves to be conned, because that’s something I can actually teach them about, based on firsthand experience. Perry - my 1982 conman - was very good at his chosen trade. He professionally relieved me of all the money in my savings account. Promptly thereafter, he disappeared.

Two years worth of savings. Five hundred bucks. Being instantly broke is a very good reason to quit school and honor a military service duty call-up because accommodation, clothing and food would all be provided by the army, starting on day one, at no charge.

But, the above is nothing really. Just a simple life lesson. Anyway, it’s relatively easy to recover from a financial setback when you’re just over twenty years old.

Stupidity becomes more of a burden as you mature.

Once, in the early 90’s, when my personal business interests included a couple of successful photographic retail stores, I was very proud to be appointed as one of the judges for a large newspaper group’s annual wildlife photographic contest.

I was now not only a successful, young businessman, but also regularly featured in newspaper stories about the competition and related events (the Internet wasn't available yet). I had obviously been appointed because of my expertise in photography. I kinda forgot that I was a wannabe businessman, rather than an expert in photography… but who cares about the details while enjoying 15 minutes of fame?!

This one year, a teenager entered an impeccably timed shot of an eagle’s descent, perhaps about to capture prey, similar to the image above. The eagle on the award-winning photo was large, powerfully built, beak open, and with its extremely strong and sharp claws ready to end some unfortunate little animal’s life (the prey unseen, yet imagined).

The background lighting was almost artificially good, with the sky a rainbow of different shades of blue, almost absent behind the powerful bird in flight. Like a good butler who only appears when you need him. This was also before Photoshop existed, so cheating was unheard of in photographic competitions.

Right?

I implored my fellow judges to agree with me that his was the winning shot. Collectively, they folded like a cheap Wal-Mart tent, and agreed. My guy was the winner. I awarded the prize. A nice young man, well spoken, polite, presentable, good looking.

After he had accepted the first prize, people mingled, chatted, enjoying some snacks and drinks. My winner pulled me aside to say thank you. I was pleased. He also shared that he had shot the award-winning picture of the stuffed eagle at the local museum.

I was stunned. I had just awarded the best wildlife picture to my preferred photographer, for his dead-eagle-in-flight-wildlife-photo-entry. Nay, the bird was not even just dead… it was very dead… as in stuffed. He said that he hadn't been aware that wildlife also meant that the animals were alive. We changed the rules that year, and I quit judging photo competitions.

But, I did what any upstanding businessman would do. I hired the kid who had won the wildlife photo competition, to work in one of my photographic retail stores. He was an excellent hire. Honest, great client skills, and a good, creative photographer!

The story above represents the 80’s version of the current-day computer hacker. Except my guy didn't steal other people’s credit card info, or their money. What do you do when you discover a seriously fine hacker? You hire him or her! 

Remember, all is never as it seems, and my kids are still smarter than I am. 

And... the eagle has landed, or has it?

Live.Learn.Evolve.

Every day is a learning experience. Now, having spent just over 50 years on the third rock from the sun, I am convinced that my kids are smarter than me. Way smarter!

It is human evolution; people becoming ever smarter, all the time, continually. It is a slow process - like evolutionary changes in all living organisms - requiring several generations to become evident, or obvious to casual observers.

Some people claim evolution is just a theory. That is correct, much like the theory of gravity, relativity, or… You know who you are, and I still love you, but don’t be ignorant! The learning and knowledge that my kids share with me surrounds you as well. All you require is an open mind. 

The other day, I mentioned that our kids are smarter than what we are, to one of my peers, of similar age. Without hesitation, he replied that even if that were true, they lack experience.

What experience? Work? Relationships? Perhaps past successes that allow you to think of yourself as being smart? Have you taken time to pause and consider that your vast life experience may be dated, no longer be relevant in 2014?

Your past experience unfortunately permeates everything that you learned by yourself, or that you were taught to believe. And I mean everything!

Are you even able to question anything without feeling guilty; guilt often driven by self-doubt, insecurity, oppression and other undesirable behavior taught to you by parents, teachers, preachers?

Three beliefs often underscore false reliance on past experience: (1) the older you get… the better you tell people you were at… (2) you know you are only as good as your last, and most recent past success, and (3) whatever you are failing at today… used to work really well in 1985.

I was following my @rudibest Twitter feed this past weekend, and came across a debate between two people that struck me as something more than simply academically of interest.

It was a Twitter conversation between an #OldWall analyst going by a handle that includes the word “bubble”, and a young lady who includes the suffix “lass” in her Twitter handle. Bubble is of my generation. Lass: young enough to be his daughter or mine.

Basically, the difference in opinion was marked. Bubble’s entire existence - on Twitter anyway - revolves around predictions of financial doom and gloom. Student debt, mortgage debt, government debt, overvalued equities, the Fed printing money, etc.

Lass’ self-describes as a “Municipal bond market geek.” But, she is a modern woman, a millennial if I were to be bold enough to guess her age from her profile pic. And confident, very direct.

In response to Bubble’s prediction of pending financial doom, she replied:

She is absolutely correct. It is her world now. It is also my sons’ world now; a world that belongs to their millennial peers. It is their world.

The beauty of evolution is the essence of survival. Younger people become stronger, faster, smarter, more efficient and more effective, every single second!

You may not notice. In fact, it is unlikely that you will be able to notice, because it is less obvious than the long-term effects of ageing, loss of strength or agility as one ages, or even weight-gain spread (pun intended) over a few decades.

Your kids are already smarter than you. Your vast portfolio of skills and life experiences are mostly redundant, unless refreshed and upgraded every single day.

If all one has to offer is memories of past successes, a valuable contribution to society may simply be getting out of the way of learning and development. A natural process also called the circle of life, or survival of the fittest. That is also why people of lesser skills are replaced by people with greater skills, every day.

Learn while you can, and learn while you earn!