OLD MAN ADVICE FOR YOUTHS

I saw an old man on a video giving advice, old man advice.

How old? Too old to climb a redwood.

He was giving advice to those younger than him, which is about everyone.

He wasn’t a baby boomer, and if he was he had lots of wear and tear.

The advice?

“You’re better off if no one knows anything about you.”

‘Better off’ for who?

Not better off for me, but then I’m not a youth, which is why I call bullshit on this old man’s advice.

My take is you’re better off knowing something about yourself, which is always a big mystery.

Why?

Because we lie to ourselves.

Too fat, too thin, too sexy; too tall, too short, too pretty; too rich, too poor, too much debt; too unlikeable, too ugly, too leveraged.

That’s about it? What am I missing?

 

What You Don’t Know

If this was my kitchen I wouldn’t want to share.

I wouldn’t want to cook in there, either.

It’s not like it’s trash piling up to the ceiling, or a landfill waiting for a bulldozer.

Or a fire hazard looking for a match.

It could be a lot of things, but ask the person living there and it’s all fine.

“What smell? I don’t smell anything?”

If you’ve ever ‘helped’ someone clean up. then you know it’s an emotional ordeal.

First, it’s not a mess, and if it was it’s not a big deal.

Then it’s a little messy and ought to take a half-hour or so.

Finally, like stages of grief, it’s, “Oh my gawd how did I ever let it get this bad?”

They’re probably not the only one wondering how it got that bad.

What are the chances they’re married?

If you were the husband, or wife, what would you say to your spouse?

Either one is a little late to the problem, but it’s still workable.

 

Old Man Advice From Someone We All Know

At some point in our lives we all know better.

If we don’t know better, then we know someone who does and follow their example.

At what age are we expected to ‘know better?’

For some it comes after doing a crime, getting caught, and doing the time.

Does it have to go that far? Noooo.

Have all ex-cons learned their lesson? Noooo.

From Google AI:

 

Every year approximately 1.3 million students – THAT’s 7,000 every school day – do not graduate from high school as scheduled.

About 75 percent of America’s state prison inmates, almost 59 percent of federal inmates, and 69 percent of jail inmates did not complete high school. (Note: In most Southern states these percentages are higher.)

Dropouts are more than eight times as likely to be in jail or prison as high school graduates. A male high school graduate with a D average is fourteen times more likely to become incarcerated than a graduate with an A average.

Do not follow the bad example of a convicted felon if you are in the same business as them.

Do follow the examples of those making their way in the world you belong to.

Short Cut = Prison? Don’t be stupid.

Instead, put in the time to learn how to do good work.

No one is crowning you king when you start out, or even a decade in, or more.

Ask me how I know on boomerpdx, a baby boomer blog ignored by most boomers.

Why the ignoring?

Because they’re old enough to know better and have their own advice, whether they choose to share or not.

I feel that if they choose not to share we’re better off.

I’ll pick up the slack.

 

When To Tell All About You

This document, even with my name misspelled, gives me a certain authority.

In this case it’s spelled ‘authoritay’ like South Park.

It’s a piece of paper I roll out now and then to attach new meaning to.

If you come across someone acting like a jerk, and they defend themselves with a piece of paper, they’re not acting.

They are jerks to think you give a damn about their ‘credentials’ while you look at their poor performance.

Things don’t add up? Check your numbers.

 

 

Take some old man advice and don’t get too wound up.

Remember, people make mistakes.

You’re a person, therefore you too will make mistakes.

The life goal is not making the same mistakes over and over and complaining like it’s never happened.

If that’s you, don’t lash out in shock at the people who know you can do better and remind you to do it.

Lashing out makes you sound like an idiot, and it hurts me to say it because you’re probably not an idiot, or no bigger an idiot than anyone else.

So don’t complain? No, do some learning and pass it along.

Tell me that’s not helpful.

 

PS: What you’ve learned in this post is not to blame others, or yourself, for unexpected results. You’re smart, so figure it out.

 

PSS: I know you’re smart if you’ve read this far. Maybe you’re the drop-out who self-educated?

Maybe you’re the college grad who likes reading off topic?

Or, maybe you’re just as curious about things as you ever were and don’t take current affairs as a permanent condition.

(Did I climb that tree? Nooo. I was just there for scale.)