The getting of wisdom
cover photo from the Best Selling Book - Generation Experience

The getting of wisdom

As we travel through our lives, each of us collects an experience of living that is very personal to us. 

Yet our individual lives also benefit from the experience of others who have gone before us, and who journey with us.  

In fact, everyday of our lives, we use products and services and approaches to life that have been handed down from both family and the society around us.

Experience is central to the human condition.

And experience is a key component in wisdom.

Now I’d like you to imagine something for me.

Imagine a life without the toothbrush, or a dishwasher, or a lawnmower.

Imagine a life without your smartphone, because the lithium battery hadn’t been invented.

Imagine a life without books, because there was no printer to print them.

What is interesting about this picture is that none of these inventions would have existed without a mature and experienced person because they were all invented by someone over the age of forty.

And yet, in our society - in this day and age - an age where we consider ourselves civilised and enlightened. Mature people are subjected to ageism and barriers to employment that should not exist in a civil and advanced society.

The next time you see a mature individual - someone over 45 - look beyond their age, and see the whole person. Then do these three things.

Look at their life experience and work experience and match all of that to the outcomes you want from the role you need to fill.

Consider how they could add value, and expertise and wisdom to your life or your business.

Be age agnostic in your organisation, and reap the rewards of a multi-generational workplace.

Maybe, if each of us makes this change in our approach; if as leaders we put in place strategies to take advantage of this undertapped resource. If as recruiters, we were to push back on employees who won’t employ people over 50. Then, and only then as a community could we claim to be getting some wisdom for real.

Tanzeel Raza

CEO at Meaningful Lives | Corporate Trainer, Facilitator & OD Consultant | Wellness & Leadership Coach | Certified Professional Trainer, Public Speaker & Instructional Designer

5 年

Excellent advice, we often ignore the fact that we could learn so much from our elders and seniors.

Mark Farrelly

Creative Director/Senior Copywriter at Mark My Words Advertising

5 年

Hey Hunter, great article. Some of my favourite examples of people who did amazing things at a mature age, include Colonel Sanders who started KFC at 65, Roget, who wrote his famous Thesaurus at 73, John Glenn who went back to space at 77, Nelson Mandela who became president of South Africa at 73, Oscar Swan who won an Olympic Gold Medal for shooting at 72, Cezanne who had his first exhibition at 56, Dorothy Hirsch who went to the North Pole at 89, Christopher Plummer who won an Oscar at 82, Teiichi Igarashi who climbed Mt Fuji at 100 and then there's Clint Eastwood who is still directing and staring in films at 83!

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