This week I was reminded of a very important life and business lesson. The lesson came on two different days and from two very unlikely inspirations.
Earlier this week, I listened to a podcast that podcasts interviewed a dogecoin millionaire. This young man had turned a relatively small investment to a couple of million dollars on paper, the Keyword being on paper.
During the interview, he gave his sage newfound money wisdom like so many of these new money lottery winners do. Let me remind you having money, real or on paper, does not mean you are intelligent. Dumb people get money all the time, but smart people keep the money.
If you don’t know about these new on-paper millionaires like the does Koy or GameStop investors, you are probably hiding under a rock, so get out from under the rock and start paying attention. To summarize, basically, a bunch of people, mainly Gen Z, found a way to game the system and inflate socks and overnight made a bunch of money. I applaud their ingenuity and creativity; I think it’s fantastic.
Sometimes a little success breeds hubris, and we start thinking we’re more intelligent than we are. During this interview, this young man went on to say how this new generation has changed the game, and essentially the direction in advice from the older generations was false and just being used to keep younger people from succeeding.
A couple of days later, wow, riding in the car with my son and some old 80s rap I wanted to show him were one of the songs and you’ve been listening to it originated. See this song that he is currently listening to a sample from an older song in the golden era of rap. So as I started to play this mixture of multiple songs from that era, I realized something—a lot of the music kind of sucked and was very basic. The production and the lyrical delivery of artists today are just so much more creative and inventive, and intelligent. That’s not a knock on the golden era. If we didn’t have those originals, we wouldn’t have a foundation for what we have today.
OK, so you’re thinking, what the hell do these two things have to do with each other. What does the dumb ass does Koy millionaire in crappy 80s have in common.
There is an age-old battle of old versus new. The newest Chinese toy is somehow better than you. Older things are better simply because they came before what is today. Nostalgia always paints a better picture in the rearview mirror.
Our naïveté and our nostalgia get in the way of our growth journey. You should seek the wisdom and knowledge of age. Maturity should seek the creativity and exuberance of youth.
Old versus new shouldn’t be a battle for the balance and the respect respecting the lessons that come from old respecting the groundwork that was laid by all while embracing the ingenuity that comes with new in the creativity that comes with new.
So Dogecoin dumbass millionaires to listen a little bit more to old experience investors if they want to keep their money, and old hip-hop heads should recognize that old music ain't so great compared to the talent of today.
Ronnell, I’m a Boomer and my take is, no Generation is better than the other! Each Generation should strive for future sustainable success! Boomers were to pass on the knowledge they gained to GEN X, GEN X has to pass on their knowledge gained to the Millennials, etc. The key is for each Generation to build on the knowledge from the previous Generation and Respect the Foundation of the Wisdom shared! As a Boomer, I’m glad I didn’t have to start off where the Traditionalist did! Your music wasn’t crap, it was different and fresh just Rock n Roll and Ole School Rhythm and Blues was for my Generation!🤗