Last night I was again reminded how truly
incredible our minds happen to be! The challenge is that so often because we
don’t exercise our brains they atrophy and become mush. We were at a birthday party last night for
some special friends that are twins, who just turned 17 with their larger
family. (We took over Native New Yorker!) I sat and listened to one of my
favorite little people, the twin’s little sister. She’s nine going on 17. This
youngster has one of the most precocious minds I have ever seen, even in
college graduates.
What I love most about my little friend is that she is very quick to
light up any room with her wit, humor and unfortunate responses at times. She
is at times too smart for her own good. I see my little friend probably 4 times
a week so I always ask her about how school is going. Too often I discover that
she has gotten into it with her teacher who she ends up verbally haranguing.
The difficulty as I have told her is that adults don’t like being put in their
place by a little kids regardless of who is right or wrong.
We live in the Valley of the Sun, which means that without an ample
supply of water, we would be a barren wasteland. Yet, because we steal most of
the Colorado River there is lots of green in Phoenix. Our minds are much like a
garden where our thoughts become seeds and what we do with these seeds
determines who we become. The reality is that a mind that doesn’t have ongoing
seeds being planted becomes like the desert where there is only dust in the
wind.
So what has to happen for anyone regardless of age to become a life-long
learner? Why is it the case that too often people, kids, youth, adults or
seniors just stop caring about life and learning? Is it really ever possible to
discover everything in life and know exhaustively the mysteries of the
universe? Clearly the mind is the most powerful computer! Yet, most of us use
less than 5% of our brainpower.
I have been fortunate to have some incredible friends in my life who
have inspired me to be a learner, reader and doer! I have learned so much in my
life through being exposed to a very diverse group of friends from highly
educated PhD types, hands on craftsmen, business entrepreneurs, street smart
types to my little friend. It was my dad that would overwhelm my mom with
having too many books to store in our house. It become a matter of tension
latter in their lives when my dad had to rent storage units to keep his prized
possessions. What I discovered was that these were what inspired my dad through
out his life to be an ongoing learner.
I was also taught how not to be afraid of hard work and be willing
to knock myself out in becoming a craftsman. It was after finishing my
Biochemistry degree that I learned through the school of hard knocks about what
it takes to be a concrete finisher. My wife was a year behind me in school and
where we lived there weren’t any jobs in my field so I ended up learning how to
do concrete work with a small Hispanic Company. Initially I was ridiculed,
laughed at and pushed to the edge of quitting because I was the gringo college
graduate doing manual labor. I don’t think the guys realized that I was making
2.5 times the salary of being an entry level chemist so I wasn’t afraid to get
dirty, screamed at or be pushed to the edge.
One of my passions is to push at risk youth to get off the couch,
turn off the PS-4 or whatever and do something with their lives that will make
a difference. What would happen with my little friend who has a vocabulary of a
college student if she exercised her brain and became even curious about life?
What if she discovered how to become a learner, team player and someone who
engages her teacher instead of attacking her teacher or fellow students? I tell
her often that she could be the next president in 2035 if she doesn’t become a
drop out!
Clearly our minds are like computers where what we put into them
determines what comes out of them. My dad the bookworm was also an amazing
gardener who gave me a green thumb. He
taught me so much about cultivating the dirt in my backyard to see giant
zucchini grow. As I reflect on my life I could honestly say that my dad gave me
my brain power and it was my mom who taught me common sense! So the mind is a
power gift so use it otherwise you will waste it!
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