Truth Bomb Tuesday: I don’t think kids realise the power they have in their hands…
Tell your kids: time is a weapon.
We talk a lot about how this generation is different from previous generations blah blah blah.
I think this is a bit of a waste of time – like somehow a human born in the year 2000 has a different set of DNA or something.
It’s the wrong way to think about it. The kids are different because the times are different.
We all grow up in different contexts, and those contexts have a huge impact on the kind of humans we turn into. They have a huge impact into the tools we develop to deal with the world. And they have a huge impact just on what we think is normal.
And when I worry about the kids – actually, I shouldn’t say worry – every generation has its challenges. So when I think about the challenges our kids are facing, I worry about how they are being conditioned to immediacy.
Take TV – not that kids are watching TV – let’s say “media on devices”. It’s so immediate. You open your device, press play, and it’s exactly what you want to be watching.
And as soon as it stops being interesting, you can flick between shows or flick between apps and just move on to something new.
Our universe has become incredibly quick. We don’t have to wait for things to ‘boot up’. We don’t have to wait for the show we want to be on. We don’t have to wait for anything to come along.
We have created a reality where things transition incredibly quickly, and almost everything is immediately available.
And part of that conditioning says that we should be able to – with very little effort on our part – nothing more than paying some money and pressing a button – have everything we want.
We have created a reality that reinforces our sense of entitlement to instant gratification.
That’s the culture and the world we are bringing our kids up in.
And that’s on us. If our kids become enculturated in this way and start to feel entitled to instant gratification, that’s on us. That the world we created. That’s the education we gave them.
It’s not about them and who they are.
And it’s a shame because time is the most powerful weapon we have.
There aren’t many problems in the world that don’t eventually yield to consistent attention sustained over time.
Take learning to be a property investor for example. It’s not rocket science. None of it is. But there is a lot to learn (I’m still learning and I’ve been doing it all my life!)
So there’s a lot to learn, but that’s ok. We swing a weapon in our hand called time. Just chip away, little by little, day by day, and in time, you will become a master.
Same story with building wealth. Your first deal shouldn’t be the one that should makes your fortune. Really, if you turn a profit at all – if you just break even – you should be happy.
Wealth is built over time. Consistent attention sustained over time. That’s what moves mountains.
And that’s what I worry our kids aren’t seeing – the power of time. The power of setting themselves a goal 18 months or more down the track and just consistently chipping away at it.
For our grandparents, this was second nature. It was the way everything in their world worked.
You planted seeds. The seasons past and then you harvested the corn.
Everything reinforced the idea that time was the most powerful weapon you had.
Now, I don’t think our kids see this.
And I worry what’s going to become of them.
So teach kids the power of time.
It’s the most powerful tool we have.
DB.