Age does not teach you all

“Instead, my prayer for you and me is that the Lord would keep us teachable all the days of our lives. The Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Corinthians 8:1b

Last Jan. 19, I wrote an article about the importance of trade fairs and trade shows in terms of providing a venue for information, products and interaction. I ended the article by saying: See you at the fair, which was where I proceeded that Friday morning, not knowing that the next three days at the Game Fowl Expo would become my late-in-life tutorial.

I’ve titled this article: “Age does not teach you all” in reference to the mindset of older or more senior individuals in certain fields or business who think that after spending decades or having grown old doing something, they already know all there is to know. Some have become set in their ways because of self-imposed isolation or refusing to mingle, attend seminars or learning events, thereby missing out on new developments.

Others are resistant to new inputs or lazy to learn “new tricks” as the saying goes, or simply believing it’s too late in the game for them to start adopting new ideas or to correct their old ways. This article also applies to those “Certified Experts” or veterans who mock or scowl at younger people or self-made success stories and what they try to share.

When I attended the Game Fowl Expo, I went simply to make myself available to the hardworking BMeg team who had to man the booths and hosts dozens of BMeg endorsers and customers. Little did I realize I would end up spending so much time with industry leaders and “legends” in game fowl breeding. During the noon breaks or lulls, I spoke with farm owners and top caliber breeders who had warmed up to me over the three-day period.

As a senior with at least 50 years spent being around fighting cocks and breeding them on and off over the years, the natural tendency would be to assume that I already had enough experience, knowledge and expertise on the subject. Fortunately, the journalist/broadcaster in me took over and soon the experts who would sit and chat at our tables or on stage began to share their knowledge, experience and recommendations.

Every day I would have so many notes full of farm practices on breeding, physical layout, raising, caring or sourcing game fowl, etc. and I would cross check all the information dumped on me with other sources and materials. These daily interviews really made me feel so ignorant, but so glad to know how to improve things in my own farm.

Instead of resenting or being dismissive of the “younger” pros, I discovered that humility and curiosity to learn what they had to say came with great rewards. Many older pros and experts continue to rest on their old laurels or titles or trophies from the past, not realizing they have been left behind. Objectively, compared to current realities they have become irrelevant or non-competitive. Others refuse to adopt change or necessary expense in order to improve their business, organization, health, lifestyle, even faith.

Alex Hormozi, an entrepreneur and author, says: “Confidence without evidence is delusion.” It really saddens me to see both young and old people talk about how good things are for them or that their set up is great or OK when I know very well that they are not and could be so much better if they could open themselves up to new knowledge, information or to change.

Many mentors say do not compare yourself with others. Unfortunately, comparison is a legitimate standard in order to determine if you have the right materials, the right people, the right equipment, the right attitude and the right goals. After my three-day tutorial, I realized that I was just having fun but wasting so much time, effort and money.

I confirmed what my strong areas were and where I needed to correct things and that I needed to make sacrifices and discard or dispose of materials that were not adding value to my production. In some areas I learned that I needed to start all over, but here’s the thing – that is not a bad place to be. One of my favorite quotes goes: “Don’t be afraid to start over. This time you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience.”

Let me leave you with this promise from James the apostle: “He will give us grace as we humbly seek to learn.” (James 4:6)

* * * We as a nation have now gone from the pipe dream for “unity” to the failed and embarrassing attempt to enshrine political “continuity” for the RomualdezMarcos clan, down to our most politically divided and divisive state of affairs. With veils of denials and hypocrisy, politicians go about as if it’s just another day in paradise, but from the looks of it, we are even receiving divine warnings from God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Call it coincidence, but it’s hard to ignore that yesterday’s verse for the day among Catholics and Christians came from the book of Mark, chapter 3 verses 22 to 26, where Jewish teachers/lawyers claimed that Jesus was demon-possessed and was casting out demons by the prince of demons. In response, “Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: How can Satan drive out Satan? If the kingdom is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”

Let us not allow the end to come for our country. Please pray for our nation, the Philippines. At the very least we can be united in God and love of country.