Coach, Mentor, Guide, Elder

"The young leading the young is like the blind leading the blind."
                                                       Philip Dormer Stanhope, 1747

 Experience has become a valuable commodity within my world.

The oft quoted phrase, "The older I became, the wiser my elders grew" has turned into a simple description of the best resource I have available to me at any given time. How I access, understand, adjust, apply and stay engaged with this font of vitality is a primary skill, for me.

What is confirming has been the move towards (actually a headlong rush towards...) the re-invigoration of personal interaction. From private business to public institutions, as outcomes achieved replace services rendered as the key rubric for value determination, the value of experience runs a hearty race against even bridled youth.

I hear you snickering....but think about the trending words that inspire and move people: engage, collaborate, innovate, team, dynamic. Each of these are constantly presented as bright, shiny, new objects to be bought, taught and consumed...versus: created, considered, experienced, maintained, demonstrated and passed along to the next generation as skills & resources.

Very simply, anyone who is open to sharing their knowledge and experience are a breath of fresh air. When they do so with skill and genuine interest the effects have been nothing short of profound. Again, in my experience...

...yet all indications are we are simply realizing what many who came before us have. Just like our esteemed blog quote contributor, Lord Stanhope did a few centuries ago.