Andrew Pollard

Nothing Changes until you do
I had dinner with two 20 somethings last night and we engaged in a most interesting conversation. It started off quiet superficial and a little humorous, but ultimately turned into a deep exploration of beliefs, desires and dreams. I contemplated the many ideas I have and we as a culture have around young people today, and realized what an untapped asset we have in our youth. I have many young professionals who work for me, and I spend a lot of time helping to shape and develop them, but the one thing I don’t do enough of is listen to them. I spend a lot of my time telling them what they should do to become successful, and how to think and act in order to active the goals they have set for themselves. What is apparent to me is when I really listening to them I inevitably learn more about myself through their experiences and ideas about life. One of the conversations was about drinking and partaking in recreational drugs. It’s been over ten years since I have taken drugs and now almost 4 months since I stopped drinking. I found myself interested in why drinking and drugs have become such a huge part of our youth culture, and getting schooled on the new forms of substances was eye opening. The other interesting thing for me was that they were interested in why I no longer did this, particularly not drinking. There was no judgment on either side just interest. The conversation expanded to include diet and exercise which ultimately led us to discuss motivation. Being motivated in life is key to success in life (in my opinion), and having a motivated younger generation is such an important investment in the future. I find when you accept and don’t judge these kids, they accept themselves more, and they find wisdom in your experiences. They were interested in what I had to say and the path I have taken. They want success and they want to make a difference, they also have to navigate the very difficult road our modern culture has paved for them. As I was willing to expose my feelings and faults more so were they, and this created equality, and a place where everyone felt free to express themselves openly and honestly. I do not take these moments for granted as it made me realize the responsibility I have to help our future leaders find authenticity and courage in their lives. It also helps me understand more about where I can improve and be a better leader  I am grateful for our youth and optimistic for our future particularly if they are like the two incredible people I had the pleasure of interacting with last night. Image Source (http://gaws.fr/post/13147814529) AjP

I had dinner with two 20 somethings last night and we engaged in a most interesting conversation. It started off quiet superficial and a little humorous, but ultimately turned into a deep exploration of beliefs, desires and dreams.

I contemplated the many ideas I have and we as a culture have around young people today, and realized what an untapped asset we have in our youth. I have many young professionals who work for me, and I spend a lot of time helping to shape and develop them, but the one thing I don’t do enough of is listen to them. I spend a lot of my time telling them what they should do to become successful, and how to think and act in order to active the goals they have set for themselves. What is apparent to me is when I really listening to them I inevitably learn more about myself through their experiences and ideas about life.

One of the conversations was about drinking and partaking in recreational drugs. It’s been over ten years since I have taken drugs and now almost 4 months since I stopped drinking. I found myself interested in why drinking and drugs have become such a huge part of our youth culture, and getting schooled on the new forms of substances was eye opening. The other interesting thing for me was that they were interested in why I no longer did this, particularly not drinking. There was no judgment on either side just interest. The conversation expanded to include diet and exercise which ultimately led us to discuss motivation.

Being motivated in life is key to success in life (in my opinion), and having a motivated younger generation is such an important investment in the future. I find when you accept and don’t judge these kids, they accept themselves more, and they find wisdom in your experiences. They were interested in what I had to say and the path I have taken. They want success and they want to make a difference, they also have to navigate the very difficult road our modern culture has paved for them. As I was willing to expose my feelings and faults more so were they, and this created equality, and a place where everyone felt free to express themselves openly and honestly. I do not take these moments for granted as it made me realize the responsibility I have to help our future leaders find authenticity and courage in their lives. It also helps me understand more about where I can improve and be a better leader 

I am grateful for our youth and optimistic for our future particularly if they are like the two incredible people I had the pleasure of interacting with last night.

Image Source (http://gaws.fr/post/13147814529)

AjP

  1. andrewjpollard posted this