Embracing The Power Of Intergenerational Knowledge Exchange

Plan for the future by exploring the past

In our youth-oriented, 21st-century popular culture, we have a tendency to celebrate everything we believe to be new, improved, and cutting edge while forgetting everything that went before. Today’s youth have much to recommend them. Young people have energy, creativity, and unique thoughts. The elders among us have wisdom, experience, and perspective. Both are valuable but are not interchangeable.

I have repeatedly said and written that we should never take advice from anyone who doesn’t have what we want. If you want to live a successful life, you need to seek the advice and expertise of someone who has achieved success.
 

The fastest-growing demographic in our society today comprises people who have lived to be over 100. They have lived through pandemics, world wars, the advent of flight and space travel, as well as our emergence into the digital age. They have seen triumph and tragedy, but unfortunately, too many of us diminish or ignore them as irrelevant or out of touch.

An African proverb states that when an elder dies, a library burns to the ground. Your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the nearest retirement home are untapped gold mines of information and experience. If you want to get to the top of a mountain, don’t ask for advice from someone standing at the bottom who is looking up at the peak. Ask someone who has been to the summit and returned safely.

In the investment arena, we are constantly told past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. This tip is true in that there’s no guarantee. However, the past offers us the best glimpse of what will likely take place in the future. Whether you’re looking at an economic downturn, political unrest, or global conflicts, you can form theories based on your best guess or simply talk to someone who has lived through similar conditions.

When my novel The Ultimate Gift, and the subsequent movie, were released, it started a groundswell of investment advisors and estate planners working with their clients’ extended families to help their second, third, and fourth generations understand the value of wealth and what it took to earn it. Sharing your valuables without sharing your values is a disaster waiting to happen. At every family gathering, set aside some time to mine the wealth that exists within the memories of your elders.

As you go through your day today, plan for the future by exploring the past.

Author Bio

Jim Stovall is the President of the Emmy-award-winning Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of more than 50 books—eight of which have been turned into movies. He is also a highly sought-after platform speaker. Follow @Stovallauthor