I’m Getting Too Old for This

Last updated on: December 7, 2012 at 6:15 am by JBW

I’m Getting Too Old for This 2012-12-07T06:15:18-05:00 JBW

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I met up with an old business colleague while in New York City for a meeting. He had tracked me down through the miracle of LinkedIn. We hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years, back when we worked together as two young bucks in a small management consulting firm.

I was curious about his career path, and what had become of him – or someone like him, I should say. At that time, in my mind he was untouchable: a pedigreed Harvard MBA; a high-caliber superstar who was smart, ambitious, the whole package. He was charging hard and fast to make a name for himself, as was I.

We met on a rainy afternoon at the Starbucks across from my hotel. I ran inside to find him sitting at the window counter, his slouched reflection staring back at him like an old joke while the raindrops pelted madly against the gray glass. He had a little less hair, a bit more paunch, and when he stood up to greet me he was slightly taller than I had remembered.

There was something sad about him, too. He had a weathered and worn-down look, the kind you get from being beat up by life a bit. I only recognized it because I know all about it, first-hand.

He probably saw the same in me.

We got caught up on our families and careers, gossiped about our old boss, and then he recounted some risky business moves that sounded great but had not turned out so well for him, or his family. He finally settled with a stable job at a firm in NYC where he is able to maintain a decent lifestyle and get his kids through college.

We talked about the ups and downs of our careers, the trying and failures, and the shifting priorities that come with getting older. Status, recognition, world domination – that stuff isn’t as shiny as it once was. We both agreed, what’s important now is stability, our families, the ability to shrug off the stressors of life.

He then started laughing and pulled out his i-phone to show me something. It was a chart of some sort.

“Have you seen this?” he asked.

It was a simple graph, with “Age” on the horizontal axis, and “Give a Sh*t” on the vertical axis. “Look,” he pointed. “The further to the right you go, the lower the line descends.” In other words, the older you get, the less you care. About what people think. About pushing your ideas around. About taking over the world. Priorities shift with perspective and experience.

I laughed, a hard laugh of recognition.

To be continued.

Previous Post

December 4, 2012

The Next Big Breakthrough Business Idea: BE NICE

Next Post

December 11, 2012 I'm Getting Too Old for This - Part 2

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ambition Blogging Career Culture Executive Career Development Failure Faith in the Workplace Family Feeling Stupid Leadership Managing People Purpose Reviews Spirituality Uncategorized Work-Life Balance

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Why did God command the Israelites to eat unleavened bread?

Select your answer to see how you score.

It was a symbol of humility It was the only bread they knew how to make Yeast was considered unclean They had to leave Egypt quickly