Teach Your Children Well
Yeah, alright, okay, I don’t know if there’s anything to this. But maybe.
The other day I picked up some comments made by Snoop Dogg, Jon Hamm and Tom Brady about the influence of mentors on the three of them coming along. I gotta say, I don’t see a lot of that going on with high school and college kids and people starting out today. They think they know it all. Wait until they hit a rough patch. That’s when they’ll need a little wisdom and experience.
Hey, I was Mickey the Dunce as a kid. My old man was convinced I’d end up on the back of a trash truck. But I did have a bunch of trusted outsiders who helped finally steer me straight—from Richie Golden, the truant officer who chased me through Ashley Reservoir when I skipped school, to Archie Roberts, the guidance counselor who helped me really buckle down during that sixth year of high school.
Anyways, when Tom Brady was asked what’s the one thing that keeps him motivated, he said, “My mentors, the people who are there for me when I question my own ability.”
Jon Hamm said, “Having lost both my parents at an early age is a big reminder of the importance not only of personal resilience and wherewithal but also the importance of and the okay-ness of needing other people to help you along the journey.”
Snoop says Quincy Jones taught him, “What you learn about being a better person from somebody is more important than what you learn business-wise or career-wise.”
I don’t know, but when you hear about the struggles that kids are going through today, mentors could really help. We all know having somebody to talk to in times of trouble can make all the difference. If we can get to kids younger, we can help them with ethics, civility, manners, respect and the value and satisfaction of work. We can teach them resilience and grit and how to work together even if we have different opinions. Unlike the politicians in D.C.
Let’s help kids find mentors, goddamn it. That will really change things. Keep your dukes up.