#TakingRisks #security #ancestors #parents #LessonsfromAncestors
In an Ancestry.com TV ad, the leading lady says, to paraphrase, our ancestors were the kind of people who took risks.
And, it implies, she wants her children to know that their ancestors took risks to come to America from wherever they came from.
Such inspiring parenting leads to the question: does this same lady want HER kids to take risks? Or, did her ancestors take the risks so their descendants wouldn’t have to?
In generations past, even though the elders came from risk-taking stock, parents taught their kids to look for security. Work hard, but keep your head low. Make sure that if you get a job, it provides you with what you need for a comfortable life.
In other words, they were taught to look for and settle for contentment. After all, taking risks would jeopardize your comfortable life.
So, are today’s parents teaching their kids what their parents taught them?
To paraphrase Andy Andrews, the Greatest Generation may not have been the greatest. Their parents may have been the greatest generation, because they raised the Greatest Generation.
We all want to raise our children to be responsible adults. But, in today’s world, what we used to call responsibility is harder to come by.
There are no safe, secure jobs and work environments – or, at least, very few of them.
In past decades, progress in the workplace plodded.
Today, progress can be instantaneous.
And, progress can interfere with the secure, safe, contented life parents of yesteryear wanted for their children.
Today, we hear teachings that say things like: be innovative, be creative, dream big and follow your dreams.
In the past, dreams interrupted contentment. Today, contentment is hardly good enough to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
So, where does that leave you? Are you merely content? Or, do you go to work each day waiting for the next shoe to drop?
Either position is, or will be, untenable in today’s world.
But there are programs out there that can move you to the next step in a changing world. You just have to be willing to check them out. Also, they may involve doing something you would have never thought you would do – or, perhaps, have been taught by your elders to avoid.
These programs don’t care about your education, background or experience. They just want you to open your mind, get out of your comfort zone and be coachable.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Today’s world requires flexibility, desire and a willingness to be uncomfortable. Finding the spot that gives you a content, comfortable life – nothing special – is fraught with peril.
Don’t settle for contentment. Instead, go for prosperity. Explore new ways to channel your energy into a life that not only benefits you, but also can benefit others.
A life with purpose can breed prosperity for those who continue to evolve, explore and, when they find the right thing, pursue it with consistency.
Peter