Читать книгу Ageless Entrepreneur - Fred Dawkins - Страница 6

Our perception of aging is determined largely by the society in which we live. In most Asian cultures old age is celebrated. Once you have reached sixty, it’s incumbent in some countries for your oldest son to be responsible for you. In my travels to India I can remember having conversations about this with a number of friends who were looking forward to the possibility. In areas like these the elderly are revered for their sage wisdom and their advice is sought after. Isn’t this what all of us want in our old age; respect with no responsibility? In the west we seem to be all too willing to look at the elderly as a used up resource, out of date, to be discarded, a potential burden as opposed to a source of wisdom. Now to compound things the old and the young are being forced to compete for jobs, at least indirectly. By staying in the work force seniors are hampering the start of many young careers in a limited job market. Inadequate resources for retirement and increasing life expectancy give them little choice. The two groups are now rivals … or are they?

From the time we run our first lemonade stand or take on a paper route to the point where we are finally able to join the host of retired volunteers serving our community, we flirt with a path of self-determination and independence, seeking out problems to solve. Most of us take great satisfaction in solving even the smallest problem. It’s tempting to conclude that this is an inherent element of the human spirit. In that sense we are all entrepreneurial, fostering a desire to break down barriers and make things happen. This trait is never more evident than when our children or our grandchildren are facing any type of problem. Nothing can stop us from helping them. The contradiction is that many of us don’t pursue the solutions to our own issues with the same level of commitment. We let fear creep into decisions and prevent us from acting in our own interests, yet we have a mindset that’s totally instinctive, prompting us to protect our offspring from any threat. Somehow we find ways to defeat that danger; we will find a way at virtually any cost. In the west the old are responsible for the young. Being a parent and grandparent is a life sentence. One we willingly assume. Where our children are concerned there is no prison thinking. The essence of being entrepreneurial is this very mindset that does not allow us to fail, not some inherent skill set. Embracing this philosophy of accomplishment will impact the way you approach life — find the way!

For the past century the west has fostered the belief that our free enterprise society, tempered by education, will ensure unlimited opportunity for our youth. Western society has also created the expectation that one’s senior years will be spent enjoying a golden age of leisure in retirement. We have dreamt up a near utopia — easy entry to great opportunities for the young and a graceful exit into a full life of travel and relaxation at the end of the line. One problem: no generation has achieved this idyllic vision — not one. Oh, it looked like the boomers would set the standard but even their aspirations faltered in 2008 with the fall of investment values and the loss of confidence that followed. Both of these premises, the stuff of idealistic dreams, are currently under attack.

Ageless Entrepreneur tells the story of two distinct groups of characters struggling with the new realities of our economy. The younger group of four reflects the cynicism and frustration inherent in the high rate of youth unemployment in the western economies as they struggle to launch their careers. The older group of five mirrors the increasing need for seniors to extend their careers because of inadequate savings/pensions in the face of greater life expectancy. Inability to retire is in danger of becoming an unpleasant certainty. If only the older group could step aside the opportunities for the younger one would begin to improve. Obviously the issues for these two factions are different but they’re also conjoined. Or are they? In Ageless Entrepreneur the two cohorts merge to attack their problems under the mentorship of Sam Macleod, a serial entrepreneur and mentor who has recently launched a new career of his own as an author.

The issues and challenges that are pressing for all the characters are reflected through the perspective of the narrator, one of the five seniors, Nick Valeriote, who is instrumental in bringing Sam back to his hometown to speak about his book on entrepreneurship. Many lessons are learned that are relevant to anyone who is aspiring to become an entrepreneur, regardless of age, whether through opportunity or out of necessity. The most important skill we can learn today is the ability to create and manage our own career. It is never too early to start or too late to achieve.