The wisdom of age, and the foolishness of youth.

I learned a lot from my parents.

My father taught me how to be a protector, the head of the household, he taught me practical things like house maintenance and above all he taught me that just about anything is possible and that there are solutions to most problems and challenges - just need to look for them and use your mind.

My mother taught me that love and family are the most important things in life. She taught me to love life, be happy and to take chances.

My parents were close, always together and always put each other first.

The thing I did not learn from my parents, was investing, creating wealth and generating passive income. This I learned on my own via trial and error - and there were lots of trials and lots of errors!

I sometimes wonder how much further I would have gone, how much more successful would I have been, if I had known someone that could have taught me what to do and what mistakes to avoid. I'm sure I would be worth ten times more than I am today!

What never ceases to amaze me, is that there are many friends and relatives aware of what my my wife and I have achieved - yet none of them ever ask us for advice, our thoughts or even to have a chat and pick our brains regarding wealth creation.

I just don't understand why it is such a "taboo" subject for so many people.

When I first started out and had little clue about wealth creation, I would have loved to have someone to bounce ideas off, someone who had achieved what I wanted to achieve and would help me get to where I wanted to be.

As I age, I have come to realise that with age comes wisdom. The wisdom to have the answers to many challenges, the wisdom to be able to work out solutions when answers do not readily exist, the wisdom to know to ask for help when I need it, the wisdom to know that history repeats itself and economic cycles occur every decade or so. I have the wisdom to understand how the economic cycles will impact markets and how the average investor is affected psychologically due to irrational emotion and their tendency to follow the masses.

There is so much wisdom that comes with age.

However, I also know that there is much foolishness that comes with youth. I know this, because I was young once too, and I knew everything as was invincible! Of course, once I hit the age of about 30 years, I realised that I was not as bright as I believed, so I set out to learn because though I was foolish when young, I was NEVER too proud to admit that I was fool and that I made mistakes. As a result, I was always willing to seek out people smarter than I so I could learn from them.

The youth of today are no different to the youth of yesterday - the time when I was in my 20's. Today's youth though faces different challenges, and the youth of today strike me as somewhat different to the youth on my era. Today's youth can be quite shallow, they are extremely opinionated and believe they know everything even though they have very little life experience, they live for today, they worry about what others think of them way too much, they are influenced by ingenuine people on social media ("influencers") that they know little about but treat them as "gurus", they worry about how many "friends" and "followers" they have on social media, they see life as all too hard, they believe that the previous generations have had it so much easier than they do, and that for them, successs just too far out of reach, and thus few of them have plans to better themselves financially for tomorrow. Please note... I said they have no "plans". Some may "hope" to do ok financially, but without a plan and goal setting, there will be no success.

As I said, with age comes wisdom, while foolishness is attracted to youth.

When I was young, I was opinionated, thought I knew more than I actually did and always thought I would eventually become wealthy and successful. I also believed that the previous generation to mine had it so much easier... funny eh? Same things but different generation!

The differences were that I knew I was going to have to work hard for success. I never thought that success would be out of reach. I didn't care much about what others thought - my life was my life. If someone was either doing much better than me, OR had achieved something I wanted to achieve, then the got my attention and I was open to their positive influence, however, I never "followed" anybody! I would study how they did something, and then either work out a way of emulating or improving it to suit myself.

Everybody, in every generation is born foolish - it's just the way it is!

The vast majority become wiser as they age. Some gain wisdom in science, some in trades such as plumbing, electrical work and building, some gain wisdom in medicine and some in financial education.

The challenges that have always faced the youth of every generation, is to seek out the specific "older" and "wiser" person that holds the wisdom and experience that the younger generation seek.

If you want to learn anything, you go to a teacher, and you ask questions. You get that teacher to teach you. Whether it is learning computing skills, a martial art, driving, flying a plane, raising kids, building a house, etc - you need the guidance of an expert to help you.

Wealth creation is no different.

Finding the appropriate credible wiser teacher is always the challenge, but for most, there are plenty available.

However, very few older & wiser people exist that can help you with wealth creation.

The majority of the older generation are (sadly) still as dumb with regard wealth creation as they were in their youth! However, though the wealth creation aspect may be lacking in much of the older generation, they still have gained other forms of skill and wisdom, such as; how to raise kids, make ends meet, fix stuff, problem solve, networking, social and speaking skills etc. and yes, some even work out the "wealth creation" thing!!!

The biggest challenge most face when it comes to seeking knowledge is their PRIDE.

Pride is the biggest hurdle for everyone when it comes to seeking advice. People do not want to appear dumb, and as such, pride stops them from asking questions and learning.

They fail to realise that asking questions and learning is life's "fast-pass" to success.

If you want to become successful in any aspect of your life, then speak to an older person that has ACTUALLY achieved what you want to achieve, and learn from them.

Be sure that they have had the results you want, check that they are credible and NOT just talking BS.

When you find such people, try to gain some of their wisdom. You will be surprised as to what knowledge they have, that you never knew about, because you failed to ask or just talk to them.

If you want to be wealthy, then speak to an older wealthy person.

If you want to be able to build a house, speak to an older person that has done it.

If you want to be an entrepreneur and build a business, speak to an someone that's done it.

Seek the wisdom and experience of those that have done what you want to do and have some years experience. Such people are always happy to help those of the younger generation that genuinely want to become wealthy.

If wisdom and experience in wealth creation is what you seek, then find that person that you can speak to. Learn from them, and, if you are lucky and work hard, I hope you outgrow their wisdom and have to seek even wiser counsel in the future!

Wisdom is life's "fast-pass" to success!

Here are some challenges for you to tackle. Put some time and effort into thinking about the challenges and your subsequent answers, think deeply, :

1. Write a list of at least five things that your mother taught you that impacted your life.

2. Write a list of at least five things that your father taught you that impacted your life.

3. Write a list of at least five things that you have taught someone younger than you that would have impacted their life.

4. If your parents are still around, ask each of them for five bits of advice that they wish they had been given when they were in their 20's or 30's. If your parents are no longer around, then find two trusted older people in your life, and ask them the same question.

5. Now, the tough one.... If you could go back to visit a younger you, what 5 different bits of advice would you give yourself to ensure your future success?

Wisdom is invaluable.

Don't wait until you are older to gain wisdom, gain it now!

Those who have gained wisdom with age, are most usually willing to share that wisdom and help others - all one needs to do is ask.

And if you are willing to ask for and seek out the right wisdom, and if you listen in order to gain the right wisdom that is applicable to you, and you are smart enough to use the wisdom "fast-pass", imagine how much time, effort and money you will save on your way to becoming financially independent by avoiding simple mistakes!

Now, go back and look at your answers to the above challenges.

Do it one at a time, starting at No. 1 and ending at No. 5.

If you have treated this exercise seriously, with the aim to get to know yourself better and do better for yourself, then challenge No 5 is very special, and should definitely be considered - since this is your own advice to yourself!

Finally..... If you have been positively influenced by someone, be it a parent, friend, aunty, uncle, cousin, mentor etc. Go and see them if possible. Speak to them, and tell them that they had a positive influence on you. Tell them in what way they helped and the rsult of that help. In doing so, you are not only showing them appreciation for their contribution to your life, but also deepening your understading that very few succeed without the help of others.