“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance;
one cannot fly into flying.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
I ran across this quote recently, and it got me thinking about growing up, going to college, and starting my career. It also got me thinking that today there’s a very different generation of young professionals from when I was their age.
No, this isn’t a discussion about the battle between Baby Boomers and Millennials, the vast differences and how that’s impacting the workplace, the negative nellies who seem to believe that with the future of the world in Millennial hands, we’re sure to head to ruin. This is a piece of advice.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with all the living generations – Silents, Boomers, Gen X, Y, Z, Millennials. I have to say I’ve learned so much from each – good, bad and ugly. For me, as a “student of people” it’s invigorating to watch the interplay, how each navigates life and careers, where each puts value. Some are truly inspiring; others I can’t figure out what the hell!
The one thing I see “missing” today…and I hesitate to use that word…is the belief that you need to walk before you run, climb, dance and fly. Using the dreaded term “in my day”, I think I believed…and probably embraced…that I needed to walk before I could run or fly. I needed to learn before do. I needed to be guided before going.
As I look back, that might not have been such a good thing. While I’ve had a really interesting, fun and varied career, that might be exactly the reason I followed my head instead of my heart and now find myself struggling to find what makes me whole. My role models were of the generation before…go to college (maybe/maybe not), get a good job, get married, raise a family, retire into anonymity. And, I’m frustrated at feeling like I’ve landed squarely on that prescribed path.
God bless Millennials, and say what you want about the generation of immediate satisfaction, they’re not afraid to fly before they even know what a rudder is! There’s bravery in charting your own path, and to hell with convention. There’s “gumption” in jumping in with both feet without knowing if there’s a landing. And, there’s a level of passion in their lives…regardless of what that passion is…that brings an incredible amount of energy to the space around them.
I give “those kids” credit for throwing Nietzsche’s philosophy out the window and flying right into flying. While previous generations are struggling to find the airport (themselves), “those kids” are already on to their next adventure. And, I don’t think that’s a bad thing…
