Too Old to Learn

This one is gonna be short, given that I don't get caught up in my rant.  In my short time on this earth, I have noticed a few very important traits in individuals that I either want to mirror, or run from.  One that I have seen creep up over and over again is the ability someone possesses to learn.

When I first started in the professional world, I was a sponge.  I was an expert at nothing and a student of anything I could open up to.  Around me, I heard several individuals who considered themselves "seasoned veterans" who offered their advice along the way.  Now I could sift through this information and find that there was at least a portion of value to be had, but most of these veterans delivered their advice in the form of extreme negativity.  It almost seemed as if they were trying to discourage me from the given endeavor I attempted.  This advice they gave came from many years of wins and losses, ups and downs, good times and bad.  The end result was a jaded look at life, almost a fear of attacking any challenge life had for them.

I promised I'd never allow myself to get to this point.  I didn't however, expect it to creep up on me this fast.  The other day I found myself making these same excuses as the elder individuals I'd heard in the past.  It terrified me.  I had to make a conscious effort to turn from such a jaded way of thinking and attack life with the same excited ignorance I'd had a few years back.

I now see it more than ever.  When a person, my senior, asks me for advice and I give it, they seem to allow all of the reasons why they've lost in the past discourage them from learning a new way or taking the advice that isn't their own.  These individuals are typically unsuccessful, and it's only a matter of time before what they consider to be safe, die around them.

So don't ever think yourself too educated, too old, too set in your ways to take some valuable advice.