Wisdom

Just when I got comfortable in my skin, it started to sag. But that’s okay. I take life less seriously today than I did ten years ago. The Latin root of the word “serious” means weighty and grave. But even though my weight is 15 pounds heavier than it was in 2010, and I’m closer to my grave, I don’t feel more serious.

Ever meet someone who was exceptionally brilliant on one subject, but clueless when it came to the rest of life? Yes, I’ve met my share in Silicon Valley. On the other hand, have you ever met someone who was a sage on one subject, but otherwise lost? Probably not so much.

I’m just as likely to visit the Lost & Found in my 60th year as I did in my 6th year when I was in kindergarten. Here’s what’s gone missing and what’s shown up on the verge of my big 6-0h...Oh...Oh.

Saul, our local shaman (another way of saying “wiseman”) reminds us that the Earth is about 70-75% water, as is the human body (especially the brain and heart). According to our shaman, water and wisdom have much in common.

Socrates wrote, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Well, that may be taking it a little far, but there’s no doubt the older I get, the less I seem to know...and it’s not due to failing memory.

While I’d love to know the answer to that question, the more relevant question is, “Who are the three wisest people in your world?” A growing number of companies are starting to track and cultivate wisdom by asking the following question on their employee work climate surveys:

First things first: I was weird. Chip was an all-star. Generous, handsome, smart and ready to open the door for anyone who needed a hand. Second: The real leap in Chip’s search for Wisdom that day at Stanford was going first. Not waiting to be picked, but becoming the picker.

Déjà vu, all over again. The last time I co-wrote something with my Stanford Business School classmate, Seth Godin, was 35 years ago. We were two of the youngest people in our class, and, quite frankly, we were a little weird. I entered biz school at age 21, and Seth was just 3 months older. We were both entrepreneurs at heart. But we got restless in lectures, especially from professors who’d never run a business.

As I outlined in this earlier post on “How to Become Wiser Starting Today,” one of my young CEO learning breakthroughs happened when I committed to writing in my “Wisdom Book” each weekend. The first of 52 boutique hotels we created was a rock ‘n roll motel. It was called The Phoenix. It had failure written all over it. We struggled in our first couple of years, even as I tried all the classic niche marketing approaches.

They often say your friends and companions are reflections of you. Most of the time, this is a good thing. However, we all know those friends who can make you feel like you’re in a demented House of Mirrors. You feel fat, elongated, stupid, judgmental. Hopefully, by the second half of life, you learn whose reflection you want to emulate.