Does Wisdom Really Come with Age?

As I sat on the weathered train tracks overlooking the tranquil Soquel River in Capitola - a quaint California coastal town just south of Santa Cruz - I found myself contemplating a shift in my social landscape.

Increasingly, I'm drawn to conversations with older folks who are close to retirement age (but are working on so many awesome things that they’re far from actually retiring) rather than the ambitious young tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who once dominated my circles.

The allure of these seasoned individuals lies in their grounded wisdom, stemming from a life of diverse experiences filled with victories and defeats. They accept their accomplishments without flaunting and understand life's unpredictable nature will always test us.

This humility arises from the inevitable and devastating losses along their 2nd Line. If you live long enough, you’ll witness people you love die. Personal ambitions become secondary in light of these events, putting into perspective what really matters.

These qualities starkly contrasts with the relentless pursuit of productivity I often see among leaders in the tech sector, a field that’s now massively reshaping our world.

Their unyielding focus on optimization, even “hacking” happiness itself, tends to distract from authentic dialogues about real life experiences that underly the sometimes uncomfortable complexities of human existence.

This begs the question: is all this optimizing truly beneficial for us?

I don’t have a clear answer yet, but I do notice our older Mind Map Nation members leaning towards decisions that are beneficial, not just optimal.

There's an artistry in their approach—like painters who say a piece is done when it feels done, not when every second of productivity has been extracted or when it has hit all the targeted Key Performance Indicators.

Inspired by John Diggs, one of our esteemed Mind Map Gurus, I now define wealth as more more expansive than money. Wealth to me is an abundance of time, joy, security, contentment, self-awareness, and meaningful contributions and connections.

In short, “wealth” is anything that we want more of. In other words, the second order effect of money.

Using this definition, our Mind Map Nation elders are authentic precisely because they have nothing to prove. In this way, they are both wealthier and more trustworthy than the entrepreneur who made headlines with his latest $50 million raise who may be abundant in money, but scarce in true wealth.

All this made me realize why I find conversations with those who’ve weathered life’s ups and downs to discover their true selves so enriching. Age isn't everything, but it is a proxy for how long one’s had to go through that journey.

In a world that incessantly pushes us toward optimization and making the “best choice”, there’s an understated elegance in choosing harder, suboptimal paths that speaks truer to our hearts.

I'm not telling you to abandon ambition. Rather, it’s an invitation to examine our lives from a place of abundance in order to make real progress. The results may have a profound impact on the choices you make, as it has for me.

What do you think, my friend? What are some life experiences that have fundamentally changed your perspective? What does wealth mean to you and how do you intend to achieve it?

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