Forgive the relative quiet lately; I've been enjoying my birthday weekend and then catching up on a ton of work. There's a bunch of good things coming this week, including the return of book reviews after a brief (and unplanned) break. This morning I spoke to an entire public high school, where I was invited to discuss being a product of public schools, higher ed, and success. It was very funny for me to be asked, though flattering - as I told the kids today, I would never think of myself casually as a success. Who ever thinks that way, beyond the wealthy and the deluded? But it was flattering and fun. I told them that there was no great wisdom in life, just a series of decisions before you, and hopefully with time the perspective to be able to choose better from worse. And, because I think this is important, I told them that they needed to cultivate a sense of "good enough" in their lives. At that age, they are being told constantly that they should pursue their dreams. But very few of us get what we've dreamed of, and those who have often find it's far less grand than they'd imagined. So I told them to learn and experience and enjoy and to figure out how to live in the essential disappointment of human life.
you learn by being taught
you learn by being taught
you learn by being taught
Forgive the relative quiet lately; I've been enjoying my birthday weekend and then catching up on a ton of work. There's a bunch of good things coming this week, including the return of book reviews after a brief (and unplanned) break. This morning I spoke to an entire public high school, where I was invited to discuss being a product of public schools, higher ed, and success. It was very funny for me to be asked, though flattering - as I told the kids today, I would never think of myself casually as a success. Who ever thinks that way, beyond the wealthy and the deluded? But it was flattering and fun. I told them that there was no great wisdom in life, just a series of decisions before you, and hopefully with time the perspective to be able to choose better from worse. And, because I think this is important, I told them that they needed to cultivate a sense of "good enough" in their lives. At that age, they are being told constantly that they should pursue their dreams. But very few of us get what we've dreamed of, and those who have often find it's far less grand than they'd imagined. So I told them to learn and experience and enjoy and to figure out how to live in the essential disappointment of human life.