Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Cristy16 highlights something that`s been on my mind for quite some time---the decreasing capability of today`s students (soon to be adults) to think metaphorically.

When we do think in such a way, text requires that we notify the reader by using quote marks or some other indication we`re not thinking literally. I see more and more, young people who seem to be losing their sense of humor, their ability to think in metaphors, or even to know what is a metaphor.

Cristy, you`re so right that having parents who care enough to get personally involved with their kids is fabulous. It happens less frequently, it seems, and also tends (in my experience also) to be a problem with financially ambitious couples where both parents work.

At the same time, talking with those parents now that I`m older, I see more often that they don`t even know WHY they`re working that much! They`ve made money the point of life, totally losing the richness and wealth of experience they`d have, growing up with their kids, watching those children discover the world, and even the thought processes developing in their children`s minds. It`s a shame, and the question becomes whether we (elders?) can do anything about it.

Well, CraigL, I`ll tell you what I`m going to do about it. I`m going to keep it going! What my mother did isn`t revolutionary, but it sure looks like it these days!

I understand that in some families, both parents have to work. Often times, there is only one parent (like in my family) who has to provide for the family. But more and more these days I see two-parent homes, some with a stay-at-home mom, and the parents still have no idea what their kids are up to, where they are going, who they hang out with, and who they are!

So my mission is to do it better than that, even though I work. I talk to parents as often as I can, and I`m not really shy about my views. I try to be tactful and respectful of other people, but I won`t hesitate to tell anyone that I believe what a child needs most is your time and attention--a heck of a lot more than he needs that $50 you were going to throw at him for the weekend. He needs you to sit down with him at the dinner table each night, and ask him to share one thing from his day, or a dream he had, or a girl he likes--whatever! In this world we live in that gets busier and busier all the time, a child needs to have a secure place that is consistent and safe where he can connect with the people who love him most.

So, that`s what we can do about it. Quit thinking of money as the solution to everything, and give ourselves the wealth we really need! The more we operate that way, the more our children will do the same, and their children, and so on.

Sorry if I hijacked the topic! It`s just that thinking about wealth and riches got me to one of my favorite topics, the wealth and riches right in front of us every day! Our family!  

 

 

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:-) What`s nice on this site is the preponderance of folks who don`t just bemoan the state of the world. It`s filled with action people, producing people, idea folks, and those who speak their mind.

Although "society" looks like a big thing, really it`s only a stew of each individual and each individual family. To do something about the growing tunnel-vision and inability to see the abundance and wealth of a happy life, you`re right. Make and example of your own life.

Witness the astonishing problem of parents going insane trying to get the latest "Tickle Me Elmo" doll, months before Christmas has even arrived. I suspect those parents have totally invested their parental love and affection into money, using that to substitute with their kids.

How else would people riot, trample each other, and even threaten to pull a gun when the toy supply sells out? There`s a powerful psychological driver under the surface, and I think it`s the unexamined guilt of spending no time with the kids, only throwing them money.

A home-cooked, family dinner is starting to be one of those priceless things Mastercard and Hallmark like to portray. How tragic is that!

For me the answer is simple because I worked with a guy named Rich and he assured me that he wasn`t wealthy.  Therefore, no, Rich and wealthy are not the same thing!

Glad I could clear that up for everyone!

R-


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Quaerite Primum Regnum

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
~ Oscar Levant ~

Twitter: @rossb

Hey there Ross. Good to see you`re stayin` on top of these topics, gettin` in those speedy responses!

Thanks Craig, I just figure someones got to keep a clear head around here!!!

R-


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Quaerite Primum Regnum

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."
~ Oscar Levant ~

Twitter: @rossb