Go Get Some Experience

Aug 1

It is pretty easy to read about how to conceptually do something.  It is equally easy to read about how other people have actually done something.  It is an entirely different task to do that something.

Let’s take running a marathon.  It is often referenced in terms of doing something difficult with perseverance.  Yes it is true that it is difficult.  Yes it is true that you need some perseverance (some more so than others simply because they aren’t as ready).  Talking about it, though, requires experience.

When I was younger I chafed at the idea that I could not understand something simply because I had not done it yet.  When I was learning how to drive a car I doubted my parents when they told me that I needed experience.  They essentially claimed that they were better at driving simply because they had done it longer than I have.  I reasoned that I understood the laws better than they, and in fact I probably had better reactions than they did.  So it seemed fairly reasonable that I could drive as well (if not better than) they could.  My how I was young and foolish!  (On a side note I must remember that being foolish is very often associated with being young.)

I have learned that yes, experience does matter.  Nobody buys a book about trading stocks from an author who has never traded stocks.  Nor does one buy a cookbook by someone who could not boil water.  Neither do I want to hear someone extol the virtues of running a marathon if they have not actually run a marathon.  Do you want to talk about running a marathon?  Then run a marathon!  It will give your words more weight.  Alternatively there are countless other examples that you could draw from to prove your point.

Experience does not linearly increases abilities, but I have come to appreciate that experience brings a measure of wisdom.  Oh that’s just great, next thing I know I am going to start calling kids “sonny” and talk about the “good ol’ days”.