When fathers lead their kids astray
Being close to someone means we respect that person. Often, that translates into our respecting a point of view that is wrong or, to be more precise, economically unprofitable.
A son who asks his Dad what he should do to prepare for the future (one where India and China will be economic superpowers by the mid-21st century) might get the standard advice: "Get the best education you can, learn as many skills as you can, and keep your eyes open to opportunities that come your way."
Sounds nice, but not precise enough to be helpful.
It is really not the father's fault if he doesn't know about the future. He only knows about the past -- his past. But what he knows of the past is unlikely to be of help to his son or daughter. That's because the future economy is FUNDAMENTALLY different from the previous, Industrial-Age economy.
A great intellectual, whose advice is sought worldwide by governments and CEOs alike, wrote everything you need to know about the new economy in his book Revolutionary Wealth.
Given that the book is 400-page long, I don't think fathers will have the time to read it. Unless they truly care about their kids' future and -- yes, let us not be afraid of words -- their very economic survival in a world where 3 billion new capitalists from China, Russia and India just entered the global game of capitalism.
Because fathers or mothers won't read the book (sadly, many parents prefer to read fiction rather than read something that can actually help their kids), I expect many fathers to simply be unable to give proper advice to their children.
Worse yet, because kids tend to be emotionally close to their parents, they will ALSO think like their parents (that is, be intellectually close). This intellectual closeness, in turn, will push them to make the wrong career / economic decisions.
This almost happened to young Robert Kiyosaki, whose biological father was an employee and whose "adopted father" (the father of his best friend) was a capitalist. He learned more from the latter, in terms of business literacy, and was able to become a multimillionaire by the age of 47 (www.richdad.com).
The bottom line is that we have entered a new economic age where the advice of parents, although well-intentioned, may no longer be valid or relevant to the young person who will have to fight it out in a global job market. Parents who refuse to change their old ways of thinking, will assuredly lead their kids astray economically while more enlightened parents will swallow their ego and equip their kids with the best thinking tools to thrive in the global knowledge economy.
The question that every parent should ask is: "Is my ego more important, or is my kid's future more important?"
A son who asks his Dad what he should do to prepare for the future (one where India and China will be economic superpowers by the mid-21st century) might get the standard advice: "Get the best education you can, learn as many skills as you can, and keep your eyes open to opportunities that come your way."
Sounds nice, but not precise enough to be helpful.
It is really not the father's fault if he doesn't know about the future. He only knows about the past -- his past. But what he knows of the past is unlikely to be of help to his son or daughter. That's because the future economy is FUNDAMENTALLY different from the previous, Industrial-Age economy.
A great intellectual, whose advice is sought worldwide by governments and CEOs alike, wrote everything you need to know about the new economy in his book Revolutionary Wealth.
Given that the book is 400-page long, I don't think fathers will have the time to read it. Unless they truly care about their kids' future and -- yes, let us not be afraid of words -- their very economic survival in a world where 3 billion new capitalists from China, Russia and India just entered the global game of capitalism.
Because fathers or mothers won't read the book (sadly, many parents prefer to read fiction rather than read something that can actually help their kids), I expect many fathers to simply be unable to give proper advice to their children.
Worse yet, because kids tend to be emotionally close to their parents, they will ALSO think like their parents (that is, be intellectually close). This intellectual closeness, in turn, will push them to make the wrong career / economic decisions.
This almost happened to young Robert Kiyosaki, whose biological father was an employee and whose "adopted father" (the father of his best friend) was a capitalist. He learned more from the latter, in terms of business literacy, and was able to become a multimillionaire by the age of 47 (www.richdad.com).
The bottom line is that we have entered a new economic age where the advice of parents, although well-intentioned, may no longer be valid or relevant to the young person who will have to fight it out in a global job market. Parents who refuse to change their old ways of thinking, will assuredly lead their kids astray economically while more enlightened parents will swallow their ego and equip their kids with the best thinking tools to thrive in the global knowledge economy.
The question that every parent should ask is: "Is my ego more important, or is my kid's future more important?"
posted by Super Peter at 12:11 PM
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