As I headed to the car wash near my house, I noticed a wise man sitting at one of the tables. I'm a regular visitor to this car wash and have enjoyed meeting many interesting and wonderful people here. This morning, I spotted the wise gentleman engrossed in his phone. Hoping to strike up a conversation, I approached him and casually remarked, "I hope there's some good news you can share."

He looked up at me with a smile and replied, "I wish I could."

I quickly added, "Please forgive me if I'm interrupting you," before sharing a nugget of wisdom I had learned: "If you want to learn fast, meet new people. What they can teach you could save you 10 to 15 years of your life." His eyes widened, and he returned my smile.

Feeling emboldened, I asked, "Well, you seem very wise and kind. Is there anything you can share with me to help me become a better version of myself?"

He chuckled softly and replied, "I wish that were true. I'm still figuring things out for myself."

Curious about his background, I inquired if he was retired, to which he said yes." He then shared details of the various jobs he had held in different places he had lived and worked. His life journey was filled with excitement and insightful experiences that I wished I could capture here, but since that wasn't the focus of our conversation, I stayed on track.

Last year, in 2023, he decided to retire so he could spend more time with his grandchildren. As our conversation continued, he shared the following insights with me, which I've summarized below.

 

"Your family is your anchor. When you are raising your children, you are also raising the future of this world.  In the end, it wouldn’t matter where you worked or what your profession was and status really nothing will matter. The greatest satisfaction would come from how well you were able to shape the future of this world (your kids). 

One day, you won’t be in this world. Your kids will have to live by themselves. What you give them today, and how you raise them will be the only thing they will have to rely on to make the right decision in their lives. Always remember that always tell yourself that. "

I always believed in every word he said but hearing this made me aware of it and made me realize that I should put more focus on my children and the children around me because they are going to be the future of this world. And I do want to leave this world better than I found! 

So my life goal is to help the kids believe in themselves and walk with them not just talk with them.

As kids learn from observing not just from place of listening.

Our kids are going to be the way we are not the way we want them.