Only The "Experienced" Need Apply!

I found myself involved in a debate the other day and the other side of the issue decided it was important to reinforce their position by informing me they were almost forty years old. Now I've always said there is no substitute for experience, but...exactly what has that experience been? You see many people have one year of experience forty times. Example...

Many times when I used to operate a party fishing boat,(some of you might call it a head boat), my mates would be young. Often times they would suggest some fishing tips to some of the patrons with the intent of improving their catch only to get abused with," I'm (insert age here) and been fishing longer than you've been on this planet. Now mind you if that patron fished twenty times a year in their advance age they'd hardly have experienced what my mates have in just a year, working everyday. Yet their pride wouldn't allow them to take advice from someone who was younger but more experienced. Who was the loser in that conversation?

Time served on this planet doesn't qualify as experience. As I said above most people have a years worth of experience forty times. To become learned and considered an expert at something it has been written you need to invest 10,000 hours. How diverse are your experiences? Are you a homebody or a world traveler? All these issues qualify you as "experienced."

There is also the application of knowledge. Knowledge isn't power as sometimes suggested. Knowledge applied is power! Understanding theory doesn't qualify you as experienced. I understand how to do heart surgery but I'm sure none of you would volunteer for me to perform it. I've removed quite a few hearts,(easy now I'm talking about gutting fish), but I've never reinstalled them and seen if they work. So in that case a little knowledge could be dangerous, as it was for the person I was debating.

Knowledgeable people never have to inform other of their wisdom, it leaves clues! Should you find yourself suggesting the latter, you might want to review and check to see if your suffering from an inferiority complex. Finally, grab all the life experiences you can! They are invaluable................

God Bless!
Capt. Bill