The World Needs You to Be Young & Dumb, and Here’s Why

Joey Rambles
Sep 2, 2018 · 5 min read

The first time I stumbled into Medium, I fell in love.

I was immediately hooked. I sent articles to all my friends. At the time, I was really only into music and pop culture blogging, so the entire site felt so refreshingly new. Medium made me realize how addictive it was to read a person’s thoughts not about an album or a movie, but about life.

And while I knew music blogging would never translate well here, I still continued to visit the site. There were just so many talented writers here and I wanted to keep reading their works. Just because I didn’t write like them didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy their works equally.

But after about a month or two of reading Medium for pleasure, a thought came into my head. Hey, dude, it said. Why don’t you write like them?

“What?” I replied, flabbergasted. “You’re being absurd. I couldn’t possibly!”

Why not? it said. Come on, step outside of your comfort zone!

It’s not about comfort zones,” I said firmly. “It’s simply about material. These guys clearly have stunningly eventful lives. They’re in a position to blog about advice when I’m not. I’m simply never going to be as wise as them.”

Well, here I am now. In a position to blog about advice for The Ascent.

(And still talking like a character from Pride and Prejudice.)


I do still sometimes feel like a fraud, though.

After all, I’m only in my 20’s, and I’m not even anywhere near successful or experienced. I know I have a place here, but sometimes I wonder if it’s even a place worth having. I wonder if I’ll never be able to write a great piece simply because of who I am.

I read an incredible piece from Shannon Ashley or Tom Kuegler and I think, These guys clearly have the background to be a great writer. I don’t have as many experiences, so I’ll never write as well as they do.

But for the most part, I’ve wholeheartedly accepted being young & dumb. It’s the best kind of young, in my opinion.

Because now I think, “I don’t have as many experiences — so I’ll go out and get those experiences.

Yes, I am young and dumb.

And that is exactly what the world needs.

The world does not need people who see themselves as young and wise. These people are not interested in understanding the world — after all, they believe that they have already understood it. They are content with the way they think.

The world needs people who are aware that they are unaware of many things. The world needs people who are empty cups willing to do the filling themselves. These are the people who become great inventors, great writers, great entrepreneurs, great human beings. They are the ones who actively try to understand the world and, in the process, change it.

The only people who can eradicate their ignorance are the ones who are actively aware they have it. The only people who can see the world are the ones who know there is one outside their own.

If your favorite travel blogger had never realized how secluded she was, she never would’ve gone out and explored different countries. Simple as that.

I am not wise beyond my years, and this has motivated me to go out and fix that problem. I force myself now to say yes to opportunities, because at the back of my head, I’m thinking, Bitch, you need material to write about. GO OUT.


Now, I’m still trying to figure out the world. I’ve got a lot way to to go before I consider myself even a quarter-bit wise. But I think I figured out the one thing you and I both need to do in order to attain that wisdom:

Say yes to opportunities. Always.

Say yes to opportunities given by other people. Other people see you in a way you can’t see yourself. They notice things in you that you probably don’t even notice in yourself. Maybe you brush it off or completely ignore it. If they think you might be great at something, they may have a point.

Say yes to opportunities given by yourself. When your mind nudges at you with an idea you think is ludacris, don’t dismiss it right away. In fact, don’t dismiss it at all. When your mind wants you to try new things, try new things. You owe it to yourself to do so.

Say yes to opportunities that bring you experiences. Even if you think these opportunities won’t further your career or bring you closer to your goals, still, say yes to them. Because these opportunities will bring you something else just as valuable: experiences.

Experiences are our greatest teachers. Not our classes, or our media, or our self-help books. I can’t tell you what the 5th habit of Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is, even if I’ve read that book twice.

But I can tell you all the lessons I’ve learned from trying stand-up for the first time or working for a company I sent a cold email application to. I can tell you all the lessons I’ve learned from being featured on the newspaper or taking a chance and writing on Medium.

I can tell all the lessons I’ve learned from saying yes.

The lessons we learn from our experience stick with us far longer than the lessons taught by anyone else.

Please don’t think I’m trying to undermine self-help writing. On the contrary, I actually love self-help books and articles. I think they motivate us to do great things and inform us of our decisions. But that motivation and information will fade away quickly if you do nothing with it.

So, to my fellow young & dumb, let us take a moment to be proud of how much potential we have stored in us.

Let’s be curious. Let’s take risks and explore new hobbies and let’s never be content on how much we know now. The less we know about things, the more we’ll want to know about things.

Most importantly, let’s say yes to things.

Always.


Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it.

Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no.

But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes’.”

- Stephen Colbert

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Joey Rambles

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The Ascent
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