No! Being Older Is Not An Achievement!
Shall we set the record straight?
I think there is a big misconception in the professional world today. This thing is hurting us young entrepreneurs, maybe its not such a big problem anymore in San Fransisco but down south, somewhere in Africa it sure is.
I say its probably not such a big deal somewhere in San Fransisco because an example has been set, people like Mark Zuckerberg made big monies whilst they were still young to even dream about it. Maybe this has led some investors and people in general believe that age is not the real factor.
What about Africa, do we have such examples. No! We have billionaires, true! The youngest is 41 according to Forbes. So who are you to come in your twenties and claim you want to disrupt the industry, huh?
You just cant, you cant do that here!
It has gotten so bad to the point that if your age is the first thing you introduce yourself with to some investors, everything you are going to say will be a blur to them.
I did that mistake one time and as soon as I said the numbers, I realized what a big mistake I had made. The rest of the conversation became one sided. The man just pulled up his imaginary collar immediately and it started to feel like I was talking to my boss instead of someone I was going to partner with.
Age has become so overrated that people feel their success in those numbers. Don’t get me wrong, I respect older people, I get advise from a lot of people that are older than me, but its mostly because of what they have achieved and how much they know than them being older!
Age is not success please, it just means you skipped the womb earlier than someone, no biggie…please!
Some people feel intimidated by a younger successful person. This is a big problem! Its the same reason man feel intimidated by a successful woman, perception. We live in a world that literally expects more from someone older than they do someone younger. Its a form of discrimination that is happening but nobody is talking about!
Instead of basing my qualification on how old I am why don’t you ask me more about the task, give me a challenge or use a better form of discrimination like my years in the industry! Thats better, because maybe I have been doing this since I was five and I have the ten years experience you need, right?
Older people feeling intimidated by a young successful person is the reason we have been fed garbage products and a lag in technology innovations here in the down south they call Africa. Older folks can’t just pass the button, they put up ridiculous requirements to get a job which they know, no younger person has and even if you are lucky to have some of them, your age will get you out of the gig.
Its the reason why in a youthful population, there are fewer youths in executive positions than there are old folks. They have a mentality of ‘we can do it better than these kids’ and the sad part is they believe it!
I am not against older people getting the gig, but I am against the idea that younger folks can’t do it, simply because of their age!
Its time you start giving these curious and still energetic minds a chance, the same chance you would give them if they were your age, or even older.
Thank you so much for reading, please give it some love if you liked it and check out my other posts!
