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It seems that a lot of young folks today have life all figured out; make it through high school, grab that college degree, get a decent job, and get some nice rims on a hot truck seems to sum it up. It’s not surprising that the ‘youthful’ point of view is rather limited, afterall, if you havent been though life, how do you know whats going to happen? And really, why bother to plan for something you can’t predict. All I can say to that is, Ignorance is bliss.

It is too easy to put away things that have the potential to raise the stress level of life. Why worry about things that arent a part of your universe. In the small pueblo farm somewhere in the middle of Mexico, farmer Jose only worries about his cows and chickens, — that is of course — until you start telling him about the craziest hurricane of the century and how its headed on a path relative to his farm– you go a step further and tell him it’d probably wipe his farm in one single swoop. You’d probably put that poor guy to tears frantically trying to devise a way to save his chickens. Did you do him a favor or was he better of left to his ignorance?

Jose might have built a shelter and saved what he could from the storm, or like most people, young people in particular, he probably would have pointed to the fact that he couldnt see a cloud and the sky and dismiss you immediately, — and returning to what he knows best — tending to his chickens.

The biggest “mistake” of any generation of youth is an unwillingness to heed the word of wisdom, especially when nothing obvious points to a need to do so. Do you really need to be drenched in rain before realizing that yeah theres a storm coming?

Jose doesn’t listen to you about the storm, and so you go off and build a boat and put all your cows and chickens, heck the dog, and your ugly step sister on that boat. Jose just looks at you, and laughs. You shake your head, and tell him to get on the boat with you. He dismisses you again, he says “Dude, no way, you’re not even cool!”, so you close your door and wait.The rain comes down and Jose is banging on your door, wanting to get on your boat. And you tell Jose to eat dirt, (or in this case mud.) Jose is out and drowns with all his chickens your boat floats away.

This classic story is relived once too often!

You ever try to get people you know who have absolutely no financial understanding and no thought for long term goals, only to have them turn you away with their excuses?

Ask a young brother or sister if they have any money invested in a retirement fund, and they’ll mostly likely stare you down in confusion, or offer some excuse. Ask them if they at least have a savings account of some kind, or better yet ask them what are there plans for college, did they go, did they graduate, did they even apply?

Obviously not everyone has the same priorities, but some reasonable goals, at least, would be a start. The most discouraging thing for me is to see how people put limitations on themselves, and constantly have excuses and explinations to justify their thinking. Why do people constantly put up glass ceilings and walls that keep them from going where they might want to go?

Well, sad as it may be, sometimes you just gotta let those Jose’s of the world learn the hard way. For the more open minded folks, there is hope yet!