The Rebelution Conference 3

The 3 Rebelution Sessions

The Myth of Adolescence
Alex began his speech with an old dream he had when he was boy. He had always wanted an elephant for his pet. An elephant could do all his chores, give him free rides, and furnish him with super-status among his friends. He even did some research and learned that an elephant playing tug-a-war with twice as much weight in men, as the elephant, would still win. Amazing.
They could/can uproot trees and carry long logs; single-handedly! (more like single-trunkedly)
These were enormous animals with the power to tear down buildings. So how would you keep them from running away? Tie them to a tree and they'd pull it down. So he looked to see how real owners did it.

Simple.

Put a wooden stake in the ground and, with a string, tie the elephant's right-hind foot to it. The elephant won't budge. Why? It could easily pull the stake out of the ground. Why doesn't the elephant escape?
Answer: When the elephant is young, the owners take it from its mother and chain it's hind leg to a large tree. The elephant will struggle, sometimes for weeks, to free itself from the chain. The owners wait patiently until the elephant loses hope and gives up. The owners then are able to retain these powerful, 2 ton animals with a piece of string and a stake. The elephants believe that whenever there is something around their right hind foot, they cannot move.
Though there are no shackles on the elephant's leg, there are still shackles around the elephant's mind.

This is what the culture has done to its youth. They have created this idea that while you are a teen-ager, you don't need to prepare for your future, you are free from responsibilities, and it's your vacation time to do whatever you want, without consequences. Today's youth are made to believe that they can't take on the full responsibilities that an adult can. This is a lie! History tells us that "teen-agers" are capable of great things! George Washington was making the equivalent of todays 100,000 dollars a year back then; at the age of 14, working as a land surveyor. Alex gave some other examples of young men who were acting like adults at very young ages. But the most astounding thing was, back then, it wasn't unusual for 12, 13, 14-year-olds to be acting like adults; it was the norm. In fact, the whole idea of adolescence is only about a century old. The idea that there is an age gap between childhood and adulthood never existed until the 20th century. Before the adolescent years were invented, you were either an adult, or you were a child; none of this in between stuff. Actually, one of the first times the word "teen-ager" appeared in print was in a news print from 1947.

Alex Harris challenged the idea that the teen years are a vacation from responsibility. Instead, he said, they are the launching pad for the rest of your life; and you're going to be launched whether you like it or not. Are you ready?
I was challenged personally to spend my time more wisely and to start really thinking about how I'm going to provide for my 12 member family. :-)
Here some quotes of Alex that I wrote down at the conference.
"How am I spending my time, right now, to prepare me for the future."
Am I spending it on video games and pure entertainment?
"We become the person we strive to be."
What kind of person are you striving to be?
Alex also recommended researching someone from the past from whom you can learn alot from.



Well, I see that I'm going to have to split this series even further for readability. So, until next time, tata!