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The Forum > Article Comments > 'Golden Guru' or boring old nuisance? > Comments

'Golden Guru' or boring old nuisance? : Comments

By Ken Nielsen, published 29/4/2009

Hello, I am a Golden Guru and I am here to help you ...

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Ken,
I am inclined to agree with your comments as like you I realised it was best for all concerned that I 'sling me hook' and move on.
Best thing I ever did. There are other worlds out there.Pleasant ones too.
Obviously there are those that can stay in harness with a maximum contribution until the day they drop and more power to their arm.
I do think many of us need two careers, the early one which pays the bills and raises families and a later one that is less about income and more about personal satisfaction.
A good read.
Shaggy Dog
Posted by Shaggy Dog, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 12:04:51 PM
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Don't agree.

It is the nature of life for those who have experience to help/teach others how. Animals do it ; we do it.

IF help is required, what better source then one who has 'been there, and done that'?

Besides I'm damned if I will EVER believe that my life experience has no value,-of course it has!

ALL of us have something of value to impart to others. It is the stuff of life.

And once we have nothing of value to contribute, then we should at least go on the compost heap...
Posted by Ginx, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 1:53:32 PM
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Ken

What a great article.

I have had the experience of employing old men who had become behind the times and ineffectual and were not aware of it, and myself being an employee with a world of experience that no-one else wanted to know about!

Older people too often make themselves unwelcome by driving through life looking in the rear view mirror. Some cultures respect the old just for being old and young people there will say 'I would like you to learn from you'. But not here! LOL. The modern aged have to re-invent themselves just like everyone else, but I don't think that's a bad thing, and I think it's great you have gotten on with it. Great name for your opera company too by the way.

There's an excellent essay by Cicero On Old Age, De Senectute: http://books.google.com/books?id=CFOQU44OHq4C&dq=cicero+old+age+senectute&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=qdD3SdufCIvu6gP1_eCGAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPA3,M1

It's a very good short read and highly recommended. Montaigne said it really gives you an appetite for old age! Cicero makes many good points but the one that struck me most was that the problems that many people blame on old age are not actually because of old age, but character flaws - people feeling entitled to respect etc. because they are old, instead of continuing to make a contribution as you are doing, especially by continuing to work and create and by mentoring the younger generation.
Posted by Jefferson, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 2:10:10 PM
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Interesting article.

And from the author's point of view - possibly
accurate. However, it does bother me that
articles such as this one contribute
to the negative stereotyping of older people.

For example it's widely believed that older
people are not such productive workers as the
young. Actually, they have better job-attendance
and productivity records. Then there's the impression
that most of them are infirm, whereas more than 80 %
of the population over sixty-five are fully capable
of getting around on their own.

Senility is another belief - even though less than 10 %
of the aged under seventy-five display any signs of
senility. Or the final one that many of the elderly are
confined to nursing homes or old age homes. The reality is
that only 4% of those over sixty-five are in this situation.

In addition there are a variety of beliefs about the
aged - that they are cranky, forgetful, sexless, highly
conservative et cetera. These are beliefs that ignore the
vast differences among people and the fact that individuals
grow more different, not more similiar, as they age.

Therefore my concern is that public stereotyping of the aged
may provide justification for excluding them from significant
roles in the economy, family, and other areas of society.

The author knows his own limitations - but those limitations
do not necessarily apply to other older people. I've worked
with many older colleagues, whose knowledge and vitality
out did mine by a long shot. When I first started on my
professional career, my mentor and my Department Head was an
elderly professional who was a total inspiration to me.
I owe my career to that lady.

Just as the young can't all be classified into the one group -
neither can the elderly, or anoy one else. We're all individuals,
with individual capabilities and personalities.
Posted by Foxy, Wednesday, 29 April 2009 8:05:25 PM
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When you think of all the money and resources that were tied up in the 2020 Summit and in return we get 9 (only 9?) ideas that aren't exactly ground breaking, and more spending promises to boot.

There's nothing stopping "Golden Gurus" getting stuck into the real world. Why do we need it to be State sanctioned?
Posted by Rowen, Thursday, 30 April 2009 1:15:28 AM
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Good article!
Many older folk equate ego with usefulness and have truly missed their own irrelevance.
Jefferson raises an excellent point: When one feels entitled to respect but no longer make the effort to be relevant it is a character flaw and not restricted to older folk. Fact is that only the older folk can *get away with it*. Similar attitudes in the young would be simply laughable.
In my IT work I often have to make allowances to the point of doing their job for them. Often the hardest bit is keeping their "seniority" intact while doing this. Sometimes you get punished in proportion to your success...so some oldies are just not worth dealing with.
Once again...this character flaw is very human and all ages display it...but the young retain more humility out of necessity. (And often balance this with "front": fashion, quirks, friends, drugs, etc)
We have two interesting factors at the moment that should encourage early retirement: Demographic "bump" of BB gen, and technology making humans less necessary to create wealth (IT, robotics, etc).
Franky, older folks should retire and let the younger gens have a go when they can afford it. Isn't golf, travel, art, music, gardens, etc worth it?
(Will the grey ceiling *ever* disappear?)
Posted by Ozandy, Friday, 1 May 2009 1:15:28 PM
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