Soon enough, the world will become loud and overwhelming. All these well-intentioned people telling you what to do and how to do it which partially sends the message that you don’t know what you are doing. And sure, there’s much to learn in youth. But also, adults can learn from you; your age provides vision behind doors adults don’t even know exist. Furthermore, you are the future, so however much adults might disapprove of Generation Alpha’s actions, those actions will indeed grow to dominate.
Therefore, I want to learn from you. But maybe you don’t want to teach. Maybe you see me as competition. Maybe for that aforementioned domination to optimally occur, it’s best to keep your insights tightly locked within your mind. Ok, ok, ok. The negotiation has already begun. Fine.
Does it gain me anything to compliment your father? What if I say he’s outstanding at living his values? It’s true. He pays attention. He finds ways to translate his political views into everyday actions such that even non-adherents find value. Like riding bikes instead of taking an Uber. Like planting trees as a gift. Like generously cooking instead of caving to capitalism’s pressures of convenience.
What if I tell you your mum is so sweet, so pleasant to be around, so quick to laugh, but also so able to express deep intelligence without coming across as better than? Does that gain me anything? It does? Really? Nicceeeeeee.
I know we still aren’t fully there—I can accept that. How about I give you something that coaxes wisdom sharing from you to me? Oh yea, I can negotiate too. And while you have a lot to offer, I bet you don’t have much money, do you? Tough. Sounds like I may have more leverage than first imagined.
By developing your interests, you become more interesting. The more unique the interests, the more interesting. I’m going to reasonably assume that however revolutionary you and your Alphas may become, the perks of being interesting will still hold sway. (See, those first two sentences didn’t amount to advice or wisdom, just simple statements of fact that you, me, and everyone else knows. Kind of boring for me to repeat them, but it felt like necessary preamble.) Alas—here comes another fact—developing interests can be expensive. Enter me. For your 10th birthday, I’ll give you money to spur the development of a single interest. Enter the catch. You must teach me something about this interest. A Ted Talk isn’t required, but my wallet will only open if you provide me something of value.
Speaking of wallets, I’ll give you a bonus opportunity for extra cash. You pick an interest that, say, has a list price of $300. If you find some way to reduce the cost and tell me about it, I’ll give you 50% of the savings. I think kids are naturally superior negotiators to adults, so I’m curious to learn from you in this department as well.
Check ya in a decade!