The Irony of Experience

June 19, 2008 by David.

Matt Ryan is the future “king” of the Atlanta Falcons. Having signed a $72 million dollar contract, the expectations are that this rookie will eventually lead this franchise to winning seasons - and hopefully - a few Super Bowl titles. Most analysts expect Ryan will be the starting quarterback at some point this season.

All of this, and he’s only 23 years old.

To put that into perspective, Brett Favre - the now retired future hall of fame QB of the Packers - is 39. That’s a healthy 16 years of experience. At age 39, Favre was already considered “old” in his sport. However, his wealth of knowledge and experience made him invaluable as a player. He may not have had the same swagger and legs that he did when he was 23, but his experience more than made up for that.

It’s a cruel irony, then, that experience is so heralded, but is rarely respected. The young don’t listen to the stories of their elders because they think those stories don’t apply. However, once the young begin to realize this - it’s too late - and they’re now the ones sharing the stories in the hopes that the generation behind them won’t have to make the same mistakes. This is life - the irony of experience.

If I knew back then… I’ve often wondered what my twenties would have been like if I knew then what I know now. Would I have stayed with one company for almost 10 years, or would I have taken the risks and started my own? Would I have even bothered with college, which thus far, has proven useless in my career? Would I have been more conservative with my money, rather than adjusting my lifestyle everytime I got a raise? Would I have been so arrogant, knowing now that I truly didn’t know as much as I thought I did? Would I have treated people better and sought to restore fractured relationships?

I see now why man has a fascination with time-travel. We all want to do it, if for no other reason than to go back and tell our younger selves to wisen-up. Truth is, I doubt I would have listened to my “future-self” anymore than I listened to those ahead of me. At 22, I was on the fast-track to corporate success and I was going to do it my way. Over 11 years later, and I find that I’m not particularly fond of that 22 year old. His brash ways and cocky-arrogance did more to chase away opportunities than to secure them.

My faith has even twisted and changed over this time. I’m less sure of things now than I was then. But that uncertainty - strangely - gives me MORE confidence in what I do believe. The things I was passionate about then I really could care less about. The beliefs I was convinced would never change have indeed, changed. The things I never thought I would buy into are now hallmarks of who I am. Experience.

The irony of all this is that I’m fairly certain that when I hit my 40s, I’ll look back on this time and wish that I had known more then.

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