30 Jul 2024
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By Marcus Pearce
One of the greatest blessings of speaking with many PSK clients last year was the sparkle in the eye at the idea that excitement and wonder was in their future and not just their past. In this month’s article, I introduce you to a number of Exceptionals who never let their age get in the way of some inspiring life achievements.
What exciting achievements do you have planned for your future? Success, inspiration and enthusiasm is not for the “good old days”. They are here for you right now and in your future – as long as you believe they are.
Enjoy the following excerpt from my book, Your Exceptional Life. If you would like the full copy of the book and audiobook emailed to you, click here.
Age is no excuse to stop learning
Until his death at age 111, Australia’s oldest man, Dexter Kruger, wrote his books in long hand. As he was also blind, he couldn’t read his writing, so his writing was almost completely illegible. “I would just look at the scrawl,” explained Kruger’s former writing aid and informal editor Janet Rowlings. “If I couldn’t make out a word here or a word there, it would prompt him to pick up the story, which was quite amazing. Once he got on a roll, he would just go for it. I would be saying ‘hang on, hang on’ whilst I tried to keep up with him! I would often say to him to just dictate to me, but he couldn’t work like that.”
Prior to his passing and with 12 books to his name, the retired farmer from Roma in Queensland was proof that you are never too old to start something new. He shared that he “started writing a couple of years after my wife passed away. With no one to talk to in the evening I began writing some stories and now I have an album with my books in it and it’s called Dexter Kruger’s Stories.”
Take a leaf out of Dexter’s books and refuse to let your age define your next area of exceptional growth. When major chapters in our lives come to an end – our work ends, the children leave home, and relationships end – great opportunity exists. These times can be the beginning of something magnificent. You could do as Ruth Frith did and start athletics in your seventies, or as retired dentist Charles Eugster did and hit the gym in your eighties. “Go make yourself necessary,” is what Dr Walter Bortz was told by his father growing up. Just as Bortz believes with exercise we must also believe for growth: “It is never too late to start; and always too early to stop.”
If you aren’t growing, you’re dying
Socrates proclaimed: “The only true wisdom is to know that you know nothing.”
It sounds like a brutal insult to your intelligence when taken literally, but said another way by McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc: “As long as you’re green, you’re growing. As soon as you’re ripe, you start to rot.”
When you lose the attitude of the student and behave like the master, you begin the rotting process. Every master you love and respect is likely to have been a lifelong learner and student of their craft.
The alternative is to be the ‘know-it-all’; the person who knows everything when really they are shut off from any form of active learning apart from speaking. The mindset of knowing and completion is akin to rotting.
When you feel like you know enough, you subconsciously shut yourself out from growth. The exceptional artist wants to be a better painter. The exceptional reader wants to read more books. The exceptional teacher wants to educate in more masterful ways. The exceptional gardener wants to learn new techniques or plant something new. This perpetual desire to grow in the areas of our curiosity lives in all of us, but only The Exceptionals let it express itself.
I remember attending an event where the presenter said, “If you think you’ve got your life sorted, it’s time to dig deeper.” Living your exceptional life is a lot like that. If you think you’ve mastered all eight areas of your life, it’s time to dig deep enough to become vulnerable again and identify where curiosity abounds. Moments of contentment are wonderful and to be enjoyed, but too much of it becomes boring and stifling.
Gandhi proclaimed that a “healthy discontent is the prelude to progress”, which is a far wiser attitude to have in growth and in life.
The Exceptionals are never quite content with their output. Dexter Kruger wanted to write until the day he died; Jan Smith wants to scale the seven highest mountains in the seven continents on the planet. Compare this with the alternative of passing time in front of the TV or getting to the end of your social media feed. There are empowering ways to grow and disempowering ways to grow; the choice is yours.
As for all things relating to your health speak with your GP or a relevant medical professional. For all your financial health contact PSK on (02) 8365 8300 or visit psk.com.au
General Advice Warning - Any advice included in this article has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the advice, you should consider whether it’s appropriate to you, in light of your objectives, financial situation or needs.
