The power of youth
This has been a fun week shooting video in some of the most beautiful areas in West Virginia: Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob, fly-fishing on the North Fork, biking, paddling and tubing in Smoke Hole Canyon, and more. We are working with a video crew out of Oak Hill, WV called The Folkway. This is our third project together and I have been so pleased with their organization and commitment to doing their very best work.
Anthony and Nathan are young, energetic, excited about the process and having fun while they are doing great work. 14-hour days of shooting don’t seem to wear them out like it does me. It is cool to see young, passionate entrepreneurs creating a successful business here in West Virginia.
I think it is critically important to continue to surround yourself with young, positive people as we get older. We can say what we want about this generation and their addiction to social media or their dependence on their phones. But, they are smart about a lot of things that we are not. They see possibilities and opportunities. They are not jaded by failures, losses, or regrets. They have a lot to teach us.
The best part of the trip for me was sitting around the table eating dinner together before we headed up to Spruce Knob that evening to shoot our last scene of a very long day. Getting to know these young men better, how they started their business, and their excitement about the future reminded me of how it felt to be young again with your whole life ahead of you. It reminded me to enjoy the journey.
The other thing that I have learned is that young people value the experience and insights of those of us who have been around the block a few times. They are genuinely interested in learning and the combination of youth and experience makes for a great team.
If we only surround ourselves with folks our own age, all we talk about is things pertinent to the experiences, problems, issues of our peers. Want to feel old? Only talk to old people. There is so much value in engaging with younger people. They are comfortable with many things that make us uncomfortable. They help us see the world in terms of what it can be, not what we have resolved that it is. As we get older, we see limitations. We become more cautious. We can be more negative. Our worlds can become much smaller.
My biggest fear is becoming old and irrelevant. Working in a creative industry, often age and creativity are viewed as oxymorons. Surrounding myself with smart, young people keeps those creative juices flowing and keeps me optimistic about our future. I hope that I can be a positive mentor to these up-and-coming business men. Hopefully, sharing experiences, mistakes, and successes will help them make better decisions as they navigate the future.