Things I wish I had taught my son ... And still can #164 - be a new dog

You're gonna have to be a new dog.

I'm using slang here. But I'm using slang from back in the day, circa 1700s. I'm not calling you dog in the rap sense of the word. I'm telling you that when you get to be 25, 30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70+ years of age... You're going to have to learn to be a new dog.

"You can't teach an old dog a new trick." In 1721, a form of this proverb appeared in Diver's Proverbs. It was probably already old back then. For centuries, people have believed this proverb and haven't ventured past their leash. They've stayed on the porch of life and watched other dogs jump through hoops.

Instead of worrying about becoming an old dog, consider becoming a new dog.

When I graduated from college, the personal computer was not something that regular folk had access to. I remember the first day I held a mouse in my hands and how awkward that was. I was in the Jester Dorms lobby at the University of Texas. I had to fill out a simple form and I felt intimidated. Meanwhile, your little 2-year-old sister has no problem plopping up on a stool, opening the internet browser and getting to her favorite Dora the Explorer website. Her language is still unintelligible but on the computer she jumps through hoops.

High performance internet communication is your generations new trick. Portable internet communication applications (like the apps on your phone) are not only things you will need to leverage, but things you will need to learn to make.

Learning how to use word processors, presentation software and spreadsheets were the new tricks of my generation. Email became popular in the early 90s. Websites and databases are the flavor of this time periods doggie biscuit.

I spent the entire weekend learning new tricks, sniffing out a new territory in cyberspace that is completely over my head. I'll get it soon.

You will need to learn new things, technologies, principles, and contexts all your life. You will never arrive at a learning "finish line". You will have to keep on going... Fetching after a new empowering idea, online or offline. In other words, don't roll over and play dead. That trick is an old trick.

And don't waste time chasing your tail,

Your papi

PS: Bark!

-By Jesus Ramirez
thingsiwishihadtaughtmyson.com