Last week my friend Albert reached out. He had a new friend, a 20 something TikTok star that had specifically asked him to find “older men” for him to talk to.
He asked about my availability, and we settled on a date and time (today, 10:30AM) before I really let the request sink in. I’m only a couple of years older than Albert. Should I be offended? Honored?
I settled on “curious” instead.
We met at Mozart’s Coffee.
It’s on the lake, it’s beautiful, easy to access, and today I had the perfect parking spot, right next to the ramp leading to the baristas. It was humid, and warm, but with a gentle breeze moving through the canyon. I caught up with Albert briefly, then waited to meet this Gen Alpha “Uncle” who was looking for someone older who had answers to his questions.
The older I get, the more challenging it is for me to gauge the age of someone younger than I am. At first glance, he could have been 15, 25, or 30. The exuberance of youth contradicted the intelligence of his eyes and the firmness of his handshake. We greeted each other and found a seat under the sun shade on an outside deck.
Albert, ever the gentleman, thanked us both for making this happen and then our rising star asked his first question… “So, what do you think, are there aliens?”
It may sound like an odd question, but it arose from a series of jokes and when it broke free, I gave the answer my all.
It would take far more than this one article to detail it, but I’ve learned, when someone asks from a place of humor, sometimes it pays off to answer with heart (don’t worry, I answered some serious questions with humor as well, everything has duality).
The next ninety minutes, we were off:
“Can anyone leverage passion into success?” — “How do you put your personal mission into words” —- “I want to help my followers love themselves, but how?” —- “I feel a sense of responsibility to help people, what do you think the best path to that could be?”
I’ve been blessed and challenged by an incredibly diverse life. Grief, love, struggle, hustle, joy, loss, love, disgust, and bliss have been my compatriots for as long as I can remember. We talked about the necessity for each of us to learn tools to be present with our emotions. To truly feel the entirety of the spectrum, not just the anger we learned from the masculine leaders in our lives.
We spoke about relationships, bringing children into the world, and business success and failure. We chatted about the importance of mentors, guides, and coaches. We went deep.
Ninety minutes later, I realized Albert was right. My heart had no place to be offended. This “Unc” he introduced me to represented some of the most valuable gifts a human can have. That of time and a desire to grow.
He’s well spoken, thoughtful, and on the hunt to better not just his life, but those who follow him. I truly am honored to be the “old guy” these days.