Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
Zac, please meet my online community. Online community, please meet Zac.
This is Zachary Ruben Guinea, mine and Julie’s nearly 20-year-old son. Z man is a champion and is current in those great end of teen years, where he is enjoying life, doing a lot of partying on weekends, and selling houses during the week (as a Real Estate Agent, for LJ Hooker)!
Zac had an important learning experience on the weekend, and it got me thinking about how, as leaders, we have learning experiences along the journey, and how they affect the decisions we make into the future …
Last Sunday, he and a few of his mates decided that they were going motor bike riding …
Now, Zachy knows my take on motor bikes. I am not a fan and given that we have not encouraged (or allowed really) our two boys to ride motor bikes; Zac has ZERO experience, and no idea, how to ride one. That is a good thing, in my mind, right – some of you won’t agree, and that is cool. We will parent our way, and you yours, yeah (said with love).
Oh, this story ends well, let me tell you up front that it is not full of pain and suffering, just a great learning for our second born son.
Now, Zac is 20, and can make his own decisions. Which I explained on Sunday, as he was walking out the door to go motor bike riding.
You see, I have been a dad of teenagers for long enough now, to realise that they are going to make their own decisions (my views are interesting to them, at best) … and, all I can do is to ask them to make good, healthy, informed decisions.
Sunday night comes around, and Zac-ass returns home – with the news that he wanted to try riding motor bikes (and, so he did) – refer to my point above …
What was really interesting though, was that he was very clear on one thing – ‘Dad, I tried it, it scared the s$%t out of me, and I won’t be doing that again’.
I was doing internal cartwheels, of course, and was happy that he had the experience, and learnt for himself what he wanted to do. And, no skin lost, and no skulls fractured. A positive.
Oh, and what I forgot to mention previously was, when he asked me why I am so against him (others can do what they want – but wife and my boys are my life – so I am protective), I shared a story from primary school, and it was my first ever recollection of knowing anything about motor bikes.
I was like 11 or 12. It was the first day of the term in about Grade 7, and as I was walking to class, word was going around that ‘Jason got killed on the holidays on his motor bike, riding around the bush, he got hit by a car and died instantly’. He was 11 or 12 too, and one of my friends. And, that is how I remember motorbikes. I still see Jason’s dad around town (35 years later) – his name is Don, and I always wonder if he would ever get over that (doubt it). I have never forgotten it … That is only my story, though, and I am sure a lot of people do it safely (I just don’t want my boys riding motor bikes, which I am happy to share with them. Regularly).
SO, AS A LEADER, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM EXPERIENCE. AND, WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED, AND FOUND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW??
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