Every generation has its “zeitgeist” — the spirit, mood, and cultural phenomena that define a particular period in time. Take, for example, our parents’ generation. They started in the depression, moved on to World War II, and then finished that off with what is generally accepted to be the best 30 years the US economy has ever seen.
And then there is our children’s generation. Uggggh. Sure, the cold war ended while they were in diapers, but that was followed with the birth of social media, 9/11, global terrorism, the deepest recession since our parents’ depression, COVID, and the social isolation of remote work. Oh yeah, and our generation refuses to retire, which has totally screwed their career paths.
So, what was our zeitgeist? Is there is simple story like our parents – start at the bottom and carve out the best the world has ever seen? Or is it like our kids – bad to worse with a forecast of doom.
Well, our Zeitgeist is … complicated. Let’s recap. It started with Vietnam, and all the social upheaval that caused (hippies, social unrest, Laugh-In). But then the war ended just before we graduated, so its more than that.
When we were all about 7, there began a floodgate of revolution. Sexual, feminists, cultural, racial, musical, the list goes on. I don’t think our parents saw anything like that. And our kids? Revolution is the norm! But don’t tell anyone, we kind of invented it.
The bigger story (trust me, WAY bigger) was the economy. The economy was a wild ride, buffeted by globalization, the full entry of women into the workforce, and technological innovation. We went from stagflation in the late 70’s, to the “Greed is Good” Gordon Gecko era of the 80’s to the dot com explosion/implosion, to … yada yada yada … up and down and up and … where are we now? I forget.
In the final analysis, if there was a single word to describe our zeitgeist, it would be “change.” Our world changed, and changed, and changed again.
And now we are in our late sixties. What do we make of all this? Well, it’s not something we can meaningfully talk to our parents about. All this change late in their lives hopelessly confused them years ago.
And our kids? Well, they get change, but for them change is a bad word. They haven’t (yet) seen the other kind of change. Where peace breaks out. Where the economy takes flight. Where their lives take off.
Will that change come for them? I believe it will with all my heart, but it is hard to prove it to our kids generation, just yet.
But our generation has learned from our journey. I asked ChatGPT to give me the top six “rules to live by” culled from the leading influencers of our generation. Yes, I know, asking ChatGPT for wisdom is a whole thing in itself, but let’s focus on what ChatGPT told me.
Be proactive. This comes from the first business guru of our time, Stephen Covey. From his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Covey emphasizes taking responsibility for your actions and behaviors rather than reacting to external circumstances.
Cliff notes? “Just Do It”, from Nike.
Follow Your Passion. This one is from Steve Jobs. In his famous Stanford commencement speech, Jobs advocated for pursuing work that you love, as this passion will drive excellence and fulfillment. Quick – can you imagine your parents saying this? Didn’t think so.
Be Authentic. ChatGPT references Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability and authenticity, which encourages people to embrace their true selves and cultivate genuine connections with others.
Okay, maybe. But I challenged ChatGPT to think harder (yes, you can do that) and it came back with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell as urging individuals to overcome obstacles and stay true to themselves.
Live in the Present Moment. In his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle teaches the importance of mindfulness and living in the present moment to achieve inner peace and clarity.
And, yes, so did every sports documentary I’ve ever watched.
Embrace Failure. Elon Musk famously believes that failure is an essential part of innovation and progress. He advocates for taking risks and learning from mistakes to achieve success.
Practice Gratitude. Oprah Winfrey consistently promotes the practice of gratitude as a way to enhance well-being and attract positive experiences into one’s life. As an aside, I’ve cycled past Oprah’s estate on many occasions, and I totally get where her gratitude is coming from.
Look at these six rules. Do they seem like your parents, or would your kids claim them? Or are they exclusively our generation’s rules?
It really doesn’t matter – each generation spends a lifetime learning the rules, only to find that nobody is particularly interested in what we’ve learned.
Except – our peers. See you in Santa Rosa in 2025!
