The Power of Ignorance

It was a gorgeous day in the Northeast today.  I was able to get away from work for a couple of hours and I played golf with my two boys.  I learned a lot.

Ignorance is Bliss

My youngest is thirteen years old and today he was the educator.  We were on the fourth hole and his tee shot landed behind a scattering of trees.  He was aiming to hit his second shot between two towering elm.  I cautioned that he didn’t have a whole lot to gain by doing so and that it would be much safer to just pitch out to the left of both of them.  In other words, if he was successful with his strategy he may be closer to the hole for his next shot but the risk wasn’t worth the reward.

Symptomatic of the Age

As is the case with just about everything that I tell him these days, he disagreed.  He proceeded to attempt the shot that he initially planned.  He hit the ball flush, cleared the trees and set himself up beautifully for his approach to the green.  “There you go dad,” he beamed.  “You’ve got to have confidence!”

More Than That

“Sometimes it’s more than that,” I thought.  “Sometimes you’ve got to have ignorance.”  He doesn’t have years of experience hitting trees as I have.  He doesn’t have a fear of failure.  What he has is naivete, passion and hope.  Thank goodness for that.

Stupidity in Life

Benjamin Franklin once said, “We are all born ignorant, but must work hard to remain stupid.”  I suppose he meant that we all need to maintain an element of stupidity in order to take risks that are so necessary to succeed at play, love and the workplace.  Failure to do so dilutes the power of ignorance.

When is the last time that ignorance lead to a risk on your part?

Is it time to take one again?
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