“Captain, You’re Relieved!”

“Captain, I am here to relieve you!”

“I am glad to be relieved!”

Apart from the dazzle of the effects and the tightness of the event line in the latest Start Trek, it was these two lines of dialogue at the end the movie that has had me gripped on the edge of a thought:

legacy is what survives  each and every one of us.

At this thought I had to stop and take a bow, because indeed, legacy is what matters. Learning to hand down talent, skill, experience and wisdom  is what helps humanity perpetuate greatness from generation to generation. What we gather  from our elders during our lives we are meant to pass on. Knowledge, skill, talent, and sparks of that divine touch are not ours to keep – that is to hold on to for eternity.

A few years ago I met Isaak Okanlawon at an Aiesec conference he was chairing. At that time he was undergoing a traineeship at a multinational company in Budapest. I joined him for lunch and found out about his plans for the future. He wanted to learn as much as he could about feasible economic strategies abroad, then return to his home country, Nigeria, run for president, win and drive his country into an era of economic success and development. He had the vision of himself as an old man, on the porch of his house, with a pipe in his hand, and many children around.

“When I get old I’ll start teaching the young.”

“Why then?”

“Because I’ll have enough experience to share.”

To be continued…

January 17, 2010 | Categories: The Irreverence of Teaching | 2 Comments