I attended a journal writing workshop a couple of weeks ago that conjured up some old memories.    The leader would pose a topic and then give us 10 minutes to write about it.  This is a classic way to get in the habit of writing about your life, feelings, events and people and I never grow tired of doing it.

On this particular evening, one of her topics was The Kitchen.   Instantly I remembered an incident from my childhood.   I was about six years old and had a 1950 style page-boy haircut.  Mother would keep my bangs trimmed in between trips to the beauty salon so on this day, she had put a pot of applesauce on the stove in a pressure cooker, and then sat me up on a stool and draped my shoulders with a towel.

As she was snipping away, the pot on the stove began to whistle as the steam built up inside (they are supposed to do that) but suddenly, something went wrong and the lid flew off and hot applesauce exploded all over the stove, walls and even the ceiling!  (They are not supposed to do that!)

Fortunately we were far enough away that we were not spattered but to a little girl it was a terrifying experience that I’ve never forgotten.  As a result, I have never used a pressure cooker and on two occasions when I encountered one on someone else’s stove, I quickly left the room.   I have assumed that they malfunction and are dangerous when in fact, although they have gone out of style, they were used successfully for decades on a regular basis.

I think all too often we made decisions based on incorrect assumptions.   For instance, many people assume that all small businesses are risky and often fail.  On the contrary, the SBA Advocacy office reported in 2004 that there were 24.7 million taxable business entities in the US and only 17,000 were large businesses.   And as we have recently found out, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.   And they take us with them.  Small businesses (less than 100 employees) are the heartbeat of our country.  With a good plan and determination anyone can create a successful small business.

Another assumption is that “proper education” and credentials are required to do things like teaching.  In fact, the Experience Corps is a program that finds way for people from all sorts of backgrounds and experience to share their knowledge and life skills with students in classrooms from kindergarten to high school.  A recent survey showed that students made 60% more progress with an Experience Corps tutor.

One I’ve heard a lot lately is, “I’m 63, nobody wants to hire me now.”  Wrong.  Numerous businesses realize that older workers are dependable, responsible and able to contribute wisdom that only comes with living through the decades of life. AARP    has a list of the top 100 companies who actively seek to hire older adults.   Being “too old” after 60 is an incorrect assumption in the 21st century.

Don’t miss an opportunity because you are assuming that you know all about it.  Ask….investigate….try it out…..don’t let past experience or outdated information stop you from discovering a bright new future.

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