And the geeks shall inherit the Earth…

Looking back on my nearly 40 years on this planet, I think I can safely say that my school years weren’t the most glorious in the world.

I wasn’t popular, or at the top of my class (in high school or college), or any of the “traditional” indicators of what future “success” I might expect.

I did fine through school, I got good grades, and learned a lot. It turned out that I’ve done just fine. Looking back now, I wish I could tell my 20 year old self it would all be good. That, no, learning all this Mac, Internet, and computer stuff would be useful someday (I still know how to use command line tools thanks to my days at dumb terminals writing emails and playing Rogue on the server.

This morning I stumbled on a post that I sums up a lot of what I’ve learned about myself and others. Wisdom that I’m trying to impart to my kids. This, of the ten, is my favourite (okay the being different is good is a close, close second):

The nerds make all the money in the end. No joke. The least popular, most focused, often anti-social people are thinking day in and day out about the big things they’re going to do with their life. And trust me, not all, but some will become the most influential and most successful people you know. Personally, I’ve grown to love and admire “nerdy” people. They’re often the smartest, most interesting, and most creative of us all.

link: Young & Successful » Blog Archive » 10 Things I WISH Someone Had Told Me While I Was A Student.

Growing up is tough enough, growing up geeky is even tougher. I find it ironic, bittersweet, and oddly satisfying that many of my traits that weren’t popular then are the very things that make me successful now.

How about we all make a note to ourselves to make sure when we have a chance to hang out with a young geek-in-training that we help them through the rough times.

Remember you have to be a padawan first to become a Jedi Master.

Tagged as: geek culture, geeks rule, growing up, mentoring