I just read an article about the Gyrobike. It’s a $99 dollar bike wheel that provides stability at very slow speeds. In other words, it’s a really expensive training wheel to make sure your kid doesn’t get owwies. You’re going to think I’m a bitch for saying this, but what’s wrong with letting your kid wipe out?
If you’ve never experienced pain or embarrassment, then you probably aren’t a fully developed human being. The first time I went to a tech networking event, a minor web celebrity treated me like shit and I spent the rest of the evening doing shots and then eventually, crying in the bathroom. It was this first humiliation that gave me the resilience to ignore the rampant social disorders of tech industry workers and get to the substance of the human beings standing before me. Today, when someone is being a dick I tell them so playfully and with a smile on my face. Once you learn to recover from unpleasant moments in business and in life, you can rise above them and learn how to become a more productive person. I’m not telling people to send their kids to an island with a piece of flint and a knife. I’m just saying a little bit of controlled pain might be good for everyone.
