When I was in high school I had a successful, retired substitute teacher that was a member of the Freemason organization. I want to preface this by saying I don't remember exact dates like when he retired, what Presidential administrations he consulted with. I also never asked him but I wouldn't be surprised if he was a high ranking member. The best way I could describe this experience is in video game terms, so a Level 1 meeting a level 100 player. My audience is a unique mix of current professionals looking at the incoming quantum computing revolution as well as younger teens thinking about what career paths to take as technology is rapidly evolving. I think this article will make you view retirement and success in a different light. I also don’t suggest skimming this, it’s worth the 5 minute read.
I didn’t ask the Freemason much about the organization. From my very limited understanding there’s ranks to it and there’s responsibilities such as keeping their secrets intact. We can briefly discuss some of the contents from this History.com article:
Freemason Symbols Aren’t What You Think: “Masons were originally working men who were supposed to be as busy as bees”. This quote is referring to the symbol of the beehive. As far as I can tell, my Freemason friend was still working even though he was retired. He wasn’t working as a substitute teacher out of money, he was doing it because he wanted to send the elevator back down to the new generation.
Famous Freemasons Are Everywhere: Politicians like George Washington, Gerald Ford, and Franklin D Roosevelt were Freemasons. As far as I knew, I don’t think my friend showed up on any mass media lists such as 40 under 40. As I will elaborate, he was a self described introvert and he seemed to enjoy being anonymous.
His background is he's an African immigrant that left his (wartorn?) country. He got accepted into Stanford when he was only a teenager and this was sometime before the 1960s. In other words, he went to college back when going to college actually meant you were a genius. He initially started studying mathematics but he switched over to legal studies. For the foreigners who don't know American history the 1950s-1960s wasn't exactly great for race relations but if he could succeed in life you can too.
When I met him I was only a teenager and I took him for granted. He was an elderly man and I heard rumors about him like he was a Freemason. He was only about 5'6'' and he retired many decades ago. He was just that quirky substitute teacher with a fancy command of the English language.
Fast forward to my time in the food industry: I was working 70+ hour weeks and I was burning out. I remembered the substitute teacher and chatted with him on my days off. I wasn't really on good terms with my family and they couldn't answer deep questions. I would usually get the same basic advice like "vote for xyz," etc. There had to be more than life to coming home at 2AM, smelling like fish, and barely scrapping by. If I had to value what we talked about it would easily be $5,000 per hour hands down.
He made his money as an attorney in Washington DC, while I don't remember the exact nature of his work he definitely rubbed elbows with politicians like Jimmy Carter. There's an old school and new school faction in every organization: military, food industry, even DC. The factions all talk trash to each other.
By all measures he's a winner (in case you can't tell or you skimmed). He retired at a fairly young age and he was only volunteering because he wanted to send the elevator back down. His daughter is a medical doctor and he told me she decided that career at an early age. While I’m not there yet his role as a substitute teacher proves that the work is never over and even when you have it made you still are making moves.
To bolster the previous point he is in decent shape. In his own words" I don't have a 6 pack" but he isn't overweight. We're talking about being in better shape than people 40+ younger than him. I even got him to check his testosterone levels. I’d like to think even when I’m successful as an elderly man I’m open to taking suggestions from younger people.
He says whatever he wants. That's also why I had a falling out with him. I can't get into specific details but he used a lot of various groups of society as a punching bag. People can say watching Floyd Mayweather box is a treat and I highly disagree, the Freemason was so entertaining. When you have it made you don't have to watch your words.
On flashing fancy luxury goods: I remember showing him my watch and he said you don't want to do that because it attracts unwanted attention. He always dressed business casual, I've never seen him in anything fancy. This is a grey zone that deserves a further explanation as on one end you don't want to look like you're struggling but at the same time (to the Freemason's point) you don't want to be a target.
On Shyness: He was an introvert and it took him many years to get over this. I never got the chance to ask him but it wouldn't surprise me if he thinks younger people wanting to be influencers is incredibly stupid. For some of the more shyer teens reading this, there’s hope for you! You can’t exactly stay in your apartment room and just do work. You will have to be personable since employers/clientele don’t want to deal with a robot.
On education: He told me if I combined a JD with my [redacted] degree I would make more money. I never went through with that particular path because in modern times higher education systems like universities aren't cheap. But I did manage to find alternative school systems that were not only cheaper but arguably more effective.
On rich people: He said he knew a lot of rich people and that many of them aren't happy. Sometimes it takes years for something to make sense and in hindsight I know why. There are lots of reasons, but for the sake of brevity I'll discuss one. It's hard to trust people when you have a lot of money. You never know who's using you or if your business partner is plotting something against you. While I don’t have exact dates on when he retired I guess nearing that exit point he figured out making an extra million wasn’t going to change his life so he called it quits. I have faith not only in myself but you as the reader that that day will come to you. You will have that moment where you decide you have enough money and you hang it up.
You can't always succeed at everything you do: He said he tried tennis but he wasn't good at it. He was very well aware of his strengths and weaknesses. Even at his age he could go toe to toe with me intellectually and I was at least 30+ years younger than him.
To sum up, I want to think I ended it on good terms and I have nothing bad to say about him. If a minority can succeed on multiple fronts after living in the 1950s and 1960s you can too. You don't have any excuses, nobody is holding you back. He's easily in my top 10 list of most influential people that will impact my life when it's all said and done. If you want to meet people like that Freemason they have volunteer opportunities at Shriner's hospital.
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