23 October 2007
Recently I received this lovely note... (names changed to protect the innocent). My reply is published beneath.------------------
Dear Nick,
Please excuse us but we couldn't let anymore time pass without thanking you for your very kind interest and advice given to our son Patrick, who has shown a keen interest in web design which has only been deepened following your input.
-snip-
We realise that you must be a very busy man and truly appreciate the time and advice you have given Patrick.
-snip-
Once again we offer you our sincerest thanks
Yours sincerely
Sam and Carol (parents of Patrick)
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Hello there Sam and Carol,
I'm never too busy to receive such a kind message, so thank-you.
The truth is we get quite a few messages from people Patrick's age... and I tend to think that anyone who wants to learn should be encouraged. Patrick is different from most of the others though... because he has stuck with it. Most of them don't, whereas Patrick has been bugging me for ages :-)
So basically I think Patrick is a credit to himself, and to you... and I hope that my seven-year old will have that same kind of attitude when he's that age.
-snip-
... my experience is that there are never enough happy, self-motivated people to go around. For that reason I'm sure Patrick will go far, and I'm glad to help him out here and there on the way if I can.
All good wishes,
Nick
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That's it... except for the couple of things worth commenting on.
Firstly, it rarely hurts to ask. When "Patrick" first got in touch he did it with that enthusiasm of youth... not necessarily with any real expectation that we'd help him out. He gave it a shot and got lucky.
"Giving it a shot" seems to get harder as we get older... and Patrick has reminded me that sometimes it is worth trying an unlikely approach... of which more soon.
The second thing is simple. Although helping out people like Patrick doesn't bring us any treasure, it sure makes us feel good... which is a really good return for a few minutes of time now and then. I'd recommend it as an alternative to sitting in the cellar counting your money.
Posted by Nick Warren at 7:27 AM
