Shifting the Generational Curve: Same Lessons, Different Teacher
Mindset · From Student of the Game
Shifting the Generational Curve: Same Lessons, Different Teacher
Being a student of the game, Brad Noll says, means paying attention to the clues around you. Many of the practices in his business came from watching attorneys, doctors, and financial advisors and borrowing what worked. After his conversation with David Sidoni, who pivoted from real estate agent to podcaster, Brad recorded a short solo Huddle about a different kind of pivot: shifting the generational curve.
He starts with gratitude. Brad says he had a great childhood, and everything he is today traces back to the lessons his mom and dad instilled. Most parents want their kids to have a better life than they did, and most of us want the same for our own kids. The question is how to make that happen on purpose.
Lift the Curve or Shift It?
The idea came from an investment podcast Brad heard. The host's 12-year-old son had watched his dad invest in real estate and wanted to start investing himself. The dad suggested buying a single-family house and renting it out. The son asked why he would do that when his dad didn't invest that way anymore.
The dad had to stop and think. He had moved on to multifamily investing years ago, so why should his son start where he started? By letting his son begin from where he is now, the father shifts the curve. His kids get further ahead than he did, and their kids get further ahead still.
Brad wrestled with the idea all week. His parents gave him everything they had, and there were still things they didn't teach him, because they did the best they could with what they had. Every parent is in the same position, he says. "I'm doing the best I can right now with what I have." That is not a reason for guilt. It is a reason to keep growing.
“Mom and dad will pay for things that go down in value so that you can invest in the things that go up in value.”
Brad Noll
A Car, a Decision, and a Social Media Post
Then Brad tells the story behind a post that got a lot of attention. His 17-year-old daughter was rear-ended and needed a new car. Brad admits he doesn't like buying cars, and his first instinct came straight from how he grew up: a 17-year-old shouldn't have a nice car. Maybe she should drive a beater, take on a car payment, or get a loan.
Instead of acting on that feeling, he told his daughter he needed time to think. Brad believes we live in a culture of quick decisions and thin slicing, with little room for deep work. "There's a difference between reacting based on feelings and reacting based on thinking," he says.
When he and his wife, Lindsay, talked it through, they agreed the real lesson they wanted to teach was financial literacy. They bought a newer car with low miles, and Brad posted a picture of his daughter with it and the family's decision: "Mom and dad will pay for things that go down in value so that you can invest in the things that go up in value."
Same Lessons, Different Teacher
The deal came with a condition. Brad and Lindsay would cover the car as long as their daughter maxed out a Roth IRA from her earnings as an intern with the family business. Brad learned about the account, called his advisor, and ran the numbers on what consistent investing from age 18 to retirement could grow into. The result was eye opening.
He is clear that this is not about handing out comfort. Maxing out the account could take about half of her income. She will have to say no when friends want to go shopping, skip some meals out, and pack a lunch for work. And if she wants to spend her money on clothes instead, she will be paying for her own car. "She's learning the same lessons, but from a different teacher," Brad says.
Brad also notes that he is not speaking to families who can't do this. His parents gave him countless tools, including a principle centered life, a belief in relationships, faith, and the value of family. Financial independence right out of school just wasn't one of them, and that's okay.
Myths Worth Rethinking
Brad lists a few generational beliefs he thinks deserve a second look:
- Hardship as a badge of honor. Adversity is a great teacher, but your kids don't need the exact same adversity you had. Give them controlled adversity that moves them further ahead.
- Walking uphill both ways. Repeating how hard you had it can create unnecessary pressure.
- Nice things are unearned. It's okay to have nice things when the fundamentals are in place.
- Long hours equal dedication. Neglecting balance tends to lead to burnout.
- Simple sayings as financial education. "Save for a rainy day" didn't teach Brad taxes, payroll, or budgeting. Kids want the real knowledge behind the phrase.
- One path for everyone. College is not the only route, and emotions do not need to be suppressed.
Every first-time buyer's parents who visit a showing or closing seem to say the same thing: I didn't have a house this nice at your age. Brad's response is simple. Good. That's how it's supposed to be.
How Can Leaders Shift the Curve for Their Teams?
The same thinking applies at work. Brad learned the real estate business more than 20 years ago, and he asks himself whether he is still teaching his team the lessons from back then. Fundamentals never change, he says, but strategies and tactics do. Leaders who teach only the way they were taught may be holding their people back.
He shares a small example. He asked ChatGPT how to explain real estate investing to his kids at 17, 14, and 12, and got three different approaches for three different ages. People learn in different ways, and it's okay to teach the same lesson through a different lens or a different teacher.
Brad's hope is that his work honors the people who came before him, his parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and mentors, and that listeners look at the next generation the same way: not from scarcity, but with the goal of helping them get further down the field.
▶ Listen to the full episode
The Huddle with Brad Noll: Shifting the Generational Curve, on Student of the Game.
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