Who do you turn to for the best advice and wisdom?
Whether you’re a writer, attorney, philosopher, student, academic, or curious person, chances are you turn to experts and professionals for the best information.
After all, we associate advanced degrees and credentials with credibility and wisdom.
For specific expertise, it makes sense to seek a professional. For example, if I need bypass surgery, I’m going to turn to a cardiac surgeon.
But for a great deal of life advice, our bias towards experts and professionals blinds us to a huge resource for knowledge and wisdom. It’s a resource that’s all around us, but sort of hidden.
And the reason it’s hidden is because of social hierarchies, biases, and sometimes fear.
Value everyone’s contribution
When I served as chief of police for the Scotts Valley, California police department, I often chatted after hours with our city janitor, Jose.
To many in the police department and city hall, Jose moved about invisibly. They might say hello, but they mostly ignored Jose. Just like people in hotels ignore maids, and busy travelers ignore cab drivers.
We learned about gratitude and humility — that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect. — Michelle Obama
Fortunately, my father taught me to value everyone and to be open to their particular wisdom. Dad often said his barber, Pat, was one of the wisest people he knew.
For this reason, I always made time to visit with Jose.
My father’s barber, Pat.
Jose lost his son in a gang-related shooting, and he shared insights with me about the allure of gang life and the struggles of people on the margins of society.
A lot of people don’t see the janitors, maids, cab drivers, and others working amongst us.
Some professionals, due to perceived social hierarchies, think they’re above interacting with service providers. Or they have biases, assuming people in less lucrative professions have little wisdom to share.
Or maybe they’re just afraid to talk to them.
We tend to turn to experts and the highly educated for advice, but wisdom can be found in unlikely places. The trick is to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to such wisdom.
No one pays attention to you
Years ago I read the book “How to Argue and Win Every Time,” by the famous attorney Gerry Spence.
The book was less about the finer points of debate and logic and more about the importance of emotions and uncommon wisdom.
Spence pointed out that truck drivers and hotel maids possess wisdom not found in books and universities. If we’re smart, we’ll listen to what they have to say.
A writer can greatly improve the authenticity of her work if she incorporates the wisdom and unique knowledge of these hidden people in society.
Similarly, an attorney who takes the time to learn the observations of everyday service workers just might uncover details that can solve a case or win over a jury. Unexpected wisdom and knowledge are out there, but you have to talk to the hidden people in society.
You have to notice and interact with the people no one pays attention to.
Television executive Michael Cascio, in an essay for The New York Times, wrote the following about his youthful experiences as a backstage janitor:
Once a concert ended, the other janitors and I took our positions backstage with mops, buckets, push brooms and cleaning rags. We soon discovered that many of the people you might have thought would be sloppy or grungy — folk, jazz or rock acts — were surprisingly fastidious behind the scenes. On the other side of the spectrum, the ballet corps from major companies of the world were by far the dirtiest from a janitorial standpoint, as we confronted used toe shoes and sweat-filled garments, as well as makeup-laden tissues clogging the toilets.
Who would have thought it was the ballet dancers, not the rock stars, who were the messiest? This is a great example of uncommon knowledge you’d only learn by talking to a janitor.
Cascio went on to write:
As we cleaned up after the performers and the audience, we learned the ultimate truth about being a janitor: No one pays attention to you. In our scruffy Wolf Trap T-shirts, we were virtually invisible to everyone except one another. This allowed us to eavesdrop on the surrounding public, while chuckling to ourselves and creating inside jokes.
A janitor can tell you who the wasteful people are in your organization. A garbage collector can tell you who has a drinking problem. Maids can tell you what kinds of people are the most sloppy.
I’ve read about savvy travelers who save money by hiring cab drivers rather than tour guides to learn about a city or locale.
Cab drivers know where the best places are to eat, which parts of town to avoid, and the general rhythms and nuances of the city. They also experience a great deal of humanity, since they are often privy to private conversations and insights from the people they transport.
Talk to these people. Ask questions. They hold knowledge not found in a Google search.
Humility and knowledge in poor clothes
Experts, professionals, university classes, and books are all great resources to find knowledge and wisdom.
But if you want to deeply broaden your understanding of people and the world, start paying attention to the hidden people. The everyday service providers who possess keen insights and wisdom you have not been exposed to.
I learned a great deal from Jose, the janitor in our police department. My father, who was a brilliant administrative law judge and polymath, believed his barber, Pat, was one of the smartest people he knew.
Humility and knowledge in poor clothes excel pride and ignorance in costly attire. — William Penn
Who have you been ignoring? What insights, knowledge, and wisdom could you gain from talking to them?
Start paying attention to these amazing people with uncommon wisdom and knowledge. Introduce yourself. Buy them a coffee. Strike up a conversation.
Doing so just might change your life.
Before you go
I’m John P. Weiss. I write elegant stories and essays about life. To get my latest writing, photography, and artwork, check out The Saturday Letters.
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This post was previously published on Medium.com.
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Cartoons by John P. Weiss
