I graduated from high school in 1963. There were no computers

When Jeffrey Gitomer said, “I graduated from high school in 1963. There were no computers, cell phones, Internet, credit cards, cassette tapes or cable TV,” he was not simply reminiscing about a bygone era—he was testifying to the epic transformation of human civilization. His words are more than nostalgia; they are a meditation on how swiftly the world changes, and how each generation must either adapt or be left behind. In this brief reflection lies the awe of a man who has lived through the birth of the digital age—an age that has remade how we think, work, and connect.

In 1963, the world still breathed at a slower rhythm. Information traveled through newspapers, letters, and word of mouth. Conversations happened face to face, and patience was the rhythm of life. There was no Internet to summon answers in an instant, no cell phones to shatter solitude. Yet that world was far from empty—it was rich with direct experience, with time to ponder, to create, and to dream without distraction. Gitomer’s statement reminds us that innovation is not the foundation of humanity—it is the expression of it. The tools may change, but the heart that imagines them remains the same.

From the moment he graduated to the present day, Gitomer has witnessed what few in history have: the transformation of an entire species’ way of living. The arrival of computers, credit cards, and cable television marked more than convenience; they marked the dawn of interconnection. Humanity leapt from isolation into an age of instant reach, where distance shrank and possibility expanded. His quote carries the quiet wonder of one who has walked the bridge between two worlds—the analog and the digital, the tangible and the virtual.

But in his tone, there is also humility, even reverence. He does not mock the past nor glorify the present. Instead, he honors both—the simplicity of one, the complexity of the other. This humility carries an ancient truth: that wisdom is not in the tools we wield but in how we use them. For technology is a double-edged sword—capable of enlightenment or enslavement. Gitomer’s words remind us that those who lived before the rise of machines were not lesser; they were the roots from which this vast digital forest has grown.

Consider the life of Steve Jobs, born only a few years before Gitomer’s graduation. Jobs grew up in a world without the very inventions he would later pioneer. The young man who once tinkered with circuit boards in his garage helped give birth to the computer, the smartphone, and the age of global connectivity. His genius lay not in technology alone, but in vision—the ability to imagine a world yet unseen. Both Gitomer and Jobs embody the truth that progress is not about erasing the past, but about building upon it.

There is also a lesson of gratitude and perspective here. Those who were born into the digital age may see modern conveniences as ordinary, yet Gitomer’s words call us to remember how miraculous they truly are. What once would have seemed divine—instant communication across oceans, access to infinite knowledge, music captured in invisible waves—is now mundane. His reflection urges us not to take this wonder for granted, to balance innovation with mindfulness, and to ensure that as our tools grow smarter, our souls do not grow dull.

Yet the greatest wisdom in his quote may be this: time itself transforms all things, and the wise learn to flow with it. The tools of today will vanish like the cassette tapes and televisions of his youth, replaced by inventions we cannot yet imagine. The challenge for every generation is not to cling to the past nor to worship the new, but to remain rooted in humanity while embracing change. To live wisely is to adapt without losing essence—to walk forward while remembering the road behind.

Final Lesson: Progress is not measured by invention, but by intention. The tools we create should serve life, not consume it.
Practical Actions: Use technology as a bridge, not a barrier. Honor the past by learning its patience; honor the future by shaping it with wisdom. Take time each day to disconnect from machines and reconnect with thought, with people, with silence. For though the world may change beyond recognition, the soul’s purpose—to grow, to love, to learn—remains eternal.