The Childlike Appetite of Pete Carroll

In 1840, an 11-year-old Samuel Ullman left his home in Germany to move to America with his parents. 

They settled in Port Gibson, Miss., and eventually Ullman started his professional career as businessman, city alderman and on the local board of education in Birmingham, Ala. 

During his 18 years of public service, from 1884 until 1902, he advocated educational benefits for Black children, like those provided for Whites in a region of America that wasn’t willing to accept change. 

During his life, Ullman was viewed as controversial but always respected. Before his death in 1924, he wrote a poem titled Youth, which was made famous by General Douglas MacCarthur. 

“Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.”

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.”

On Monday night, Ullman’s words rang loudly as 72-year-old Pete Carroll led his team to a thrilling win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Carroll’s team was on a four-game losing streak and playing one of the best teams in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks started the game slowly, fell behind and still found a way to win, causing Carroll to rejoice. 

Carroll doesn’t look 72 — or act 72. He loves his job, he demonstrated when talking to his team a “childlike appetite for what’s next and joy of the game of living.” 

Carroll is timeless, not because of his youthful appearance — rather for the love he brings with him each day. 

He loves his life, his work, his ability to lead, proving that age is meaningless. As we enter a new year, remind yourself, you are not getting older. Age is a only a number. What we love is what matters. 

Stay curious, stay hungry, spend time around children and copy their love of life. 

This will be the best present you can give to yourself and others this holiday season. 

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