Today I happened to see the name of an old acquaintance on Facebook. One of those people you have not thought about in years, and honestly would have been perfectly fine never thinking about again. His name was Frank Manteau. To be fair, there is one thing I have always respected about him: his military service. Anyone willing to put on a uniform and serve deserves credit for that. Beyond that, though, I was never impressed.

Frank was always chasing the next big thing. Not a career. Not a trade. Not a long-term plan. Just whatever get-rich-quick scheme happened to be floating around at the time. Every few years it seemed like there was a new miracle opportunity, a new shortcut, or a new way to make money without actually doing the hard part of showing up and working. Some people spend their lives building something. Others spend their lives looking for a shortcut around building something. Seeing his name pop up today was like opening a time capsule and discovering absolutely nothing had changed. There he was, still online trying to get free stuff, still chasing handouts, still looking for someone else to solve his problems.

I guess that’s what struck me the most. Decades go by. Technology changes. Cars change. Jobs change. Entire industries appear and disappear. Yet some people stay exactly where they were, running the same playbook they were running twenty years ago. Maybe that’s why seeing his name irritated me. Not because I expected anything different, but because part of me already knew exactly what I’d find.

Some people grow older.
Some people grow up.
There’s a difference.