By Edward Ball
The ability to learn is vital to success. Fortunately everyone around us has something to teach. If you aren’t learning from both the wise man and the dummy you may be the dummy the wise man is learning from.
Successful people can teach you their secrets to success. Likewise, unsuccessful people can teach you their secrets to failure. Both groups have valuable teachings. Imagine crossing a field full of land mines, a person who crosses the field without being blown to bits can show you the safe path to make it to the other side of the field. A person who happens to step on a mine and get blown up can show you a path that should not have been taken. From these two people you can learn what should be done and what should not have been done.
Unlikely sources can provide great lessons. A child can teach an adult things long forgotten. As I watch kids I learn the importance of being inquisitive, the value of not knowing any better and the peace in living carefree.
The biggest mistakes we can make are to stop learning followed by refusing to learn from a dummy. Some of us take a hiatus from the process of learning and rest on what we think we know and what we learned in the past. That’s a mistake. Others think they know so much, become haughty and will not allow anyone they feel is “less than” to teach them. This is a mistake also.
All of us are teachers. We all need to be learners as well. If you don’t find yourself willing and eager to learn from any and every source you are simply a teacher. You are the fool teaching the wise men. Unlike you, they see the value in the lessons you are teaching. You are teaching them about the effects of not taking advantage of what is being taught to you.
Take time to learn the lessons being taught, where ever they are being taught and by whoever is doing the teaching.
