We Must be Teachable

From the chapter "Teachability Expands Your Talent" of John Maxwell's book "Talent Is Never Enough."

If you are a highly talented person, you may have a tough time with teachability. Why? Because talented people often think they know it all. And that makes it difficult for them to continually expand their talent. Teachability is not so much about competence and mental capacity as it about attitude. It is the desire to listen, learn and apply. It is the hunger to discover and grow. It is the willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn. I love the Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden states it: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

One of the paradoxes of life is that the things that initially make you successful are rarely the things that keep you successful. You have to remain open to new ideas and be willing to learn new skills. J. Konrad Hole advises:

If you cannot be teachable, having talent won't help you.

If you cannot be flexible, having a goal won't help you.

If you cannot be grateful, having abundance won't help you.

If you cannot be mentorable, having a future won't help you.

If you cannot be durable, having a plan won't help you.

If you cannot be reachable, having success won't help you.

This may sound strange, but don't let your talent get in the way of your success. Remain teachable.

How can failures make you a Hall of Famer?

Had to steal this post from Coach Starkey. It is about one of my favorite baseball players, Tony Gwynn.

From "Failing Forward" by John Maxwell:

On August 6, 1999, a major-league baseball player stepped up tot he home plate in Montreal and made another out -- the 5,113th of his professional career. That's a lot of trips to the batter's box without a hit! If a player made all those out consecutively, and he averaged four at bats per game, he would play eight seasons (1,278 games straight) without ever reaching base.

Was the player discouraged that night? No. Did he think he had failed himself or his team? No. You see, earlier in the same game, in his first plate appearance, that player had reached a milestone that only twenty-one other people in the history of baseball have every achieved. He had made his 3,000 hit. That player was Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres.

During that game, Tony got on base with hits four times in five tries. But that's not the norm for him. Usually he fails to get a hit two times out of every three attempts. Those results may not sound very encouraging, but if you know baseball, you recognize that Tony's ability to succeed consistently only one time in three tries has made him the greatest hitter of his generation. And Tony recognizes that to get his hits, he has to make a lot of outs.

One of the greatest problems people have with failure is that they are too quick to judge isolated situations in their lives and label them as failures. Instead, they need to keep the bigger picture in mind.

"The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake."

-Nelson Boswell

John Maxwell: The Leadership Expert

I was again reading coach Bob Starkey's blog and saw an amazing post he had. It was from John Maxwell's book "Leadership Gold." In case who don't know who John Maxwell is, he is a speaker and author who is internationally known for his expertise on leadership. He has sold over 16 million books in this area. I think Dr. Maxwell pretty much sums up what leadership is in this simple exert from his book:

Leadership is the willingness to put oneself at risk.

Leadership is the passion to make a difference with others.

Leadership is being dissatisfied with the current reality.

Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses.

Leadership is seeing the possibilities in a situation while others are seeing the limitations.

Leadership is the readiness to stand out in a crowd.

Leadership is an open mind and an open heart.

Leadership is the ability to submerge your ego for the sake of what is best.

Leadership is evoking in others the capacity to dream.

Leadership is inspiring others with a vision of what they can contribute.

Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.

Leadership is your heart speaking to the hearts of others.

Leadership is the integration of heart, head, and soul.

Leadership is the capacity to care, and in caring, to liberate the ideas, energy, and capacities of others.

Leadership is the dream made reality.

Leadership is, above all, courageous.