The Teacher

It’s hard to admit you don’t know everything.

Especially in an area that you have years of experience, and tremendous expertise. In fact, knowing everything there is to know about something is how some people equate their self worth.

I find this extremely interesting because as humans, we can’t know everything. Even if you know most things, you don’t know it all.

Not only that, what you do know is probably biased, taught to you by someone else who is biased and learned from a particular perspective.

Fortunately, I’m not that smart. Fortunately I am willing to admit what I don’t know, which is a lot. And in fact, the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

One of the other truly interesting things is the old saying, ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear’.

The truth is, the teacher has always been there.

You just didn’t pay attention. Or ask the right question. Or even notice.

The thing is your teacher will only appear in your life for a fleeting second, and having the wherewithal to stop, focus, and understand that that person is who you need to learn from, that that person is who will make the difference for you, that person is the person you need in your life to take you to the next level is truly remarkable.

That is an amazing gift, the ability to notice what you need to know to be able to act on the knowledge they share.

For clarity, it doesn’t have to be someone who is ‘qualified’ or has a degree, or a title, or anything like that. They just have to know more than you about something, and they can be your teacher.

Age also isn’t a factor.

You can learn something from an innocent child. Or a wise old neighbor. From a website, or a newspaper. You can learn everywhere you go if you have a curious mind, and an idea of where you want to go.

That’s an amazing thing about life.

So I hope you have the humility to ask for help, to pay attention to those around you, and to let others point the direction of where you should go. Because your teacher is right there, whether you’ve noticed them yet or not.