We all have things that we want to improve at, or at least we all should have things that we want to improve at. Maybe we want to be a better business owner, a better boxer, a better member of the community, a better father, or all of those things and more. We all have things that we’re working towards improving on each and every day. This is good, this is natural. This is the way that man is meant to be. When man doesn’t have something he is working and struggling towards he stagnates and we know that’s never good.
Man was meant to keep striving and working, while also enjoying the fruits of his labor. That is what makes a select few jobs and hobbies so rewarding. We’re fulfilling our natural function and becoming more. As we were intended to do. Along this path there are many that will claim to help us. Gurus, teachers, and the like. Some are invaluable and some will give you some good and some bad, while others will lead you down a rabbit hole it may take you some time to recover from.
There are many tenets of being successful at the thing that you want to be successful at. There are some things that are beyond your control yet ring true. For example the earlier you start at something the better off you’ll be and the compound effect. We all have natural talents for some things, while other things will always be a struggle. Not that that’s a bad thing unless we plan on making money from it, otherwise it’s good to struggle as it improves who you are. There is much that goes into success in any field.
Doing, Learning, & More
There are a couple schools of thought when it comes to succeeding at things in life, almost regardless of what they are. There is the experience is the only teacher school, there’s the official learning is the best school, and a few others I want to momentarily address. Let’s start with experience is the only teacher school. I used to be a part of this school and it was common with my family. Essentially what’s believed with this school is that you only learn from your own experience and blunders. Books, schooling, and the like was for dorks because that stuff didn’t teach you reality anyways.
Work hard and things fall into place. Of course I soon found out that this school is incredibly limited and causes you to make the same mistakes over and over and over, just working harder at them. For example when starting boxing I never watched film, thought reading a book on it was the most ridiculous thing ever, and barely listened to coaches. I just sparred, sparred, sparred. All practice and no theory. And of course I hit a limit very quickly. Obviously I benefited more than doing nothing but I stunted my growth greatly.
The only school of thought is to dig into the theory and reason “why” behind things. The work smart approach. My brother took this approach with many things, probably in rebellion to most family members. He’d study things endlessly work out every option, every facet of something, really get to the center of the thing. And then much later take action. He was big into certification and accreditation. Ph.D’s and Dr’s were his gods. He thought the more schooling one had the smarter they were. A school that limited him as well.
True Learning & True Doing
Now the obvious answer is of course “Oh you need to do both. You need to work hard and work smart.” and that’s absolutely true but not what this is all about and something I’ve already covered before. Yes, you must have your own experience while also learning from the experience of others. It’d be foolish to do only one or the other. Like only walking with your left foot or your right instead of both. But it gets even deeper then that. You have to become your own teacher. Coaches, teachers, and partners are great but you have to put the pressure of learning on yourself.
Many work smart and work hard but still expect others to lead them where they need to go. No one teacher or person can give you everything that you need. Only be taking the responsibility on yourself. No one else is going to do it for you. You have to be your own teacher, coach, and more. As I said in a post just the other day self-learning is the only true learning. Certifications or time spent “on the job” doesn’t mean much if you don’t become a student of the game/job/whatever it is you are doing.
You have to become your own teacher. Work and think like you had to show others this, like you were destined to become a grand master at whatever you’re doing and that you’ll not only have to perform at a high level but teach at a high level. It’s said that those who can’t do teach but aside from public education and business gurus this is largely bullshit. And often those who can do, can’t teach because they coasted on natural ability. Seen this with athletes and artists alike. So become your own teacher like you’ll have to perform and teach others at a high level and you’ll be better for it.
Attaining Success & Mastery
Others are resources and time spent in the field is another, irreplaceable, resource. But in addition to this takes the responsibility and in some cases duty of learning onto your own shoulders. Don’t expect any one book, job site, instructor, teacher, coach, gym, or whatever to be all that you need or the end all be all of everything. Learn from the greats, develop your own style, work hard, work smart, and keep learning from all that you can. Greatness rests on your shoulders mixed with a little bit of natural talent (or a lot of natural talent if we’re talking professional sports).
If anything I said here interests you I’d highly recommend you check out The Ultimate Alpha Collection which is a compilation of 16 of my books for the price of 5. It covers everything from being a man to making money to getting the right mindset to getting girls to fighting and more and is a resource no man should be without. Pick up your copy today!
-Charles Sledge
One Comment
Comments are closed.