Learning! Is it a gift, a skill, or a choice?
Anyone who has ever served as a teacher knows teachers learn as much, if not more than their students. The idea of discovery has always been at the heart of the learning experience. Great teachers are concerned with sharing what has been learned and discovered rather than positioning themselves as authoritarian figures who believe they are smarter than their pupils.
Winston Churchill may have said it best, “I’m always eager to learn, although I don’t always enjoy being taught.” Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old; anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Brian Herbert, the elder son of science fiction writer Frank Herbert of the Dune Trilogy series said, “The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” Magic happens in our classes when an attendee offers the group a gem worthy of repeating as well as incorporating in their daily lives. We believe learning is a community event. The more participation, the better.
Many people take learning for granted. They don’t appreciate the opportunities provided to grow and better themselves. An objection we often hear from managers is, “My people are experienced, they don’t need training.” This is shocking because experienced people still learn, grow, improve and share their knowledge with others. Learning is not just for new people. Would you feel comfortable seeing a doctor who has learned nothing new in the past ten years?
Ask what you’d like to tell.
Once a student shared, “Ask what you’d like to tell.” Six words that encapsulate the whole idea of selling and asking questions! Our instructors stress the value of asking questions in all our programs. Sales people must ask questions to move the process forward. They ask questions to understand the prospect’s needs. Ask questions to clarify ambiguities.
We once had a 42-year-old instructor leading a class that included a 68-year-old student. A quick calculation revealed that the student had been selling for the instructor’s entire life! A younger student asked the older student, “You’ve been selling longer than our instructor has been alive. Why are you attending a training course for sales?” The very experienced student replied, “I never stop learning; if I do I might as well be dead and I’m too young to die.” If only we all had this attitude!
The fun thing about teaching is that on the good days, you learn as much as you teach. When instructors create an environment where people share, everyone learns, everyone grows. That’s what we call Experiential Learning. The capacity to learn is a gift. Channeling that capacity is a skill. Doing it is a choice. Choose to attend one of our classes and experience how experiential learning will help you.
What words of wisdom have you created or learned? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts.
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow; Learn as if you were to live forever.”
