Sometimes, a swift kick in the butt and punch in the nose are the absolute best medicine for the agonizing, debilitating, and dreadful “Stinkin’ Thinkin’ Disease” that can stop us dead in our tracks from getting what we want out of life. As I heard so eloquently many years ago from a ridiculously successful entrepreneur, “Some people are so ignorant, they just need to stay that way.”
I don’t know how else to explain it so it makes sense both logically and emotionally, so I’ll be direct: “If someone has achieved the results that you want; they did it ethically and didn’t take shortcuts, and they are willing to tell you EXACTLY what to do to accomplish the same thing or better; you then take their advice but make up your own rules and do it your way anyway… then you are really ignorant and need to stay that way.”
I know, I know, I can hear the roars of, “OMG, I can’t believe he just said that. It’s so politically incorrect I may have to turn him into the political correct police ‘yesterday’,” ringing in my ears. I’d like to say I’m sorry, but I’d be lying if I did. I’m sharing this with L.O.V.E., wanting you to discover your full potential, and I have the experience of being the ignoramus I’m talking about. If you get past the emotions of feeling offended, then the truth is really simple. It’s the results we want… not the reasons why we don’t get them.
The shortest distance from where you are to where you want to be is a straight line. The best chance you have of reaching your goal is to find someone who has already achieved it; beg, plead, grovel, pay for the chance, or DO WHATEVER it takes to get them to share their blood, sweat, tears, and experience with you… then do EXACTLY as they say.
Einstein said it best when he said, “To get out of a problem, you can’t use the same level of thinking that got you into it…you’ve got to get a new level of thinking.” Even though this makes sense logically…rare is the human ego machine that actually does it. For example, I recall with absolute astonishment the following true story.
- In 1995, I was coaching at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) when a College All-American (A-A)—who had finished 2nd at the NCAA tournament that year—attended a training camp with some of the best wrestlers in the world. They were preparing for the World Championships and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. At this camp, there were 8 Olympic Champions, 10 World Champions, and 13 World and Olympic medalists from around the globe. The confident A-A believed he had a real shot at dethroning the reigning World and Olympic Champion (W&O Champion) in his weight class. So, he chose another W&O Champion to learn what he needed to improve. This W&O Champion, who was a close personal friend of mine, began sharing his wisdom, experience, and proven results with the young wrestler. Suddenly, the A-A stopped him and started to say that he didn’t understand—that what worked for the W&O Champion might not work for him because he was different. Then, he proceeded to show him his ‘much better’ technique and suggested to the W&O Champion that he should try it. Some people are so…
I wish I were lying, but I’m serious as a heart attack. Needless to say, this ‘one and done’ All-American (he never placed at the NCAA Tourney again) didn’t make the team and was never invited back to the OTC again. In case you might be thinking, “we’ll that was just one example, most people wouldn’t be that ignorant,” you are dead wrong. I saw this same thing happen again and again over my seven years at the OTC. Not surprisingly, the athletes who made the teams and won medals were not necessarily the most talented, but the most teachable.
The only thing that stops us from applying what, at face value, seems so obvious is our own ego, pride, and arrogance… every time. We ignorantly feel like we ‘should’ know, so we don’t ask; we think we have to ‘prove our value’ to our teacher, so we interrupt and show him/her ‘our experience and knowledge’; sometimes we listen, then dismiss the mentorship because our ego jumps in and says, ‘I already know that… I already did that… it may have worked for you BUT…’ and it continues.
Bottom line is this: it’s the results we want regardless of the process, right? If you get the chance to learn from the best in your chosen field, or from someone who has the fruit on their tree that you desire but haven’t figured out how to manifest it, then stay quiet, listen to what they say, follow the path they’ve laid out exactly, and after you’ve achieved your goal, you’ll have the authority to offer your opinion on how it could be done differently. This is, of course, assuming that you want results rather than reasons!
Be Larger Than…
