As I sit here on my traditional Saturday morning with my coffee and getting some work done I was drawn to this thought from the great golfer Jack Nicklaus. Now first of all, Mr. Nicklaus is not only a great golfer, in my opinion he’s an even great human being. His love for people is very evident any time you listen to him along with his great respect for the game of golf.
To read and think about his point about him not being too proud to take a lesson, brings up the reminder for all of us. He’s not really even talking about golf – he’s talking about life. He has been a life-long learner about life, about people, about business, and yes about golf too.
This also connected to me as I’ve been focusing on taking “lessons” recently. My lessons have consisted from learning from others. Recently Lauren Hill (college basketball player who had been diagnosed with brain cancer and went out and made A HUGE DIFFERENCE with sharing her message, raising over a million dollars for cancer research, etc. – well, she passed away this week). I posted online about when I heard the news, I was moved to tears. I just sat there for a few moments and cried when I heard the news and I remember crying when I first heard about her story. It got me thinking about all that she was accomplishing while going through her battle with cancer, and here I am struggling at times doing what I have to do. Her lesson of making a difference during her struggles has re-inspired me to do more of making a difference with others in my life, and doing it right now – not waiting anymore.
Sam Crowley of everydayissaturday.com has connected with me for years from his book, his podcasts, his message of hope and getting up off my butt to actually do something towards accomplishing my goals- he too has taught me many lessons. His story of what him, his wife and his family have been going through with their daughter Susan – born at just 24 weeks and all the roller-coaster moments of all that they had to go through, and still are going through.
I got to spend some time with my parents recently going out to their house and spending the night. Just sitting and talking with them, listening to them, sharing meals with them, etc., tons of lessons for me to learn from. We spoke about my cousin Dave who recently passed away last fall – all the lessons from him and that experience. I told my mom that I think about him often. She said we all do. I also drove through my old neighborhood. All the great memories came flooding back to me. All the friends I grew up with. The heart-aches and the good times we had. You know what – there were tons of lessons there too. The lessons from my past that has affected my todays. I try not to dwell on those memories, but I do use them to inspire me for today and my future. I’ve heard it before and I’ll share it always; don’t ever forget where you came from.
When it comes down to it – be a learner, be a student. Don’t you dare think that you don’t need to learn new things. Don’t ever think that you know everything, that you have arrived, that you don’t need others to help you, we all need others in our lives. So as the sun comes through my doorwall here, I am reminded that today is a new beginning where I will learn new things and new lessons. It’s up to me to apply those lessons to get better and do more. What will you do with the lessons you get to learn from today?