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Lessons learned in life … lesson One
My first real lesson in life came as a college student at the University of Virginia (UVa). I grew up in a southeast cotton mill country. During the summers in high school, I worked in a cotton mill, rewiring the mill. It was hot, grueling, and sometimes dangerous work, rewiring could not stop the mill. The hours were long and the pay was meager.
As you might guess, I was really, really excited to go away to college. I think that was my parents’ secret goal when they encouraged me to work at the cotton mill!
What I discovered at UVa opened my eyes. The learning environment was different. The students were more experienced and much more competitive than my peers in Goldsboro High School. They had fresh perspectives and provocative opinions. They caused me to pause frequently, laugh regularly, and think differently. I soaked it all in. Not just the classroom discussions, but the lessons I learned from life outside the classroom.
So what did I learn at UVa? I learned what you do with your education was more important than what was learned in the classroom. UVa sparked in me a passion for lifelong learning, a passion to question, explore, to think. This beginner’s mind is always an open mind – a mind allowing for doubt, embracing possibility, and seeking fresh perspectives.
Graduating was just the beginning of a life-long journey of learning.
I learned my second lesson after I entered the work world. I graduated with a degree in engineering and began in flight school as an Ensign in the US Navy Reserve. The training was difficult and wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it would be. In fact, flying turned out not to be my cup of tea at all.
After 9 months of flight training, I finally accepted that leaving the training behind was the right thing to do. That was probably the most difficult decision up until that time. It was akin to leaving the priesthood, as I had always thought I wanted to be a pilot like my father. It was ‘quitting’.
My lesson; if you aren’t happy doing what you are doing, don’t wait, make sure this is what you really want, but do it without regrets. I did it and wish I had done it 3-4 months sooner. That was how long I agonized over the decision to move on.
Class continues daily … Lesson Three
After my years in the Navy, I went on to work at IBM Federal Systems. After only a year I was bored. I was suffering from the most insidious disease known to mankind, a disease that cripples millions of people every day: The Cancer of Complacency.
My learning curve had flattened. I wasn’t growing. I wasn’t learning. I wasn’t challenging myself. I was stagnating. Thomas Edison once said, “Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”
It was the dawn of the digital era, and the world of technology was exploding with possibilities and potential. A job change was required and at my initiation, the company moved me from a mechanical design department to an integration and test department on a new large program in development. There were lots of new things to learn and many new digital tools to use. Probably one of the best jobs I had in my career … 3 years later the job took me to sea with the weapon system, where we were supporting the Navy testing in the real world.
I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. It’s this. Take risks. You will make mistakes. You may even fail. I can’t begin to count all the mistakes I made. But I’ve learned more from my mistakes than my successes. I’m a better business leader today as a result of those mistakes.
No failure is final or fatal. If you only focus on your mistakes or the possibility of failing, you will miss remarkable successes as well. It doesn’t matter that you are always right. It does matter that you are always learning and growing.
Here is lesson four.
Class continues daily … Lesson Four
My fourth test came many years later when I decided to leave the engineering world and move to market and business development. It was my next life test, as it was as different as I could have expected. I had made the jump to continue the learning and development experience. Why in the world would I do that? I saw something that was unique, that intrigued and inspired me, something that frankly surprised me.
Working directly with customers was the change that made the decision easy. They were not a group of cold, insensitive men and women. I saw people who were innovative, engaging, and flexible. I saw people who shared the same rock-solid values that I learned growing up in the Southeast – values like honesty, integrity, and hard work. I saw people who really cared about their communities, and cared about their jobs.
Again the lesson was about adaptability, change, and continual learning. Taking new risks and doing new things to challenge yourself. Ultimately, you start to trust yourself. Trust your gut.
Class continues daily … Lesson Five
My fifth and final lesson is what I’ve learned on the world stage. I’ve had the good fortune of traveling on business and pleasure to the far corners of the earth. What I learned can be summed up by Dorothy’s observation in the Wizard of Oz: “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!”
None of us are. The world is not going to be flat, it is flat. It is filled with amazingly diverse cultures, traditions, people, and beliefs. We shouldn’t grow myopic in our outlook. Simply clinging to the present, and doing things the way we always have would be like trying to navigate a new world with an old map.
The world is changing every day. For instance, there are more people speaking and learning English in China than the total population of the United States!
What have I learned in my travels? We truly are not in Kansas anymore. We are becoming citizens of a global village.
Sometimes, the pace of change feels scary but mostly it’s invigorating. Now, we can’t stop the change, but we can embrace it. How? Get a passport. Explore other countries. Get a job overseas. Expand your horizons.
Let me leave you with this final challenge. When everyone is convinced that something can’t be done, that it shouldn’t be done, go out and do it!
Because class truly continues today and every day!
Remember, what got you here won’t get you there. Don’t let what you know … limit what you imagine. Lead with initiative and own each moment.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to continually improving your continuous learning?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on mentoring from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
