“My passion to learn has done nothing but grow.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2017-03-07) from his book, No Limits: Blow the CAP Off Your Capacity (p. 245). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is such a good statement even when John is nearing 70. 

John says, “Teachability is an attitude of wanting to learn from every experience and every person. It requires an appreciation for everything we experience, knowing that we can always learn something— if we have the right spirit.”

He goes on, “As a young leader, I didn’t always display that spirit. I was more interested in looking good than I was in getting better. I wanted to teach others more than be taught. I was not especially teachable. I wish that back when I was young, I had read these words by Kyle Rote Jr.: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is really only one way to be a loser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure.’”

He continues, “Because I wanted to look good, I covered up my mistakes and didn’t look at my failures. As a result, I missed the important lessons I could have learned. The book of Ecclesiastes advises, ‘In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider.’ (Ecclesiastes 7: 14 KJV) In other words, when trouble comes, be teachable.”

He continues, “As I look back on my youth and early career, and I think about the mistakes I made, I conclude that:

I didn’t make enough mistakes because I wanted to be perfect.

I didn’t admit enough of my mistakes because I wanted to look perfect.

 “Those things are not true of me anymore. My passion to learn has done nothing but grow. And it’s still growing. Because I want to learn from everyone and everything, it allows me to learn from everyone and everything. That’s a teachable spirit.”

We all need that desire, don’t we?