3 tier experiences in learning

3 tier experiences in learning

It is always a great delight to meet interesting, successful and inquisitive people. Among several meetings I have had this month, the following three left me with a sense of great learning.

I. I have been conducting one-on-one mentoring meetings with team members for several years and I deeply cherish these conversations as I am able to reflect, learn and offer mentoring advice. It also provides me with some unique insights and practices followed by the champions. This month, I met one team member who showed me his self-action notes for the last ten years! For each year, he had them categorized as: to improve, to drop, to change, to build upon, to follow through, etc… It was simply amazing to listen to his journey of self-discovery through this process of evolution and to become such the successful person whom he is today. It was not an easy path. However, his commitment and being true to his purpose kept him focused on his long and arduous path.

II. Self-reflection and the power of thoughts within are key focus areas which I have observed in some of the smartest people whom I know. They practice quietness and have the uncanny ability to decipher sound from noise. I have the great fortune of knowing one of the world’s smartest academics, with whom I seek input and discuss various complex real-world situations. He has the amazing power of going through the most intricate problems and able to provide the most astute views and solution alternatives. Many a time, I have observed him asking right and simple questions to the problems being discussed. That in itself opens doors to new thinking and ideas. Asking simple questions is not easy and comes with much practice of listening to your true-self.

III. I asked a highly successful and well-respected global business leader about the dimensions of creating a successful vision and his response was to choose a goal larger than life, which has the potential to drive a mega-scale impact – be it at a social, political or economic level. The advice on going for a larger than life goal is intended to pull one out of one’s comfort zone. There is rarely a clear line of sight to the final destination when one starts a journey – yet everyone starts. One might as well pick up an exciting destination which has the potential to change the world. Sounds familiar!! Yet not pursued by most. Dogged perseverance and singular focus on achieving the end goal, along with the ability to deal with multiple ups and downs, is always the true north.