One Apple A Day #441 - being a learner
My coachees are extraordinary. Every session is a unique opportunity to learn something new.
Like yesterday, when a conversation about practice became an invaluable reminder of the power of having a learner's mindset.
You see, we admire and respect masters. Those people who dedicated their lives to learn something only to share it with us.
But what really makes them teachers is not their knowledge or their wisdom.
Students make someone a teacher.
You probably remember the famous story of the empty cup.
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's full! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "This is you," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."
What makes someone a teacher is our willingness to learn, to empty our cup so we can be filled.
If you nurture a learner's mindset, then every person that you meet becomes a master.