There is one key habit that is common to all successful superstar athletes: They view their talent as a job, not as a gift.
Superstars like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods are athletes who possess physical talents and a strong work ethic that develops and furthers these talents. Team members of Michael Jordan have said that he trains much harder than any other basketball player does. Tiger Woods is another example of somebody who determined to develop his talent to the max.
These two famous superstars never had the illusion that it would be easy. They did not get frustrated about the amount of work it took to develop their abilities. They never quit until they reached the point where their talents were completely developed.
Successful people only have a habit that unsuccessful people don’t have. That is the only difference there is. Success is not an entitlement, but it is not beyond reach for any of us.
You might be quite good at what you are talented at, but if you want to reach greatness, you must be prepared to work hard. If you think this goal is easily obtained, you will soon become deeply frustrated. You will throw in the towel too soon and you’ll never reach your full potential.
On the other hand, if you have the realistic expectation that developing your talent will be difficult, you’ll be able to enjoy every step of victory you achieve in reaching your goal, no matter how small it may be.
If you want to become better than what you are now, you’ll have to change the way you do things. You’ll need to make an appraisal of the level you are at right now, decide how
determined you are in wanting to progress, and then focus on the level you want to reach.
We as parents have to understand that there is a difference between teaching basic learning skills like reading, writing and arithmetic and the acquirement of knowledge in itself.
During your children’s education there must be a healthy balance between the discipline and correction of the “how,” and the freedom and passion of the “what.”
How they learn:
Children must be taught how to learn by introducing them to the basic learning skills like reading, writing and arithmetic. This is where discipline and instilling of good learning habits is necessary.
This stage can be very frustrating for some children, especially if they are pushed beyond their level of ability. It is of vital importance to constantly monitor the child’s learning process, and adjust the requirements so that the child can always experience success in these areas.
In this stage you are teaching your child the tools he or she will need to educate themselves.
What they learn:
But, once they have learned to use the tools, they need freedom. This is where you let go. Children need much more freedom to pursue subjects of their own interest.
Let go of your children. Let them delve into a subject of their choice. Let them focus on an area that is relevant to their lives. Once they discover how they can find out more about the subject they are passionate about, nothing will stop them from becoming an expert in it. And, voilá!…Your child has reached the culmination of any healthy learning process!
And don’t be afraid of learning gaps! The biggest learning gap there has ever been is that of a child who has lost the passion for learning by himself.
Once your child has figured out how to study any subject of his or her own choice, he will be a life-long learner, —instead of arriving at age 18 burnt out with excessive study he could never relate to personally.
In a greater or lesser degree every parent is confronted with bad attitudes toward learning. Laziness and lack of motivation are common concerns we have with our beloved offspring. Most of us recur to controlling, imposing, and a variety of disciplinary formulas based on punishment and rewards.
Nevertheless, none of these methods reach the heart of the child. They can be used to force the child to comply, but they will never motivate him or her to learn with passion.
So how can we possibly make them learn all they need to learn for life?
We can’t. And that is where most educators and parents miss it. True education will only occur when children learn to educate themselves. This happens when they genuinely live and experience what they are learning.
Traditional education has the tendency of viewing the child as a passive recipient that is to be filled with knowledge esteemed important by others.
The problem is that humans are not designed to learn this way. We were created to learn with passion. It is our natural inquisitiveness to explore the world around us that leads us to a powerful learning experience that will always be pursued with zeal.
No doubt there is a need for discipline when we instill good learning habits, but let us never forget to inspire them to pursue knowledge that is relevant to their life by themselves.
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Every one of us has a singular combination of God-given talents that distinguish us from the rest of the crowd. You can find the genius God placed within you, develop it with self-directed learning, and be who you were created to be.
Dare to write your own script. Discover your strength, augment it, and then find out how you can add value to the world around you. Then it will add value to your life. That is what you are here for!
If you are not sure what you would like to learn about, or what your unique gifts and talents are, ask yourself the following questions: (more…)
- Unbury those dreams. Every great achievement started with a dream, and there is one lurking deep down in your heart right now. This dream will give you a long term vision to aim for. This is what will keep you on track when the going gets tough.
- This vision is your goal. Someone once said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” If we do not establish a goal, the probability of accomplishing anything diminishes greatly. It is time to make a plan. A goal is a planned for event, and planning is predetermining a course of events. (more…)
The main obstacle most people encounter when they endeavor to start on a new promising project is that they focus too much on external circumstances to accomplish it.
“Where am I going to learn how to do this? How am I going to pay for it? When can I possibly have enough time to invest in this?”
True, these questions are all essential when planning the project, but by focusing on them we often forget something far more important: our attitude. Attitude is everything. If you are not fiercely determined to make it happen, you’ll probably soon be waving goodbye to your once so promising project.
That is why it is so important to (more…)
Bored and unfulfilled? Is your life shaded in gray with too little splashes of color in between? Here is a fast and easy way to get a kaleidoscope of colors back into your lackluster daily routine:
No, it’s not a cruise to Cancún, or winning the lottery. It’s right there, 18 inches from your brain, deep down in your heart.
That is where your dreams are lurking, waiting to be aroused and revived again!
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“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream I can be.” (Karen Ravn)
Development comes by exercising every day continually, day in day out. Most of us have no trouble running the first 100m of our race. But when the going gets tough, and things don’t turn out the way we expected, we either slow down or give up altogether.
Just like your physical body through exercise, training and effort can come to the place where it is at maximum performance, your mind and your spirit can also reach their full potential with proper training.
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True education has only achieved its goal when it has taught a student how to draw out the genius from within. All of us possess an incredible learning potential that enables us to successfully exploit the unique individual blend of gifts and talents we were created with.
Each one of us was created to passionately pursue our purpose of being here on planet Earth, to lead a fulfilled and abundantly blessed life, and to leave a legacy for the next generations!
That is why every human being is extremely creative. And contrary to common belief, geniality is not reserved for some lucky few. It is the reason why we are born. Every human being you have ever met is a genius. It is part of our human essence.
Nevertheless, some of us have, consciously or unconsciously, chosen not to develop it. In most cases it is because we have been taught to rely on external circumstances to obtain it, instead of realizing that the ability to learn anything we set our minds on is already within us.
Any person who determines to pay the price, is not only able to, but should by all means educate themselves. It is the most powerful way of acquiring a solid education that will successfully birth our God-given gifts and talents to their full potential.
Any other option will produce a second grade, counterfeit education that will kill our uniqueness and inevitably lead us to a passive lifestyle of going with the crowd.
“You cannot teach a person anything, you can only help him find it within himself” (Galileo)
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