The wise old adage goes, ‘Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.’ Sometimes what people need more than your money is your wisdom. By taking the time to share with them the insights and wisdom you have learned through your life’s experiences, you’re investing in their future. What a gift! But that means you must never stop learning. Sometimes we stop learning because we become complacent. We believe we have grown enough, or we want only to make the most of what we already have in terms of skill and knowledge. That’s when we start to plateau and then decline. We lose our innovative spirit. We begin to think about being efficient instead of breaking new ground. We cut costs instead of investing in growth. Our vision becomes very limited. And instead of playing to win, we start playing not to lose. We all love doing what we’re good at, but being good at something requires us to keep our skills sharp. Less skill leads to less enthusiasm and eventually to discontent. If we reach this stage, we start looking behind us because that’s where our best days are. We think about the good old days, the glory days. At that point, we’re only a few short steps from obsolescence. Nobody wants to learn from a has-been. If you want to give until you have given all you have, you must keep growing until you can grow no more. ‘Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.