Try to Learn Something New Every Day

This blog is a day early as Julie and I are flying to Gibraltar tomorrow morning to visit my brother Richard and his wife Adele for a long weekend. We have been trying to get across to see them for a while now and we have finally managed to organise this.

We are really looking forward to spending time with them and being spoilt. We are however sacrificing something quite important to make this trip.

A big sacrifice

We are missing the Rugby World Cup final where England have a fantastic chance to become World Champions for the first time since the heroics of Johnny Wilkinson in 2003 against Australia!

We not only have one of the strongest English teams ever assembled but we also have one of the greatest coaches in the world – Eddie Jones.

A great coach

Jones was the coach of Australia when we beat them in 2003 then, four years later, he was one of the coaches of South Africa when they beat us in the Final in 2007. Now 12 years later it’s England vs South Africa again in the Final – but this time we have Jones in our corner.

I believe this makes a huge difference. I know that anything can happen on the day and the South African players are absolutely huge and it will be a war out there. There could be red cards and injuries and we could lose tomorrow, but all things being equal we can win.

A Positive Mindset

Mindset is crucial for this big occasion and I have yet to see someone better than Jones at this. He has spent 4 years preparing the team for tomorrow. When he arrived four years ago all of his work with the team has been aimed at this very moment.

I missed the very beginning of last week’s semi-final where the Haka was met with the inverted arrow with Farrell at the head of the arrow smiling at the All Blacks as they performed this tribal war dance. Looking back at that moment made me realise the importance of that stand-off.

An attempt to intimidate

The Haka is a posture dance performed with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment and is commonly associated with the traditional battle preparations of male warriors going to war.

The battle was won in that very stand-off as the All Blacks tried to intimidate England and they failed spectacularly. Mentally England were stronger on the day and it showed. Tomorrow they have to be mentally stronger again – if they are, they will win.

I came across this article in Word for Today recently and it made me think:

Try to learn something new every day

“One Friday morning an eager young Stanford University student stood before Louis Janin, a well-known mining engineer. He was seeking employment. Janin informed him, ‘All I need right now is a stenographer.’

The young man said eagerly, ‘Fine, I’ll take the job.’ Then he added, ‘But I can’t come back until Tuesday.’ Janin agreed, and the next Tuesday the young man reported for work as scheduled.

Janin asked him, ‘Why is it that you couldn’t come back before Tuesday?’ The young man replied, ‘Because I had to rent a typewriter and learn how to use it.’

The young typist was Herbert Hoover, whose can-do attitude eventually led him through the doors of the White House to become one of America’s presidents.

By taking shortcuts – you risk short-changing your future. Your unwillingness to learn today will leave you unprepared for tomorrow’s opportunities.

No skill you learn will ever be lost. Gleaning knowledge and learning new skills builds confidence and sharpens your mind. Successful people have one thing in common: they never quit learning!”

Wise words

These are very wise words. From all my study on successful people I have yet to come across anyone who doesn’t keep learning. Learning new things keeps the mind active and keeps you up to date with all the changes going on in the world.

Thoughts for the week:

1. What have you learned this week that is new to you?
2. Start by trying to learn something new once a week.
3. Next make a habit of learning something new every day.
4. Observe how this starts to impact your life.

Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and keep Believing!

Warm regards

John

Off the Wall – How to Develop World Class Mental Resilience available HERE
http://www.jdmindcoach.co.uk/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/ (Special offer. Put in code 10POUND when prompted to receive a signed copy for £10 including postage and packing – UK only)