Who Are You Teaching?

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I recently read Ryan Holiday’s new book, “Wisdom Takes Work.”

There’s a beautiful line in it about teachers:

“Crates’s nickname in Athens was ‘the door-opener,’ because that’s what great teachers do: They open doors to worlds and possibilities we didn’t even know existed.”

Think about great teachers, or great coaches, you’ve had in your life.

What did they do that made them great?

For me, I think back to my college baseball days. I had several great coaches during those years. Sure, they “taught” me stuff. They instructed me. They “coached” me.

But what made them great was they believed in me.

They believed in what was inside me. They believed there was more there. They believed I was capable of finding it, even when I didn’t fully believe it.

Their belief was the tool that breached new doors for me.

What great teachers do, though, beyond open doors for us is they give us a precious gift we can pay forward to others.

As we benefit from great teachers, coaches, mentors in our lives, the question then becomes: Who are we teaching? 

Who are we sharing knowledge with? Who are we infusing belief in? Who are we investing some of our time into so that their life may be better?

Presidents establish libraries. Entrepreneurs publish books. Athletes appear at camps and clinics.

Why? To teach. To serve. To give something back.

We all can be–no, are required to be– teachers and leaders to someone.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Feel free to reply and share your thoughts. Thanks for reading, y’all.

Cheers,

Teddy

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