I have been involved with learning on an active basis for fifty years  I say active as directly accountable for the learning process of others.  Simply said, œI am a coach.

For 25 years I coached the game of basketball.  I coached at all the levels the game is played.  For more on my history, visit www.toddcoaching.com.

We are currently in the middle of the information age.  We have a myriad of ways to get and sources to call on to get the latest information, often in real-time.  Sometimes I wonder if this is a good thing.

How much knowledge/information a person has is sometimes interesting to me, and, that interest is followed by a question.  The question is, œHow much of that information does that person actually use?  If we dont use it (and no one can use all that is available) it becomes trivia.  I am not saying this is bad or good, just identifying what happens.  It is a little like the boxes you have in the garage of stuff that you just cant throw away.  You know, the ones you havent opened in years.

I would never care to tell anyone how to run their life.  If you tell me how you want your life to look and that you are committed to achieving that,  we can do some business.

The problem isnt what we know but our unwillingness to practice.  We attend a seminar and are inspired by the speaker and all the great new stuff we learned.  Then we go back to work and attempt to put it all into practice. (You were really inspired that day).  What happens then?

Here is what I see happens;  the universe around you doesnt co-operate.  You have trained the people around you to relate to you in a particular way.  They are expecting you to be the œsame old you.  You may persist for a short time, then you will slide back to your old ways, even when they arent working so well.

The good news is you wont slide back all the way.  So you did grow a little.  It is what makes our evolution as human beings  take generations.  We create a breakthrough and then we forget the most critical element”PRACTICE.

Most basketball coaches start each season practicing the same fundamentals that their players coaches had them practice in the sixth grade.  Pass, dribble and shoot. The ability to repeat action and do it well is one level of accomplishment.

To have a foundation so fundamentally solid that you dont have to think it, it just is.  A whole other level of accomplishment that allows you to create whats next.  Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.  Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.  They know what I am talking about even if they couldnt tell you about it.

You can do this too.  But, first you have to give up that old conversation in your head.  You know the one that says I have heard this already, this is boring.  Or, stop kidding yourself that you really want to learn and are much more interested in being entertained than actually learning.

As I said before,, I have coached for 50 years.  Does that make me wise or œold news.  I know it could be either.  Rather than a flip decision about what anyone has to offer, fully commit to practice what you have learned.  Get out of the stands (judgment) and on the court (practice).

All new information is not going to be useful except, maybe, for your evening of œTrivial Pursuit.  When you do get something you are excited about, give yourself a chance to grow.  Practice, practice, practice.