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The Gift of Teaching

By Clay S. Nelson - President, Consulting Services Network LLC

Do you remember a special teacher in your life? Someone who really made a difference with you?

Ive had many memorable teachers, and Im sure you have, too. One of my clients told me this story about one of his favorite teachers:

I will always remember Ms. Smith, my 4th grade teacher. When Ms. Smith would hand back our tests, she would do it aloud, so everyone in the room knew how everyone else had done. This provided an opportunity for other kids to cheer a student who had struggled in the past, but who had now managed to improve and get a good grade.

School was easy for me, so I always made 100% plus the bonus points. This made some of my classmates jealous, and I felt ostracized. In an effort to feel like I belonged, I thought Id let my classmates know I wasnt infallible, so I purposefully put all wrong answers on our next test and waited for Ms. Smith to hand the results back to us. I figured when she announced my F, Id gain some instant acceptance. But when Ms. Smith got to my paper, instead of announcing my F and handing it back to me, all she said was, See me after class. I got no mileage out of my plan to belong with my peers and on top of that, now I was in trouble!

What awaited me after class wasnt trouble, but rather a priceless gift. Ms. Smith said, I know what you did and why and Im not going to accept this, and Im not going to let you cheat yourself. So now I want you to write on the board 100 times, I will not cheat myself. So I did, and by the time I finished, I understood. More than 4th grade arithmetic and sentence structure, I had just been taught a valuable lesson about life and who I was.

Many years later, I still remember Ms. Smiths lesson for me whenever I notice I am tempted to be less than who I really am in order to please (or to not intimidate) someone else.

You never know who in your life will be your teacher. Lessons come from your children, your friends, your clients, the waitress at the restaurant, and the person who let you go ahead of them in line at the bank.

Are you sitting up and paying attention to these gifts headed your direction?

By the way, what are you teaching others? What are they learning by who you are being? You know, youre actually teaching all the time, simply by who you choose to be and through every action you take and every single word you speak. Are you creating memorable, positive lessons for those around you or are you teaching them how not to be in life?

How about taking on teaching your team today?

You'll find out quickly that nothing has ever been taught unless it was first learned, and nothing has really ever been learned unless its first taught. Yes, the gift of teaching is a two-way streetin the process of teaching, you give the lesson to others, but you also really, really, really get the understanding of the lesson yourselfdown to your toes! And as you give away what you know, it allows you to move on to what you dont know.

What will your team learn from you today? What new discovery will you make in the process?

Clay S. Nelson, the founder of Consulting Services Network LLC, and his team are committed to putting fun, family and financial freedom into everyones business and personallives. With over two decades of experience coaching business leaders in creating life balance, building teams, and writing plans, their programs are designed to alter the culturesof companies and families. They make a powerful and lasting difference with each person they meet, every group they speak with, and with every client they serve.