Become A Student

Become A Student

The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction

The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction, it also places the ego and ambition in someone else's hands. There is a sort of ego ceiling imposed - one knows that he is not better than the "master" he apprentices under. Not even close. You defer to them. An education can't be "hacked"; there are no shortcuts beside hacking it every single day. If you don't, they drop you.

Downward Direction

    We don't like thinking that someone is batter than us. Or that we have a lot let to learn. We want to be done. We want to be ready. We're busy and overburdened. For this reason, updating your appraisal of your talents in a downward direction is one of the most difficult things to do in life - but it is almost always a component of mastery. The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better. Studious self-assessment is the antidote.

Plus, Minus & Equal

    The mixed martial arts pioneer and multi-title champion Frank Shamrock has a system he trains fighters in that he calls plus, minus, and equal. Each fighter, to become great, he said, needs to have someone better that they can learn from, someone lesser who they can teach, and someone equal that they can challenge themselves against.

I Always stay a student

    The purpose of Shamrock's formula is simple: to get real and continuous feedback about what they know and what they don't know from every angle. Its purges out the ego that puffs us up, the fear that make us doubt ourselves, and any laziness that might make us want to coast. As shamrock observed, "False ideas about yourself destroy you. For me, I always stay a student. That's what martial arts are about, and you have to use that humility as a tool. You put yourself beneath someone you trust." This begins by accepting that others know more than you and that you can benefit from their knowledge, and then seeking them out and knocking down the illusion you have about yourself.

True Student

    A true student is like a sponge. Absorbing what goes on around him, filtering it latching on what he can hold. A student is self-critical and self-motivated, always trying to improve his understanding so that he can move on to the next topic, the next challenge. A real student is also his own teacher an his own critic. There is no room for ego there.