“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
Why?
Because the teacher doesn’t want to teach people who don’t really want to learn. He or she would be wasting their time.
“The Master said, only one who bursts with eagerness do I instruct; only one who bubbles with excitement, do I enlighten. If I hold up one corner and a man cannot come back with the other three, I do not continue the lesson.” – Epictetus, The Analects of Confucious
Do you want to learn?
Has the teacher showed up for you?
So many opportunities to learn in this network! There is no reason to sit idle. There are teachers in every room you walk into every day. Open your receivers, you’ll learn.
Great post, Larry. I’ve thought about this passage MANY times over the years, and in MANY situations and settings. I often find that, as I believe Jeff alludes to above, just as the master doesn’t invest themselves until the student is ready, the student doesn’t recognize the master until they themselves have reached a readiness to be taught and to be teachable.
Much to understand here for both would-be teachers and seeking students.
Who do you invest in as a teacher, and who do you avail yourself to as a student…?
Good stuff!
Have a Great Day, Larry! 🙂
Larry, this was true for me when someone had given me your CD on Leadership. It sat in my car for a year until I was planning to buy my business. When I was ready to hear the message, I found myself listening to it over and over again, and started keeping journals.
I gave it away to someone I thought could benefit. Wish I could had another copy.
Thanks for ‘appearing’ when I was ready to learn.
I think today’s teachers are much more qualified and likable than the teachers in the 70’s and 80’s. My mom used to say that I got better grades in classes where I liked the teacher and made a connection. Teachers need to connect with students, and today’s teachers do a good job of that (most of the time).