2 weeks ago today my father in law passed away at the age of 84. He had been in failing health for the past couple of years but the 80 or so years before that he lived every day striving to learn more.
My wife and I have been married for nearly 40 years, and in that 40 years I learned some valuable lessons from my father in law. Dale quit school at the age of 17 and enlisted in the service. Although he didn’t finish high school or have a college education he was one of the smartest people I have ever met.
When he was in his early 40’s Dale decided he wanted to learn to play golf. He bought some old clubs and taught himself to play golf. He didn’t just teach himself to play golf he taught himself to play scratch golf. For non golfers that means he was in the top 1% of amateurs playing golf. But the story is even better, Dale had a challenge hitting the ball correctly holding the club the traditional way so he taught himself to play cross-handed. You see when he met a challenge Dale always found a solution. He never gave up on the goal.
At the age of 70 after managing a fleet of trucks for years and driving truck until his retirement Dale decided to learn all he could about computers. Dale didn’t just learn how to operate a computer so he could get his email, Dale learned how every part and component in a computer worked. He learned how the software and operating systems worked. He learned how to tear them apart and repair them and he continued to work on people’s computers until he became too ill to do so at the age of 80.
So many times, we limit ourselves to learning new things because we think we are too old or not smart enough or that we don’t have the time. Dale never stopped learning and never believed he was to old to learn something new. I learned from my father-in-law that the only limitations we have on learning and change is the limitations we put on ourselves. We have the ability to continue to grow and change and become so much more than we are today. We can become what we dream of if we believe in ourselves and our ability to learn.
Thank you Dale for teaching me many lessons over the past 40 years but the most important one is that I have the ability to continue to grow and become a better leader, a better father, a better husband, a better coach, and a better person.
What are you putting off learning? Why are you not going after your goals today?You are never too old to Begin to Win. Do it now.
Jeff Raver is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Coach and Trainer and the creator of The Sales Simulator Formula and has been training and coaching Top Performers for over 25 years.
If you are ready to develop a Top Performer Sales Process and/or Leadership Team, you may contact Jeff at Jeff.Raver@BeginToWinNow.com for a FREE Consultation.