Are you considering paying for coaching or mentoring to develop a new skill or ability?
If yes, know that no matter how good your “teacher” is, YOUR attitude towards what you’re taught is what will ultimately determine how well you learn.
This is important. Think about it for a minute or so. If you wanted to teach someone to do something you already know how to do e.g. drive a car, use a computer etc – imagine how encouraged you would be if everyday that you meet your student he/she shows impressive evidence (via performance) of having mastered most – if not all – of the things you covered the day before!
Imagine if your student even goes a step further on his/her own to learn/attempt things you are yet to teach and comes to you for guidance/insight on how to progress.
Would’nt you LOVE to be a teacher to THAT kind of student? Would’nt you be encouraged to teach more of what you know without fear of it being too much for him/her to cope with?
I would, and I know many other people would too! So, the challenge is for you display your enthusiasm to learn what your teacher is teaching you, and you will win a formidable ally (in your teacher) who will make it a personal mission to see that you achieve the objective you set for yourself.
This was exactly what I succeeded in doing with my French teacher, in 1999, when I enrolled for private coaching classes in his Benin city, Edo state based language school.
He took a personal interest in me, going out of his way to arrange stay for a 3 week period with his family in Douala and Yaoundé in Cameroon.
Yes, my teacher was Cameroonian. Today, he runs an NGO back in Cameroon.
Note that there might be a slight problem here if you have not chosen the language (or skill, subject etc) you really desire to learn.
In order to show continuous enthusiasm for something you do, you must have deep interest (and take delight) in doing it. It’s pretty difficult to feign enthusiasm!
So, check yourself and be honest in your assessment if you find you are not on fire about learning the language, dont even bother to start!!
What I did was aim to exceed my teachers expectation in every way possible.
For instance, when we had a class, I ensured I committed my fullest attention to him for the usually 3 to 4 hour stretch of time we had.
After classes, I would often stay back to listen to other classes plus sometimes I would go with him to meet his fellow teachers in other institutions who would often only speak French when together.
I would take old Cameroonian newspapers given to me by my teacher, and using a French dictionary, would try translating various portions from French to English
Then I would present my efforts to him at a later date. With time, this helped build my vocabulary.
My attitude made him search for additional books, literature and videotapes from many sources (including some produced by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs!) for me to use.
Now, if I had not shown such dedicated interest, I doubt that he would have bothered to go to all that trouble in the first place!
Final Words: No Matter How Good or Bad Your “Teacher” Is, Your Learning Success or Failure Will Ultimately Depend on You
I say this based on over 3 decades of personal experience and achievement, as an adult learning from all sorts of people – including one expert I paid, who was less than forthcoming in delivering what was agreed.
Today, you are reading this article on my flagship blog that I built using self-taught skills, because I used my passion to drive myself to learn what I needed, in spite of him!
Many adults today make the mistake of assuming when they pay a coach or mentor, s/he will then magically transform them into geniuses, and champions.
But no. It never works that way.
In reality, you will have to work hard to learn, under the guidance of your coach or mentor.
And – unless you hire an incompetent coach – how long it takes to succeed, will very often depend on how hard you’re prepared to push yourself.
And THAT is a secret unknown to many, whi2h makes them fail, and then blame the coach?