Have you ever seen someone working on a project and thought, “Wow, that person really could use some help. If he or she would only seek out a professional and get some help, they wouldn’t be struggling.”
I think that we have all been in a situation where we have noticed that someone wasn’t meeting their maximum potential. Good thing that it hasn’t ever been us in that situation before! LOL, I’m kidding. But seriously, we all need help with our weaknesses. I think that the hardest part is recognizing what are weaknesses are. It doesn’t matter if it’s our careers, hobbies, family, or just our attitude in general.
One of my mentors, Ken Bray, CEO of Equibrand, has a saying: “The greatest talent anyone can have is to be able to recognize others’ talents.” He runs a big corporation, but his advice applies to each and every one of us.
It doesn’t matter which part of our lives we need to work on, there is someone out there who is not only good at it, but most likely amazing at it. Why not search out those people and get help from them? Having their insight could make a positive difference in your life.
Intentionally learning from others and growing as a person is something that we can do our entire life. With today’s easy access to information, if you’re not growing every day you are falling behind because someone out there is passing you by.
The tricky part of easily-accessed information is that you can’t correct yourself. You’ll need to be able to be personally critiqued by a professional. Otherwise, you will assume you’re doing something correctly and never actually be doing it the way you imagined.
I was awakened a few years ago to the life-changing benefits of getting other professional opinions before making major decisions. Now I can’t imagine having to make important decisions alone. Mainly because just about every time, I will have a strong opinion on the matter and will believe that it is absolutely the right way to go. The only thing stopping me for pushing ahead with my own ideas is the fact that nearly every single time, one of my advisors throws in a crucial piece of advice that I had overlooked! Often those little details can change the whole deal!
The most recent was last week, when we had a shoeing emergency on a Sunday. A very nice reined cow horse became acutely lame three days before a big show. She had never been lame before and just four weeks into a shoeing cycle. The vet called me and told me he believed it was in the left hind foot, and for me to do whatever I thought best. It’s a tricky deal working on a lame performance horse right before a show! You not only have to get them sound, but you must keep the shoeing package functional to where they can still compete at a high level!
I tested, trimmed and assessed the horse, trying to make a plan. I was pretty confident on what I wanted to do, but from past history, I knew I should get some input on my plan. So I called two great farriers, Grant Moon and Danny Anderson. Grant (who is one of the best farriers of all time in my opinion) advises me to tweak the therapeutic part, but ultimately likes the plan. Danny (who is the king of sliders) tells me I need make some changes to make sure the horse can stop in the reining portion of the reined cow horse show. Everything comes together great, and the horse is completely sound in three days before showtime and places in the first round! (At present, the show is still in progress.)
Add that to the list of times my friends saved me from myself and made me look good. This an example from my career, but the same goes for every aspect in my life. Whatever the major decision that comes up, I’m sure to bounce it off of several others to keep myself on track. I am so very thankful and lucky in life to have such knowledgeable people who I can call on. It’s nothing that I take for granted and every time someone helps me, I do my best however I can to return the favor!
Here’s to the people in our lives that keep us on track and aren’t afraid to tell us when we’re headed off course!
God Bless America
This article first appeared at Mustad.com
