My Life Lesson from a 12 year old Skateboarder
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Life lessons can come in any shape, any size, any place and any time. I often heard the phrase “we learn something new everyday”
I think it’s probably more accurate to say we learn something new everyday if we’re open to learning.
You see, learning is happening everywhere and all around us.
In every moment we can learn something new, whether it’s about ourselves, about others, or about the environment we find ourselves in.
Some lessons are blatantly obvious and some take time to reveal themselves, but regardless of the lesson, learning is a lifelong journey.
Einstein summed it up like this: Once you stop learning, you start dying.
I remember quite vividly a lesson I was taught when observing a couple of young kids at the local skate park.
A few years ago I took my kids down to the local playground. On one side of the field was the playground and on the other side was a skate park. So I take my eager son over to watch some of the local kids ride their skateboards around.
There were two boys in particular that caught my attention. I later learned their names were Jess and Shaun, they couldn’t have been more than 12 yrs old. They were standing at the edge of the skatebowl and Shaun was teaching Jess how to “roll in” to the bowl.
So Shauns giving instructions and demonstrating, “Knees bent. When your front wheel goes over the edge lean forward and your board will follow”
With some hesistation Jess starts on his board toward the edge and just before he gets to the point of no return . . . he stops and says “Can’t do it”
So with a little encouragement and reinforcing of instructions from Shaun, Jess tries again. . . but, like the previous attempt he stops right before the edge.
This continued 2 or 3 more times but with the same result. Jess not quite willing to take himself over the edge.
By this time Shauns become somewhat frustrated and said something that blew me away, he says “Bro, you’ve gotta commit to it all the way”
I was dumbfounded at his remark for the fact that, here’s me at twenty something years old (at the time) being taught a key success principle by a 12 year old skateboarder. Perhaps unknowingly (but hopefully not), Shaun had discovered one of lifes key principles for success. . . Committing to it all the way
It’s a lesson I’ll never forget, that to have the outcome you desire you have to commit to it all the way until it comes to pass. What it also taught me was the importance of always remaining teachable ’cause you never know where your next important lesson might come from.