Reposted from Tim Richardson

Never Stop Learning: Why Coasting Kills Growth

Yesterday, while working with a client in Utah, I had the pleasure of having four of my professional speaking peers in the audience. I also invited another friend—someone who has a keen interest in speaking. While he’s not a professional speaker, he’s seen many presentations and has done quite a bit of speaking himself. All of them were there by my invitation to hear my keynote and provide feedback to help me improve my presentation. I did the same thing last week for a group of local peers while giving a presentation solely for practice. One of the attendees from last week told me afterward how much he appreciated the fact that, after more than 30 years of speaking professionally, I still seek feedback and regularly look for opportunities to improve my message and delivery. He said it would be easy to coast at this point in my career. But I am not about to coast. I’ll keep seeking opportunities to grow as long as I continue to speak. I can learn from peers—and from speakers much younger than I am—and I’m committed to increasing the frequency of opportunities like these.

If you’re even thinking about coasting, this article is for you. In my view, the longer you’ve been doing something professionally, the more you should think about how to do it better. As we age, we tend to become complacent. We coast. We rest on our laurels. We think that what we’ve already learned will be enough to finish strong. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re a veteran salesperson, seek out a relationship with a younger colleague and learn all you can from them. If you work in technology, regularly meet with the 20-somethings in your office to hear their viewpoint on emerging trends. If you’re an executive, consider starting a mastermind or brain trust of young and upcoming leaders in your organization. Learn how they like to be coached, mentored, and led.

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a myth. Yesterday, I learned a lot from debriefing with my peers. And I know this much: I’ve got a lot more growing to do—and so do you. Never stop learning. Never stop growing. Never stop teaching.

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