Humility
Lesson #6 in an Eleven-part
series based on Aspire by Kevin Hall
What is humility?
Humility is all about being
teachable and coachable. It is not
the often misrepresented stance of slack shoulders, drooping head, and downcast
expression of a loser. Humility is not
losing at all. It is the opposite. Humility is learning, being teachable, and being
coachable. Humility is ultimately winning.
Thoughts from Kevin: “The origin of “humility” is the Latin word “humus”, meaning soil,
specifically rich, dark, organic soil.
When a seed is planted in fertile soil, it transforms into something far
greater. It is the giant oak awaiting in
the acorn, or the next great idea read in a book by a hungry student.
“Humility produces growth. When we develop our gifts, we in effect
unwrap and unfold them for the benefit of all, including ourselves.”
I love Kevin’s thoughts on the
word “success”. “Success comes from the Latin “succeder” and means to come up through. The middle part of the word, “cede,” is an offshoot of “seed”. When a seed pushes through the dirt, or
humus, into the daylight, it follows a path of success and succession. To come-up-through is to succeed. We plant seeds of success by getting
grounded and rooted in humility.”
In Kevin’s “Afternoon with Arthur”,
Arthur talks about the word “Mastery.” He uses the analogy of a person
learning a skill. At first he is an ‘apprentice’. An apprentice is nothing more than a
“learner.” It comes from the French word
“apprendre,” which means to learn.
When one wished to learn a trade,
he would find a master in his village to teach him the skills necessary for his
chosen vocation. After learning all he
could from the local master, the apprentice would then travel to another
village and become a student of another master teacher, thus the term ‘journeyman’.
As the apprentice gained skill
and a reputation for his craftsmanship, he would eventually become a ‘master’
himself. And then the cycle would start
all over again, with this new master teaching his own apprentice.
Arthur so poignantly points
out: “But
a master never stops learning. That is
the essential ingredient of humility.”
A person of humility is ever
the learner.
A person of humility is ever
the student.
If you study the top achievers in
any field, you will note that the people on top are constant learners.
Earners
are Learners! It’s as simple as that.
Kevin so succinctly puts the crowning touch on our thoughts with
this statement: “We can’t influence until we’ve been influenced, and we can’t change
the world until we are changed. And the
path to being changed is by being humble …by being teachable.”
A master never stops learning.
Of what are you a master?
How is your humility factor?
Let’s state it again: Humility
is all about being teachable and coachable.
Thank you Kevin Hall.
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