Be Hungry to Learn

The man in the restroom was drying his hands as I came through the door. “Harold, what did you think of that speaker we just heard?” His reply was, “he was incredibly fascinating. I can’t believe how much I learned from him.  I made notes.  He gave me several ideas that I want to try.”  He had the biggest grin on his face and a spring in his step as he hurried away to implement his newfound knowledge.

In order to understand this story, you need to know a bit about Harold.  At that time, he was 77 years old. Harold came from a small town in Indiana, the youngest child in a large family on a hog farm.  The story is quite long, but from starting with nothing, he built a business that at its height had nearly 5,000 employees and $1 billion in sales.  His livestock marketing model changes the face of agriculture in America.  He founded a commodities brokerage, a bank, and an insurance company.  He was first with new ideas, and often referred to as the “largest, biggest, most successful” at whatever he did.

While I was the director of an entrepreneurship academy, Harold and 20 other business owners were my speaking contingent for my aspiring entrepreneurs.  The teachers of real experience were sharing their stories with the hungry, and they ate it up.  Harold was one of their favorites.

Now, back to the restroom.  Only a couple of years before he died of cancer, this incredibly successful man was still learning and relishing in the discovery of new ideas.  I thought, if this guy, who had accomplished so much in life, was still this enthused about learning, who am I to think I know most of what I need.  His appetite to learn was insatiable.  Yours should be too.