Welcome to 60 Seconds of Motivational Mojo.  This is where I ponder my observations and give the only advice that I think is worth it; the kind of advice that I aspire to follow.  So today’s Topic:  Think, Learn, Grow and Know.

Ever watched someone dunk a basketball?  I have seen it many times.  Usually when someone learns to dunk a basketball they started when they were young, playing on courts with baskets at heights lower than in the Professional leagues.  They run, they jump and they shoot.  They practice, they think about dunking, they learn the game, they study the game and they grow over time.  The lucky ones who grow tall enough and the harder working ones who continue to jump and jump and jump until they develop the power, the ones who never give up; those are the ones who one day dunk that basketball.  They think about it, they learn about it and they grow.  I have never dunked a basketball, it was never something I spent a lot of time trying to do; but those who have know first-hand what it feels like to dunk a basketball.

So maybe you do not want to dunk a basketball, maybe you have a different dream.  The first step is to think about it.  But I warn you thinking about it is only the first step.  The next step is to learn about it.  This is a very important step.  Sometimes people think they know something and they never double-check the facts.  Once you think about something it is important to learn more aboout it.  Find out the facts.

I always dreamed about being a musician.  I would dream about it and think about what I would do if I bought a Drum Set, or a Guitar or a Bass Guitar.  I saved my money and I bought a Bass Guitar.  I learned to play on a Small Scale Bass.  I learned and as I got better I played with Bands where we would practice.  We could not play all that well, we had to grow as musicians to get better.  We had to think about what we wanted to play, we had to learn the songs separately and then grow together to be able to play the song as a band.  Some songs worked and some didn’t.  We had to think, learn and grow before we knew what worked.  To really know something you need to think about it, learn about it, and then grow into it.

Lots of kids have dreamed about being Professional Athletes and Professional Entertainers but not everyone knows what it feels like to make it to the big time.  I have never made it to the big time, but I have done pretty well on the smaller scale.  Once you have played on stage with a few different bands, you know more than the people who never got out and tried.  Dreaming about it and thinking about it are not enough.  You have to learn about it and grow into to it to really know something.

I am here to tell you that your dreams are possible.  I am here to tell you to take these four simple steps.  Think, Learn, Grow and Know.  To really know something, these are the steps you have to take.  I have been blogging for three years now.  Three years of learning by doing.  Three years of thinking about what I wanted to type and post.  Three years of losing posts that I thought about but did not get a chance to type in because I was busy doing other things.  I learned that sometimes you just have to take notes and make a list of possible blog titles.  I learned you have to make the time to type in what you are thinking about.  I learned that I had to grow as an Author.  So I am learning and growing each time that I post to my blog.  I think about it, learn about it, and I have grown into blogging; so now I know what it takes to post on a regular basis.  I still have more to learn, I still have more growing to do; but to truly know something, I must put my time in.

Think, Learn, Grow and Know.  So I have spent a great deal of my life either making music or DJ’ing.  I have spent a lot of my life in front of a crowd.  I have also spent a lot of time working out, learning and growing.  We are at our best when we think, we learn and we allow ourselves to grow into what we want to become.  We have to grow to truly know the things we want to learn.  I have learned that to continue to grow there are things I need to teach others.  I have heard the famous quote, if you can’t explain something in simple terms you don’t know it well enough.  I have learned that teaching, coaching and mentoring help your knowledge grow deeper.  Teaching others means you have to relate to people on many different levels.  People learn in different ways.  The best way to teach is to listen to the questions and feedback that your students are giving you.  The best way to coach and mentor is to set a good example, demonstrate and then watch and listen to those you are coaching.  The way to teach is to keep learning.  The best way to teach is to keep growing.

Think, Learn, Grow and Know!  I have watched many people dunk a basketball.  I have thought about it and I have learned about it, but I have never done it.  I do not know what it is like to dunk a basketball.  I have played many different instruments and many styles of music.  I had to think about them, learn about each instrument and style of music; and I had to grow as a musician.  To really know what it took to play them and to know what it feels like to play onstage in front of people; I had to think and learn and grow.

I think this is inside all of us.  I believe that all of us can learn and grow.  This is why I am learning to be a better leader, coach and mentor.  I can learn and grow by helping others learn and grow.  I can know more by helping others know more.  That is what leadership is all about, serving others so they can know for themselves.  Think, Learn, Grow and Know!