My second life lesson in this New Series! is about how to keep your mind sharp and working towards excellence. Whenever I want to do my best work in any capacity of my life, I always look towards people who I believe who are doing my job better than me.
Last night I was at basketball practice, my head coach/club director is one of the brightest minds in Southeastern Wisconsin when it comes to developing players and making a team better. I was talking to him before practice started to get an idea of what he wanted to accomplish. I brought him a drill that I wanted to do and I said something along the lines of “I know you have a myriad of drills to pull from, I just usually use this one to work on entry passes.” Coach looks at me and says, “Listen Kyle, you bring a lot to this program, don’t be afraid to correct something I have the girls do that you want done better. I trust you and your expertise.” With that little bit of confidence, I was able to change my whole outlook on my role within the team. Someone who I consider a role model and mentor gave me inspiration to get my role that much better with. the team!
I’ve talked very candidly about how I am a teacher. I love my job and I want to do it the best I can. One of the many teachers I admire is my fiancé’s friend Kaylee. Kaylee is a complete savant when she’s in front of her kids. She has the perfect blend of Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus and Ron Clark. The kids love her and she’s able to cover the content of the day. For years in my professional experience I have sacrificed the admiration of my students to get content covered. In recent years I have tried to change, but I am still not where I want to be, yet. Having people like Kaylee in my life keeps my mind sharp and working towards my goals as a teacher and as a human.
In summation, finding inspiration in your life keeps you motivated to success. We all have aspects of life we want to excel at and looking to people that we believe do it better keeps the mind ready to adapt and change our game for the better. Don’t be afraid to look towards mentors and role models whom you want to emulate. After all, we all have something to learn from everyone we come in contact with. Be inspired people!
Your First Black Friend 