Rewarding the Masters

Scott watched me strum away the same six or seven chords I always play…but he saw them differently. After just a few minutes he had come up with my strengths and weaknesses, and what I need to do to improve them. You may not know Scott, but Scott knows guitar.

You probably don’t know guitar like him, but you do know other things. There are certainly subjects that you know so incredibly well, inside and out, about which you could offer expert knowledge to almost anyone. It may be your work, a hobby, a theory, something you grew up with… or maybe a combination of any of these.

Now look around at those close to you. All of them have something like this to offer. Perhaps you won’t benefit directly from their knowledge, but indirectly you both can. And it’s important that you do.

What do I mean? Some people rarely get to speak with confidence about things that really interest them. Even more, it forces _you_ to realize that this person really does have that knowledge.

When I hear Bobby talk about soccer or my sister talk about medicine I know that I’m in the presence of experience and intelligence. I put aside any doubts I may have about that person while I watch them come through in the spot-light.

Or when people come to me and ask me questions about things that I have experience with and I can answer their question, I feel really good about myself. When you’ve spent years on something and you can speak of it with confidence, it makes all that hard-work seem worthwhile.

So, again, if you know that someone is good at something or has a skill, then ask them about it. Even if it seems like a boring topic, being in their presence when they’re in the spotlight will make it all worth it. Give it a try…