“Pride will keep us from teachability and will keep us from getting where we want to go.” ~ Matt Keller in The Key to Everything: Unlocking the Secret to Why Some People Succeed and Others Don’t
I’ve seen a lot of buzz about leadership blogs and books lately. I like this. I think we need solid leaders in our world, in our country, and in our homes. The Key to Everything: Unlocking the Secret to Why Some People Succeed and Others Don’t puts a spin on leadership that I really felt speak to me.
For a long time, mediocrity was acceptable to me. “Getting by” seemed good enough in many aspects of life. But that’s not acceptable, is it? It sure shouldn’t be.Matt talks about pride and teachability. Are we teachable? Do we allow our pride to get in the way of being teachable and think we know better than everyone else?
This book reached out to me in two specific areas and dealt with me gently; the areas of fear and insecurity. Those are two things I’ve struggled with for sometime.
Matt Keller encourages us to push past our fears that consistently hold us back and he encourages us to “sail toward your potential” and not to be “anchored in the harbor by your fear.” Imagine that, being too afraid to set sail and pursue your dreams and goals so you miss a veritable ocean of opportunity! I know fear holds me back a lot. I fear failure. I fear even trying sometimes! But I’m making great efforts to really embrace the possibilities and set those fears and insecurities aside…far off to the side.
“Desire to Learn x Willingness to Change = Our Level of Teachability ”
We also have insecurity and pain roadblocks and refusing to deal with these just holds us back from achieving our full potential.
But to learn and grow, we need to be open to that and willing to stretch ourselves. We need to prioritize and not get caught in the trap of being too busy. We can’t “trust too much in our natural abilities and stop learning from others.” Everyone has value. Everyone has something to offer. Everyone can teach us at least one thing.
I especially liked the section where Matt dealt with one threat to our success: when we know about something, we think we’re the authority so we fail to allow anyone to teach us anything about it. Pretty profound, isn’t it?
Matt teaches us that we need to be flexible, open and resist being stubborn. We have to be open to “feedback.” This especially rang true to me as a writer. I need to be open to feedback (constructive criticism) in my writing and in dealing with an editor. Sometimes it’s painful but invariably, it teaches us and helps us grow.
This book is full of meaningful points that encourage and yes, teach us. This is a really important leadership tool appropriate for anyone who wants to succeed.
And does anyone not want to succeed?
You can find “The Key to Everything” here on Amazon and you can also read more about Matt at his own site, on Facebook and Twitter.
