Does what you teach them have the ability to compound over time?
“When you get to the brass tacks, if you work with youth in any capacity it’s far less about ‘what you do’ and far more about how lessons you share with them have the ability to compound over time.
Can they take principles from you with them for the remainder of their days?”
-Ray Zingler
People don’t care how much you know.
People don’t care about your accolades.
People care about one main thing: how you make them feel.
School teacher, sport coach, or guitar instructor, it doesn’t matter.
Sure history, soccer, and C major are all important, but at the end of the day they are vehicles.
They are means to access our youth with (hopefully) something you are passionate about.
And as important as using your passion to fuel your own soul is, your passion is without value if it does not have ability to benefit others.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to be the best in the world at whatever “it” is that we do (if you’re not trying to be the best, then why do it anyway, has always been my thought) but it’s important to know and understand that kids are largely going to care far less about “our thing” than we do.
So this is where the art comes in.
Let’s say you love guitar and they only like it.
The kids and their family’s give you an opportunity to teach them to play.
What if you can increase their mindset with the guitar from “liking it” to “really liking it”?
Wow, what an amazing accomplishment, seriously.
But what if in the process of guiding them to improvement in the craft, you can teach them the value of discipline, commitment, and consistency.
And what if they can come to understand the value of those concepts in and of themselves?
What if they learn the guitar from you, but you equip them with tools that transcend beyond the guitar?
What if they are now applying those principles to their school work, relationships, and future professional endeavors?
That’s the real value.
That is what the kids and their family’s really care about.
See we live in the micro world with day-to-day interactions and I believe it is important to focus on the days, to focus on the moments, to focus on the collective process.
However, I believe it to be essential to have a macro, big picture mindset when working with kids.
They may put the guitar down one day, but did they maintain the vaules it taught them?
That’s the real game.
