What never ceases to amaze me is the wasted potential of people who are specialists in their field, but fail to harness their knowledge to increase their income, and simultaneously greatly enhance the richness in their lives in terms of social relationships.
How? Let me take an example to illustrate.
I have a friend called Pepe. He lives in Málaga in the south of Spain and goes fishing every weekend down at the port. He is the envy of all the fishermen down there. Whilst others are pulling out a fish once every 30 minutes, he maintains a constant stream of catches, many of which he ends up throwing back because he easily fills his quota for his family’s needs after only 10 or 15 minutes!
This man knows something that nobody on the internet will be able to help you with. He knows about fishing gear, the best places to fish, and most importantly, what bait to use at which time of year. In Málaga.
Pepe is very likeable, and is only to pleased to share his knowledge. If you ask him. But people don’t usually ask him… well… you know… they don’t want to bother him.
I have a suggestion for Pepe, and everyone that likes fishing – in Málaga, and in fact, for anybody that knows anything about anything! Pepe should offer to take people fishing with him in exchange for a small ‘tip’ – say 10 euros. He could make it known when he goes fishing and where, and arrange a meeting point. Say two or three people were interested (this author would be!), then he could not only get home with his family and plenty of fish, but a few euros in his pocket that could go a long way to helping with a visit to the local ‘tasca’ (a typical Malagueño bar).
But Pepe is a modest man, who grew up with only a basic education, and has the clear understanding that education was the prerogative of only the ‘educated’ – and more specifically, those that have been trained in teaching.
However, and this is the point I’d like to make, Pepe is wrong. If he stopped to consider it was his father who taught him all he knew about fishing, and that his father had been a plumber, he would realise that the best teachers in the world are those that love what they do, and want to share what they know! What could be a more noble pursuit that that?
If this is the definition of a teacher, what about you? What do you do?
‘No thank you’, I hear you say… as a thousand reasons are given for avoiding having to contemplate the idea, and all your knee jerk reactive arguments come brimming to the surface. ‘Me give a class!’, you say, remembering school days of officially organised education, that by defect place you light years from the profile of a valid teacher.
I listen to the arguments and conclude that you don’t want to meet people that share your interests, or expand your circle of acquaintances, or earn some extra income, or make the world a better place by helping other people gain insight and enjoyment from what you know.
As I write, I can’t think of a single person I know that could not offer a ‘class’ on some subject or other. Everybody is an expert on something.
Well, it’s just an idea. But if you are interested, I will be giving a series of articles on just how easy it is to become a top notch teacher in no time, and transform your life by adding a fabulously rewarding aspect to it that results in a win win situation which will lead you to understand the enormous possibilities that are open to you in expanding on your hobby or interest. Stay tuned.
