I’ve talked about this before in this column, but it bears repeating.  A recent experience reminded me that wisdom may be forgotten, but it is timeless and reminders are never wasted. While I chose to not share the wisdom exactly as my dad often shared it with me, I saw a situation as prime for his message.

The challenge at hand involved the need to share a lot of digital files with a group of people in an ongoing basis. Sharing documents via email among several people get’s cumbersome quickly, and leads to miscommunication as well as distraction from shared goals. One of the team members was going to create a shared folder from which everyone could access whatever common files they needed to improve their work and assure, as best as possible, that everyone was working from the same iteration of the plans. Some welcomed the effort but several balked.  I can speculate on their specific reasons, but the hurdle seemed to relate to learning something new:  a new approach to sharing documents, a new way of functioning as a team, a new process added to the group’s methods.  That is when my dad’s message echoed in my ears, but never came out of my mouth. I found a different approach.

Whenever I faced something new or a challenge that I had not faced before, be it small or monumental, dad would smile in a unique combination of support and wryness, and say “You ain’t gonna learn any younger.”

There are many ways to encourage. Dad’s way stuck with me for a lifetime.  No matter the situation, it pays to encourage others that “ignorance” is merely an opportunity to learn something new, and this day, this moment is the soonest you’ll be able to learn it. Whether it is a new recipe or dance step, mathematical process or automotive repair…no matter the topic, now is as soon as you can begin learning.  Learn now, grow now.