Learning has never been so popular and accessible.

Thanks to the internet, we all have free access to an unlimited amount of podcasts, courses, and books.

We can listen to the greatest minds of our times for hours, and many of them inspire us to learn more, read more.

Though, it seems that the abundance of information made us forget about the oldest educational “resource” in history: Our Tribe.

I wish I learned more from my grandpa

A few weeks ago I was thinking of my grandpa and what a great man he was. One of the kindest and most knowledgeable people I ever met.

If I could, I’d love to hear him talk about his views, habits, learning methods and life philosophy.

When I interacted with him as a kid, I had no interest in such things.

I missed out on amazing learning opportunities and on a chance to connect with him at a deeper level.

Oh man, what would I give to be able to have a conversation with him now.

As I was thinking about my grandpa I realized:

Each person in our lives has something important to teach

As a student of [[Buddhism]] and [[Stoicism]], I sometimes remind myself that [[none of us is going to live forever]]. Clearly, that includes myself, [[my Family]], and my closest friends.

Stoics’ Memento Mori (reminder of death) can help us appreciate our lives and those of our loved ones more.

But it can also remind us that we should take every chance we have to connect with them and learn what they have to teach us before it’s too late.

I don’t want to experience the same regret that I felt from missing the opportunity to learn from my grandfather.

Everyone in my life has a quality I admire in them, or has done something impressive. Whether it’s humor, story telling, parenting, or dealing with depression, each person has something important to teach.

Yet, I often spend time with my family lost in chitchat.

Actively deciding to learn from them creates a great occasion to engage in a deeper conversation. As a side effect, it makes my loved ones feel admired and allows me to learn.

My experience learning from my tribe

Upon this realization, I got very excited. I immediately made a list of the most important people in my life, their strengths and the things I wanted to learn from each.

I almost saw myself as [[Tim Ferris]] preparing questions for a podcast interview.

That way, the next time I’d interact with any of the people on my list (in the right situation), I could compliment them and start asking questions.

Results

I did this a few times already.

It definitely feels awkward at first. Most people are not used to being asked directly to brag about their strengths.

But after a few moments of confusion, followed by a few minutes of humble denial, I found that people love talking about how they developed a certain skill, overcame an obstacle, or about their attitudes and world views.

They felt appreciated and enjoyed the conversation tremendously.

I was able to connect with my family members at a much deeper level than before, and learn while doing it.

What about you? Who can you learn from? Are you leaving learning opportunities on the table?