By Virginia Mburu
Mwakazi the Passionate Entrepreneur and owner of Makao Interiors Ltd continues
to pick a number of lessons as he progresses in his entrepreneurial journey.
He notes that he is taking a bit too long in practicing some
lessons learned and thus costing him a few contracts. He shares his
predicament with his wife Pendo as they drive to work one morning. Pendo
comments that he should pick some lessons from One King
Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.
On closer scrutiny, he comes up with 7 lessons towards
optimizing learning as under;
Lesson 1....Be clear on what new skill/lesson is
to be learned
Verse 18“‘The
decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that
the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth
and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.”
It is imperative that we learn new skills to take our
businesses to greater heights and at times we need new skills to
solve certain problems. The new skills may be personal or business
related.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a personal lesson to learn- that he
was reigning over a mighty kingdom not because of his power but because he had
been raised by God.
What new skill do you need to learn? Is it in
communications, sales, goal setting, business planning, patience, negotiation
etc.? Sometimes the skill is pretty obvious but at times you may need to
be humble enough, take a step back and ask those who work with you or
those close to you.
Should he have asked, King Nebuchadnezzar maybe he would
have known that he was abusing his position! As a consequence, he
now had an unusual problem... he had a dream, a vision that he could not
understand!
Lesson 2.....Learn from the best and from
several sources
Verse 7-8 “When
the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the
dream, but they could not interpret it for me. Finally,
Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream....”
Nebuchadnezzar consulted the local experts- the best there was
to interpret his dream. When they could not assist him, he extended his reach
and Daniel came into the picture.
What about learning from experts in the needed skill and
from those who have succeeded where you want to succeed? When learning, seek
out the best experts, written, audio or visual material in the area under
study.
Lesson 3.....Get ready for the lesson
Verse 18 “This
is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what
it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But
you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Whether you plan to take a one to one, or group lesson or
you will study written content, you better do some your homework. Be clear on
what you want, questions to ask, clarifications needed etc.
Do you need additional materials, books, stationery etc.?
What is your state of mind? Are you ready to soak in the information learned?
How should you dress (you surely cannot take a swimming lesson in your office
suit)?
How will you behave? How will you communicate (language,
phrases to emphasize etc.)? King Nebuchadnezzar knew exactly what he
wanted- his dream interpreted and just the right words to get Daniel to saying
yes!
Lesson 4.....Be teachable...Be a good student
Verse 19 “Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was
greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said,
“Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”
Listen, Listen, Listen- To what your teacher be it in person
or from learning material has to say. You are here to learn- stop trying to
impress the expert. Ask the questions you had prepared plus others that
crop up during your study to clarify issues or introduce a new
angle.
Ask for examples related to your current scenario. Find out
what works and what does not. Listen to what U.S. Admiral Hyman Rickover has to
say about mistakes and probe to find out what mistakes you can avoid. He says
that, ‘You have to learn from the mistakes of others; you won’t live
long enough to make them all yourself”.
Get proposals on what action needs to be taken, WHY ...and
the consequences of taking or not taking action. Be ready to receive the not so
good information about the scenario you are facing and be observant enough to
note critical and meaningful changes in body language (yours and your
teacher's).
King Nebuchadnezzar was eager to listen to the
interpretation of his dream and even observed Daniel’s reluctance to deliver
the dream’s interpretation.
Lesson 5..... Assimilate the lessons
Verse 27-29 “Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to
accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your
wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity
will continue. All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Twelve months later......”
We internalize and work ideas into our minds in different
ways. All the same, we best learn when we write. Some of us summarise, others
draw flowcharts, graphs, images etc.
Review your notes to identify learning gaps and determine
whether you need for further questioning/ research/ feedback from whoever is
teaching you or from other audio/visual material.
You may even sleep over the matter as you let your brain
digest the information without much effort from your conscious self.
Did King Nebuchadnezzar assimilate the information he
received from Daniel? Not from what we read in the above verses despite the
grievous consequences prophesied to his person and kingdom!
Lesson 6....Test and Practice what you learned
ABC... Always Be Testing. Before you go for the long haul,
test the ideas you have formulated on a small scale. By doing so, you
will avoid expensive personal, financial, social etc. mistakes.
Test that new product, market, process, policy etc.
Many a times, we are too proud to take advice or we believe
too much in our abilities, or we disregard whoever is dishing the advice, or we
are not willing to change, or we are too preoccupied with our
position.......Whatever.
We will always present reasons or is it excuses as to why we
continue practicing the old habits despite the new lessons learned.
King Nebuchadnezzar was building his empire by exploiting
and taking advantage of the poor. He was the king and could do as he wished.
And this he did until twelve months later.....
Stop procrastinating executing the new lessons
learned....Take immediate action as there is always a ‘sell-by-date’.
The consequences of King Nebuchadnezzar’s inaction caught up
with him a year later as we see in verse 33 for “Immediately what had
been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people
and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until
his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a
bird”.
He was in this condition for seven good years!
Lesson 7.....Document and Share what you have
learned
Verse1 ,
“King Nebuchadnezzar
To the nations and peoples of every language,
who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly!”
After the seven years in the wild, King Nebuchadnezzar had
learned his lesson and we see him voicing it in verse 37 – “Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because
everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in
pride he is able to humble”. And his sanity, honour, splendor
and kingdom were restored. We are told he became greater than before!
He had learned a great lesson that had to be spread to the
nations and peoples of every language on earth via a correspondence that
narrates his experience!
How do you document what you have learned? How can you share
the lessons - a meeting, a correspondence, a book, an article online or
offline, a classroom, a one to one, etc.?
Jim Rohn reckons that "Whatever is valuable to
you, you must Study, Practice & Teach". Is the lesson valuable?
Over to you Passionate Entrepreneur
- How do you ensure you optimize your learning?
- What about sharing the lesson learned here with the nations and peoples on earth?
Share with your experiences, suggestions or questions in the
comments section below and help another Passionate Entrepreneur.
Whatever you do, make sure it results in less work, more
money and positive impact.
Update
Virginia Mburu
Passionate Entrepreneurs Coach
Virginia empowers and motivates Passionate Entrepreneurs to
realize their purpose and pursue it. She then assists the entrepreneurs to
clarify, prioritise and focus on management and marketing strategies and action
plans that will get them to work less, make more money and positively impact
within one year. Access some of her gifts- absolutely free lessons on
www.biasharacoach.blogspot.co.ke
