Insider Tips from the Pocket Mentor: Be a Learner, Part 2

Vince Reardon, author of The Pocket Mentor: Insider Tips from America’s Most Successful People, is back to share more great advice. Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned the importance of being yourself, having compassion, and being for others. This week, Vince explores the third most talked about piece of advice in his book: be a learner.

Vince says, “being a learner is really important to the people in the book. They want to learn something new about the world and share it with others. They belive that life is mystery to be explored.”

He gives the example of Temple Grandin. She is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and has an interesting history. She was diagnosed at two with autism. She didn’t start speaking until she was four. Although she had teachers and mentors who were understanding, her educational experience through high school was full of daily ridicule where she was laughed at and made fun of.

Temple Grandin got the last laugh. There was an award winning film made of her in 2010. She was also named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. – Reardon

Grandin is specials because she exemplifies being a learner. She started as a freelance writer with an interest in cattle and ranching. She got a press card due to her work and started going to conferences where she became more and more knowledgeable of the cattle industry.

She’s also a great artist and started to show her drawings of animal structures (corrals and enclosures) which got the attention of people in the industry. She started getting hired by them so she went to Arizona State University and got a degree in animal science and then a doctorate from the University of Illinois. She combines her interest in animal science and her interest in constructing structures for animals that are much more humane that the current structures. She is also a sought after expert in autism.

Grandin is what Vince calls an “Extreme Expert.” She has extreme expertise in not just one, but three areas: animal science, construction for animals, and autism. Vince’s advice is to become an extreme expert like Grandin, so you’ll become sought after too.

Stay tuned to Insider Tips from the Pocket Mentor each week to hear more about varying topics from the variety of people in Vince’s book, The Pocket Mentor: Insider Tips from America’s Most Successful People.