What a refreshing meeting I had the other day with a young salesman just starting out. Instead of the usual over-confidence and conviction that he already knew everything, and there was nothing he could possibly learn from someone like me, he listened intently, asked questions, and above all took notes. At the end he was very appreciative of what he had learned, and hoped that we could do more training in the future. With this sort of attitude, he will go far.

Of course the older we get, the more knowledge we accumulate, and the more we think we therefore know everything. However, as soon as we make the assumption that we know the answer to something, then we stop listening to other’s advice, and stop looking for possible better ideas. This is a very unwise place to be, because things are constantly changing, and something which used to work and be entirely appropriate may well no longer be the best solution.

So are you someone who knows it all, or are you open to further and continued learning? Sometimes we may need to swallow our pride, and realise that the world and business generally are dynamic, and that we constantly need to learn from others to keep abreast of the latest developments.

How often do you read a book? How often do you go to a seminar or workshop? How often do you ask for advice from your peers? Many people will perhaps cite lack of time as a reason for not developing their own knowledge, but I could argue that it is time well spent. Like a business, if you are not growing you are dying, so why not plan to expand your knowledge on a regular basis, and keep ahead or at least abreast of the latest business developments.

When I was a lot younger I used to imagine scenarios whereby I was living the life of Riley, as a wealthy and successful businessman. I’m not quite sure how I had expected to reach this level, but I just imagined things would happen to allow these daydreams to come to fruition. Over the years I began to understand that things generally do not just fall into your lap, you have to work for them, and that there are seldom any shortcuts.

Of course I am not the only one who hoped to find the way to riches with as little effort as possible. In fact it seems that more and more people nowadays expect things to be given to them without having to work for it. I recently met a charming person in their twenties with masses of great ideas, and full of the enthusiasm of a young entrepreneur. Unfortunately despite all the energy, everything is still in his head, with a vague hope that someone would want to invest in one or more of his ideas. After talking this through with him it became evident to both of us that whilst he was bursting with money making plans, he simply wanted someone to pay him for them, and really for them to do all the work to make them happen. Once I had brought him down to earth a little, he suddenly realised that all chat and no action was unlikely to get him what he wanted in life, and that he needed to put his money where his mouth is.

It is not just the younger generation who think they can get something for nothing. I often meet business owners sitting on their backsides waiting for a golden goose to appear. Funnily enough it hasn’t happened yet, and unless you are prepared to work for it, it probably never will.