What would you pay for a tennis lesson from Roger Federer? How about investing advice from Charlie Munger?
A lot, I bet.
Why?
Be honest. Are you paying for the selfie? Or do you really think their input could change your course?
If your answer was the latter… it’s likely you think you know more about learning and performance than you do.
This is easy to check. Write out why you think instruction from a great would be worth what you’re willing to pay for it.
If you wrote something like… because they know more than anyone else in their field, you are experiencing the illusion of explanatory depth.
Don’t worry… we all do it.
If excellence boiled down to buying a few tips from an oracle, we’d churn out top performers so routinely that being a top performer wouldn’t mean anything.
Knowledge of something is a lot different than knowledge in something.
Also, being really good doesn’t mean that a person knows how they got so good. Which means that “being good” is a poor indicator being able to help someone else get good.
Here’s an example: a good friend of mine was the worlds best tennis player in the 80’s. He beat Jimmy Connors every time they played. (I think he’s the only person who can make that claim.)
If my friend told me how exactly how he beat Connors… does that mean I can beat him too?
No. All I’ve learned is how my friend did it. Probably. (You’ll be interested to know that Jimmy has a different take on why he lost those matches. But perspective is a subject for a different day.)
That reminds me, I should make my point before I get distracted. It’s this: success is non-transferable.
I know… you aren’t talking about crossing swords with a great like Connors. You just want to hit the ball better. For sure Fed can do that for you with one arm tied behind his back, right? (And that’s why one lesson with him is worth five hundred from a schlub like me, right?)
Maybe. If there was a “right” way to hit the ball. But… there isn’t.
(Nietzsche was far from being the first to make this observation)
Tennis “experts” said Borg and Connors and McEnroe didn’t hit the ball “right”.
Those 3 share 26 grand slam titles. (I wish I could have figured out how to hit the ball as not right as those guys.)
The mighty Fed’s sense of the game emerges from his unique skill stack. (Every players does) And this is a set of skills that you do not have.
Imagine two climbers studying a rock face. One is tall. With long arms and legs. The other is shorter… and bolder. Each will see different possibilities. Whatever route another prescribes for them won’t be a fit.
What we’re really talking about is art: a personal expression of Truth from a unique vantage point. Art can’t be taught… or copied.
If you use Fed’s or Mungers answers… you will fail. In fact, if Federer or Munger or any great went back to their beginning, and tried to recreate their success by retracing their own footsteps… they would fail.
Following is the easiest way to get lost.
“A teacher is not a giver of truth. He guides… points the way to truth that each student must find for himself.” Bruce Lee said that.
Most people don’t get this. It’s why they look to others for answers. (Also, I think there are many who think they can pay others to do the heavy lifting for them.)
And that is why 99.999% coaching amounts to nothing more than selling people’s dreams back to them… at a profit.
The best (most honest) guidance any great can give you is this: if you see a clear path before you… it’s not yours. Your life has never been lived before. You have to find your own way.
But that’s probably not what you were willing to pay so much to pay the oracle to hear.
This whole post is probably something you didn’t want to hear. Sorry. (At least it was free.)
So… back to my main point, when you read an instructors bio and it’s all about how good they are (or were), they probably don’t have much to offer you, except a bunch of old stories and some answers… that aren’t yours.
If that’s what you’re looking for, you now have an excellent strategy for finding it. (Hey, what do you know, this wasn’t a total waste of time.)
But if you want to see what you can do… how good you can be, then you’re not looking for answers. You’re looking for good questions.
I’m hoping I asked one here.
p.s. If you liked this post, please share it with your friends. For some reason it makes me happy when people do that.
p.s. 2. I wrote a book about tennis. A few famous coaches said it was the most interesting take on the game that they’ve read. A bunch of non-famous coaches read it too. Most liked it. You can get a copy here.