You have three options: to be right, to win, or neither of both.
You can’t be right and win. You may be the smartest person in the world, knowing everything, but you won’t win the game or make a point like this.
Winning the game involves understanding that sometimes your job is to disappear and let other forms or third-party tools pass on the information.
Once, I asked Mestre Edan, a capoeira master and the teacher of many great capoeiristas worldwide, about the key quality that transforms a student into an extraordinary capoeira player. His response was unequivocal: “To be an autodidact.”
One of my favorite lessons from Mestre Cueca is the concept called “Over the Line”.
“Every time we start a new activity, let’s say when I came to capoeira for the first day, immediately a line appeared, and on one side of the line, it’s always easier to quit, and on the other side of the line, it’s always easier to stay.”
Online education gained a second wind during the COVID-19 pandemic. With many people confined to their homes for months, some chose to make the most of this time by enrolling in courses. When I take a course or workshop, whether online or offline, I love to remind myself (and my students) of this ‘flying on an airplane’ analogy.
This is another great concept I learned from my capoeira master, and he gives credit for it to Mestre Ombrinho, the first non-Brazilian master in the history of capoeira.
If you are capoeirista and have already heard the story about “Three pillars”, you probably don’t know there are two more. And if you don’t practice capoeira at all, stay put, try to use your imagination and switch “capoeira” to your work, study, or whatever you do.
Another powerful concept from my capoeira experience is “Learning – Practicing – Training” cycle, which is useful for day-to-day life too. This is something that my students for sure heard about, but the importance of this is worth another repetition.
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.”
Francis Bacon
Reading a book is the most efficient way to get condensed knowledge, learn new concepts, and get inspired.
For many years I do “50 books a year challenge”, which is reading one book per week. It’s not always perfect, and some months I slack. But I have this intention and it’s in my Morning Ritual to read at least one hour a day.