If you are not teachable, you have learned it all. Is that really possible?

Many people are not teachable. Pride is a big factor for them. So many people get offended and don't want to be challenged. Is that you? Are you being dismissive? Is it because you're tired or you're stressed? Are you stretching yourself thin because there's so much going on that you feel like you're going to blow up and constantly under-delivering? These feelings stop you from growing.

I'm teachable, but I don't believe anything anybody tells me. I want them to show me proof and support that statement with facts. I've learned that I don't have to be embarrassed about not trusting what people say because so many don't know what they're talking about. I don't want to offend you, but I'm not going to feel bad about asking you to get me the information—the facts.

Some of you are incredibly teachable—you make a commitment and you hold yourselves accountable. But if you tell yourself that this is the best you are, and you're not changing, this is a problem for you.

• Curious. Have an inquisitive mind and be willing to explore it.
• Desire to learn more. Some people really want to know more. If you're going to learn, use Pareto's Principle. Out of ten books, two of them will give you 80 percent benefit. Start there.
• Lazy. Many people, especially kids, don't understand the concept of work. When they do something, as soon as it becomes hard, as soon as it's not instant, or as soon as it's not easy, they just give up. You can't be lazy.
• Pride. A high opinion of your own importance or superiority gets in the way of learning and being teachable.
• Reading and exploring. Read nonfiction so you can learn something. Reading fiction is okay. It can be a form of therapy or meditation, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I would be doing it as a strategy—for the purpose of relaxing. If all you read is fiction, you're not going to learn anything, just somebody else's world—not even a reality.

Being teachable is the key to expanding your knowledge and skills, and achieving your goals. It means being willing to step out of your comfort zone so you can grow personally and professionally.

Being teachable means your brain has to be conscious, you have to be willing to do the work, and you have to be vulnerable. Your brain has to go from the unconscious to the conscious state, and that is effort. I want to be better, and the only way I’m going to be better is to be willing to learn and to change. When I first took up the sport of mountain biking, I was riding with my friend Brian and his two boys. Josiah, who was 12 at the time, said, “Mr. Mike, listen, I noticed something that you do when you go into turns, and you’ll be able to do a little better if you didn’t do that, but if you do this…” Did I dismiss him because he was a 12-year-old kid telling me what to do? No! He’d been riding a lot longer than I had, so I listened to him. I want him behind me the whole time, so he can let me know whenever I’m doing something wrong. How else am I going to get better at riding my bike? —Mike Holt