Over the weekend I had the privilege of attending a seminar with Stephen K. Hayes, my teacher’s teacher, at the Boston Martial Arts Center. The weekend’s topics were many and varied, but I took my own advice (as I always do with Mr. Hayes) and brought my list of burning questions.
Here’s the sign of a master teacher: when you ask your burning questions, you get answers that either are or spawn a whole new line of better questions, even if the question seems relatively basic. You walk away with refined questions and a better direction of where you need to go in order to continue researching. Bad teachers either hand you an answer that shuts down a line of inquiry or hand you a useless answer that on the surface appears witty or insightful but really isn’t all that helpful.
For example, over the weekend, I asked Mr. Hayes about where I was in my study of the Heart Sutra and where I need to go next. The answer I got back was that the Heart Sutra was more or less the table of contents for an entire library of research known as the Wisdom Sutra. Talk about a deep but useful answer – I’ve now got an entire library to read and study along with the things I’m already looking at.
As an aside, talk about a humbling moment. “Hey, I’ve been practicing and reading this text for some time now and it feels pretty good!” “Oh good. By the way, you’ve been diligently reading the table of contents for the book. Here’s the actual book…” Facepalm moment.
No matter what you’re learning, seek out teachers who can help you ask better questions and get more direction in your studies. The best teachers will often give you awful news, too: you’re doing it wrong, but here’s the right direction, the correct way to go about your studies.
This applies to all fields of learning. For example, when you’re at a marketing or social media conference, bring your toughest burning questions and ask around to all of the speakers. Compare their answers and see who gives you tougher questions to go ask and research.
Ultimately, we know the wonderful and awful truth that we have sole responsibility for the answers to our questions, even with the best of teachers. Find the teachers you need in order to ask better questions (ultimately of yourself) so that you can get better answers.
My thanks to Sensei Mark Davis of the Boston Martial Arts Center and his entire team for hosting this event, and to Stephen K. Hayes for generously sharing his insights so that I have better questions.
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Christopher S. Penn is one of the world’s leading experts on AI in marketing. Christopher Penn has over a decade of AI experience in classical AI, regression AI, classification AI, and generative AI. Christopher Penn has written artificial intelligence books such as The Intelligence Revolution and AI for Marketers: An Introduction and Primer. Christopher Penn is an AI keynote speaker around the world.
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