Men. Intelligent.™

 

Challenge #18

Don’t start before completing Challenge #17.
If you want to join the IntelliMen Project, start from Challenge #1.

 

Challenge: Teach your partner a new skill or something useful.

Explanation: An intelligent man understands the power of teaching others. When you teach you share a part of yourself with others, and when you give you will end up receiving much more than you have given. And yet, the competitive nature of men can make them selfish. By share what they know they’ll be giving an advantage to the “competition” (other men) and get left behind, many men reason. That is why it is rare to find men who will help other men without insisting on being paid for it.

But IntelliMen know that teaching is the secret to learning and getting ahead in life.

This week your challenge is to teach your Official Partner something that you practice and do well – something that will be useful to him. It can be a skill or a useful teaching, something practical that you can pass on to your partner.

Think of something that you have a knack for, which is useful to you, that you can pass on to your partner with an explanation or demonstration in a short amount of time. “In a short amount of time” because I don’t believe you have the time to dedicate one hour a week for the next three to teaching your partner how to play the piano. It has to be something that you can teach quickly – even if it’s only the introduction to a subject, one that he can continue to develop on his own.  With the piano example, you may not be able to give him a one hour lesson every week, but you could spend an hour giving him pointers – where to begin, what he should learn, how to practice, etc.

Ask yourself: “What has been useful to me and would also be useful to my partner?” You can begin by creating a list of things you do well. Write down your skills. Think of the complements you get, “You’re so good at…” – and make a list. Here are some examples of things that could be included on the list:

• Driving a car
• Using a certain computer program
• A method of studying that guarantees good grades
• A helpful resource that you constantly turn to (an educational site on the internet)
• Writing well
• A time management tip
• Speaking and making presentations in public
• Staying in good shape
• Overcoming temptation
• How you broke a bad habit or acquired a good one
• Tips on what helped you have better communication with your wife
• A practice that keeps you spiritually strong
• Hints on being more productive at work
• Organize your finances

This list could be much longer, because everyone has skills that could be useful to others. Don’t limit yourself to the list above. (If you have any other suggestions, you can add them in the comments below for others to read.)

Once you identify what you’re going to teach to your partner, have a conversation with him, see if he’s interested in learning what you’ve suggested, and then go ahead – be his teacher for a couple minutes!

Notebook: Use your notebook to make the above list of skills and other things which you could teach. This exercise will even help you, if only to reflect on your talents.

Official Partner: This whole challenge involves your partner. Other than teaching him, set aside time to learn what he will teach you. (From the beginning we have emphasized how important it is to have a good partner. This challenge shows yet one more reason why that is important. Of course, this task can be done with someone other than your partner. Feel free to do that if you think it is necessary, but remember, the initial idea is for you to help each other to grow. Proverbs 27:17 says,  As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.)

Deadline: You may begin this task immediate and complete it within a week. Then go on to Challenge #19.

Post: After – and only after – you have completed the challenge, post your comments – on the IntelliMenWorld Facebook or Twitter page, (not on your own page) and write the following:

IntelliMen Challenge #18 done: I taught my partner… (complete the sentence, and write what you learned from him as well.)

 Links:
www.facebook.com/IntelliMenWorld
www.twitter.com/intellimenworld (when tweeting, use @intelliMenworld)

 

Verification Checklist

☐ I made a list of my skills in the Notebook
☐ I taught my partner something
☐ I learned something from my partner
☐ I posted my comment on Facebook/Twitter

 

Phrase:

When you learn, you will teach; through teaching, you will learn. – Latin Proverb