Find the right teacher

There’s a Japanese saying that I included in my book (https://writingslowly.com/shuhari-book/)):

If it takes three years, find the right teacher.

But sometimes, you just need to get started. Simon Sarris has a great story about this. He decided to build a barn by trial and error, with little previous barn-building experience. But because he was doing this near the road in front of his house, it attracted the attention of a regular passer-by who just happened to know, in detail, how to build barns.

“Mike would have never stopped by if I was not working conspicuously in my driveway, every day, under a pop-up tent. But I was, and he became interested in my progress, and it happens that he has been timber framing since the 90’s. Had I waited for such a teacher—for he has now taught me a good deal—I would have never found him. But I chose to start, and he was drawn to my adventure. Only by virtue of starting the work was the intersection of our lives possible.” - Start With Creation - by Simon Sarris (https://map.simonsarris.com/p/start-with-creation)

The moral? If it takes three years, find the right teacher. But if you start your learning journey with action, the right teacher might just find you.

So now here’s a question: Who was the right teacher for you, and how did you find them, or alternatively how did they find you?

(And yes, I have a story about a teacher who found me, but that’s a story for another time.)

Photo by Kazuhiro Yoshimura (https://unsplash.com/@kazuhiro?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/men-in-traditional-attire-working-on-a-wooden-structure-uStbsUGl4JM?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

Meanwhile, my book, Shu Ha Ri: The Japanese Way of Learning, for Artists and Fighters (https://writingslowly.com/shuhari-book/), is out now. Please check it out.