Life. Like a wheel it goes.

A few months ago I was in a hard transition, trying to figure out what to do next with my career, and so I sought one of my old coaches for advice.

I would not have thought that just a few months later I would be having a similar conversation from the other side of that age gap.

A few years ago I coached an amazing young man. I was in a results driven phase back then, not exactly the most flexible version of myself. He was a headstrong teenager, not exactly the most flexible version of himself either. Somehow two opinionated people found enough common ground to make it work.

He left after college into a new adventure. Having earned a scholarship he moved to the States to train and study, and after a few years he finished his degree with results that impressed in both mind and body.

We were overdue a conversation. And since I respect his thoughts, and knowing he had been studying in an area where I could use some perspective, I reached out.

Gods. What I got on the other side of the phone was a man. A highly educated man that completely shattered the memory of that young man I still had in my head.

And how glad I am at that!

We had a long call, and it got me sitting with something I do not say enough. How grateful I am that I have strived to cultivate these relationships over the years. The ones that after a long time apart still make life richer than it would have been otherwise.

To know that more often than not our athletes can teach us as much as we can teach them. That by lowering our ego and letting go of the need to be right, we open ourselves up to mutual growth.

That was a big part of what we talked about.

I have been in many places and many cultures. I have worked with the very young and the not so young. And I am still impressed by the new ideas people come up with when you give them the space to.

I always challenge the boys. "You have got to impress me, but that is hard, I have seen a lot." And they do it every single time. They always find a way to show me there is more out there than the path I had already mapped in my head.

I am grateful for that.

How are you on this front? Are you learning from the people you are trying to teach as much as they are learning from you? Are you open enough to see the new paths they are quietly pointing you toward?