Research shows that you begin learning in the womb and go right on learning until the moment you pass on. Your brain has a capacity for learning that is virtually limitless, which makes every human a potential genius. By learning how to learn you can access this genius!

Why juggling as a learning metaphor?

Any learning experience provides a valuable opportunity to revisit fundamental principles of growth and change. Have you ever challenged yourself continually to learn new things—swimming, tennis, singing, languages, martial arts, drawing, juggling, etc.?

Any one of the above subjects could provide a fertile metaphor for exploring the art of learning and life. But juggling offers something special. Learning anything involves keeping a number of things “up in the air” at the same time, because “dropping the balls” provides an ideal metaphor for gracefully coping with mistakes, which is one of life’s most important abilities. Juggling also promotes a sense of inner quiet in the midst of activity, a special experience of mind and body in harmony. Also, juggling’s essential light-heartedness encourages easy access to the fundamental human learning modality of play.

Lessons from the Art of Juggling can help you achieve your full potential in business, learning, and life. How, you may ask? The answer is simple:

• Set goals and visualize results based on evolving models of excellence.
• Transform your attitude toward mistakes and failure.
• Recognize and change limiting habitual patterns in yourself.
• Re-attain your natural poise by cultivating the art of relaxed concentration.
• Develop your coaching skills so you can initiate others into the joyful journey of lifelong learning.
• Unleash your natural genius through the power of play!

Becoming the "Ultimate Coach"

Expertise in a given area doesn’t automatically qualify the expert to be a manager or leader. Experts are sometimes poor managers because they have forgotten how to put themselves “into the mind” of a beginner.

Of course, the ideal coach is one who combines expertise in a discipline with a practical understanding of the learning process. It is essential to “walk your talk” when coaching others. The finest coaches create a context that brings out the best in their coachees. The following lessons can be learned in both juggling and management coaching, and help create a context of excellence and delight:

• Set clear goals
• Give accurate feedback
• Feed the success mechanism — help coachees discover the difference between current reality and the goal, creatively bridging the gap between them.
• Create a fear-free environment — create conditions where fears are recognized, accepted, and transformed.
• Give encouragement and appreciative feedback
• Be patient
• Expect success—be the person whose belief in others changes their lives.
• Free yourself from ego involvement — avoid linking your own measurement of self-esteem to their performance.
• Ask questions
• Pay attention to learning styles
• Be creative
• Encourage excellence
• Coach “unknown” disciplines — challenge yourself to help others learn subjects that you have not mastered yourself (an essential skill for all managers), and apply your powers of observation and knowledge of the learning process to facilitate learning in unfamiliar disciplines.
• Ask your coachees to teach — encouraging your coachees to teach what they are learning accelerates their path to mastery.

As Yoda says in Star Wars, “Try? There is no try. There is only Do or Not Do.” So why not give the Art of Juggling (and any new learning experience) a try today!

"In times of change, the learners will inherit the Earth, while the 'knowers' will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." - Eric Hoffer

Rhett Farber moved to Greater China in 1981 with juggling balls and clubs, and has been tossing them around Asia ever since. You can contact Rhett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .