I was talking to my best friend, whose wife had just given birth to a son, about the best way to practice writing. Taking heed to Buddha’s words, I said dive into the work. He went on to tell me his preferred method. That he analyzed other writers’ work to find what made it click. That he worked with a writing coach. That he practiced specific techniques that he found valuable. And that practicing needed to be perfect practice.

I then calmly asked him, “What the hell is perfect practice?”

To me, it sounded like you couldn’t make mistakes while practicing when it’s really the best time to make mistakes. It’s those mistakes that we make in practice or immersed in our work that can give us some of the most profound insights. I told him there’s no one correct way of doing anything well.

It’s the geniuses, the innovators that create the rule, the market. Just look at the world of media. We have books and TV shows about wizards and vampires and wolves.

When I had my teaching and mentoring business, I was all about changing behavior. Shit. I was one of the laziest people I knew. I watched TV to no end. I had little passion for anything, or at least I thought I had little passion for anything. I slept for most of the day when I could. That was the life! Then something changed. A yearning grew. Not that yearning. Well…not the place to discuss.

I started to think about the things I wanted. Things I wished to accomplish. And somehow I was disciplined enough to go to the gym, write, have a social life, teach, and still have free time to just chill. How did I become disciplined? Hell if I know.

Actually, they were things that I wanted to do. Loved to do. I mean going to the gym was easy. There’s a lot of hot chicks there.

During the years that I taught, I made a slow discovery. As awesome a teacher as I was, I couldn’t make my students do anything. Yes, they listened to me. Yes, they behaved when I shushed them. But they eventually fell back to their shenanigans.

What I could do was listen to them, guide them toward their own well being, help them realize their own potential in real time physical exercises, and help them realize what they truly wanted in life. Their behavior was outside of my reach, outside of anyone’s reach, except their own.

One parent came up to me and was extremely concerned about her child’s time management skills. He loved to procrastinate. She was my client, so I did my best to try and change that behavior, asked him why he procrastinated, gave him specific things to do to swerve him from waiting till the last minute.

He made the changes for a day. Then he reverted back to his old ways. His grades never improved from the mostly A’s and B’s he already received. I know, I know.

Now in college, I asked him how school was going. He loved it, tried a slew of different things, as I suggested, so he could have a better idea of what he might love to do in life. I asked him how his grades were. Mostly A’s and B’s.

I asked him if he was ok with that. Totally fine, he answered.

Do you still procrastinate, I asked. He reluctantly nodded.

I laughed, told him that this was his method and that it seemed to work. If he felt bad about his grades, that he wanted to improve, then changes may need to be made (depending on why he felt bad). Since everything was fine, there was nothing to do but catch up on old times.

I had told my best friend this story, as he’s also close to this family, and the silence on the phone meant he didn’t agree.

He has his way toward excellence. I have mine. And as long as those methods work for us without any feelings of guilt or anxiousness, but with peace of mind, then whose to say that were wrong?

I was teaching a student the other day, and we’d been discussing making out. And no, not between us. I’d be in jail right now. He’s never had a girlfriend and is dating a cute girl now. He hasn’t made a move and I’ve been egging him to make out with this girl.

He’s been hesitating for about three months. I asked him if he wanted to. He answered an emphatic yes. What boy wouldn’t. I asked why he hadn’t done it. He’s scared cuz it’s his first time. Afraid of what the girl would think. The fact is it’d be her first time, too. I pushed him to do it.

And for the women, when you like a guy, and he hasn’t done anything, wouldn’t you be pissed?

I’d discussed this with a friend of mine and she threatened to call child services. She was joking but thought my pushing was totally incorrect.

My philosophy is push the edge, the envelope, or else how do you know where your true limit is?

What do you guys think?

If you’ve watched any movies or films where there’s a parent/child dynamic, the parent always views their child as children, no matter the age.  My mom does this to me a lot.  When I visit her for dinner, she’ll make three dishes-chicken, beef, and a vegetable entree.  She makes enough to feed an family of four, but it’s just the two of us eating.

First she’ll say that all of this costs less than a single entree at a restaurant.  Then as I take a piece of chicken, she’ll point to the beef dish and ask if I don’t like beef.  I take a piece of beef, and she points to the vegetable dish and ask if I don’t like vegetables.  I take some and put it in my bowl, and she points to the chicken.  She asks me why I won’t eat the chicken.

Over the years of mediating between parents and their children, I’ve noticed that parents are reluctant to change their role.  As babies, parents provide everything-food, clothing, healthcare, etc.  When children get older, the amount of care needed lessens.  Obvious, right?  You’re not going to prop your ten year old on the table and change their diaper.  If you do, then there are issues of discipline you’ll need to deal with.  During the teenage years, kids tend to want some sort of independence.  That’s why they don’t like to be seen with their moms or dads.  It’s totally uncool.  Once people grow into young adulthood, then further on as adults, parents still care and worry about them as if they were little kids.  As children grow, so must the parent’s role.

When I taught privately, my advantage was not having any emotional attachment.  I would listen to my students problems or issues, and I wouldn’t judge them.  Some had sex early on.  Other’s cussed a lot.  Many had complaints about their overbearing parents.  They told me everything.  I’d help them if they wanted, but left the subject if they didn’t.  Parents would be thankful that I was there to listen to their children’s problems, but didn’t really know how to gain their child’s trust.  It’s simple, but can be hard to do.

Listen to them, ask questions about what they’re talking about, and do your damned best not to judge.  Don’t overreact, yell, scream, or solve their problems.  Ask if they need help, for sure.  But just listen.  If you want to give your two cents, then ask if you can give your opinion.  Trust me, if they want it, they’ll say yes.  IF they don’t want it, and you give it to them, it’ll go out one ear and out the other.  That doesn’t mean you don’t make them aware of issues of sex, drugs, or alcohol.  You do.  I’d recommend not to be overbearing.

I live by two guidelines when I teach.  The teacher appears when the student is ready.  So if people are ready to learn, they will listen.  When I teach, I don’t teach, nor do I take the role of teacher.  When I teach, I take the role of guide.  Life is a massive landscape of unknown.  Just as you would hire a guide for a safari, be your children’s guide when they need it.