Rowers and Seabiscuit (Achievement Nudge about Learning from Everything)

---

Last Updated on August 18, 2025 by Bill Truby

You can learn something from everything – IF you keep your eyes and mind open.

I love to learn. But I love to learn in non-traditional ways. Books are fine. Google is great. But interacting with life, and asking childlike questions, has been most interesting, too; “What makes something the way it is? How does that do what it does? When, and why, did THAT start?” has led to fascinating learnings. And the learning source wasn’t always linked to the teaching outcome. Here’s what I mean…

When sitting in a hot tub, watching squirrels play and work with purpose and confidence, I began to wonder, “How come humans have self-esteem problems and animals don’t?” The answer that hit me was a powerful truth: What animals do FLOWS from who they are. Humans often believe that what they do MAKES them who they are.

Watching farm horses pull more when hitched to the same wagon than if hitched to separate wagons, taught me how people can do MUCH more working together as a team than working separately.

I’ve seen large, mature trees bent, curved or leaning precariously from LONG-TERM effects of wind or snow load. That taught me how just a little short-term influence, consistently applied over many years, can have dramatic, and sometimes disastrous, effects in the long term.

I saw an interesting report about Tom Smith, the famous horse trainer who made Seabiscuit in to a champion race horse. In the early 1900’s, he watched a team of rowers from the University of Washington consistently win and, finally, make their way to the Olympics. After he pondered their nutrition regime, which included a high calcium diet, he had high calcium food imported for Seabiscuit. It helped. Who would have thought that a rowing team’s diet would help a horse run faster?

Everywhere you look, you can learn something. I learn from my 4-year-old grandson. I’ve learned from employees. I’ve learned from the wind. I’ve learned from the sea. I’ve learned from inanimate objects – like the fridge. (In order to be what it is, and do what it does, it must be connected to a source of Power). I’ve even learned from my wife….YES, I HAVE! (I’m not just saying that because she’ll read this).

Here’s a teaching about learning: physics, psychology, biology, and a host of other sciences prove that learning is critical to existence, PLUS, learning increases the quality of life and happiness. It’s interesting, helpful, even critical, to learn. But, there’s one thing that’s better…teaching.

You learn more when you teach what you know to someone else. It truly is “more blessed to give than receive.” So…in the spirit of “giving” to you, allow me to teach you something from my experience. Combining the science of math, psychology, biology, and even metaphysics, I’ve found the following to be true: you can change your energy with the direction in which you count. Try this…

Sit calmly. Take a few deep breaths. Then – if you want to relax and lower your energy, count slowly backwards from 10 to 1 (10, 9, 8, 7……). If you want to increase your energy and feel more alert, count slowly forward, from 1 to 10, increasing your pace as you get to 10 (1……2…..3….4…5..6, 7, 8,9,10).

There. I taught you something. Hopefully, you learned something. This is a good day. Now…what shall I observe and learn from next? Hmmm….maybe I’ll go watch some grass grow.

---

This article is part of our ongoing Achievement Nudge series—short, witty, and often inspirational articles to spark your personal and professional growth. Explore more nudges on our blog, or sign up for our weekly Nudge and News email. Each edition includes an Achievement Nudge plus leadership, professional development, and personal growth videos and articles to keep you inspired and on track.

---