The ability to listen is a skill few people master in their adult lives, this behaviour normally starts around the onset of puberty, they decide they know everything that they need to know about life, and should therefore stop listening. The funny thing is, they don’t realise they got to where they are by listening to everybody, and in the process learned how to be an adult. I am, of course being a little bit dramatic, they do listen to some people, normally it’s the famous ones on the telly who are famous for acting stupid (I mean cool), there are so many to mention, I wouldn’t know where to start, but I believe Kanye West is one of them.

I could write a paragraph or two on the importance of listening to learn, rather than reply, but there are some famous people who have done it already, and far more elegantly than I. They are;

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ~Winston Churchill

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.” ~Bruce Lee.

Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen.” ~ Margaret J Wheatley.

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we may listen twice as much as we speak.”  ~ Epictetus.

“I like to listen, I have learned a great deal by listening carefully. Most people never listen”  ~ Ernest Hemingway.

“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” ~ The Dalai Lama.

*”It’s a wise man that knows how little he knows and can always learn more from listening than talking.” ~ Unknown.