It is amazing to me how many people turn their lives over to people who consider themselves experts. I have a problem trusting the important issues in my life to the experts. Take my health for example. If you ask my doctor, he will be the first to tell you, I ask a lot of questions. This should not surprise anyone who knows me personally. It is not that I do not value his years of study and experience in the field of health, I certainly do. Still, all of us can have bias and be tainted by our experiences. No single person can know everything.

The reason that I am bringing this up today, is that I was reminded of it listening to an interview with Kobe Bryant. If, for some reason, you are unaware who Kobe Bryant is, allow me to give you the briefest of recaps. He was a professional basketball player that played 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers. He won five championships and had many amazing performances along the way. Can you guess what his high school guidance counselor told him? “Give up that basketball dream. It will never work out for you.” This was somebody who was an ‘expert’ in guiding children. To the counselor’s credit, the year before, Kobe had played an entire season of basketball and did not score one single point. Here is a player who hold hold the record for most points scored in a single NBA game (81) and he played an entire season without scoring a single point. Fortunately, Kobe did not listen to the experts.

In my own life, I had a similar story. My senior year in high school I almost did not pass English class. It was of no interest to me. What kind of verb is this? I really did not care. I loved history and science. I was good at math. Socializing, that is what I really excelled at in high school. English class? Not so much. The last day of school my fabulous teacher leaned over my desk and stated in no uncertain terms, “I pray to God you will never have a career in writing.” Several years later, here we are working on book number 4! At the time, like Kobe and his scoreless season, I would not have argued with her. Although I am not the Kobe Bryant of authors…yet, I still use my craft to both educate and entertain many.

In your life, I urge you not to blindly trust the experts. Sure, take what they say with the weight it deserves, but do your own research and ask your own questions. Nobody should care more about your health, your happiness and your success than you. Act accordingly.