That is why you failed

After an intensive session where all the principles and secrets from all the martial arts in the world were downloaded directly via neuro-electronic pathways to his brain, Neo finally opened his eyes and said, in amazement: "I know kung fu."

Of course, Morpheus his mentor then said the logical thing: "Show me."

The special mentor-apprentice relationship between Morpheus and Neo is interesting and quite instructional, because it reveals something fundamental in the growth of every person:

Knowledge and knowhow are not enough. We all need someone who believes in us.

A mentor is someone who shows us all the possibilities before us, someone whose belief in us somehow works as a mysterious catalyst that keeps us moving forward.

A mentor can be a highly effective agent of evolution, opening horizons in our mind that could not have been opened any other way.

Of course, in Morpheus, Neo also found a coach. In their first combat scene in the virtual dojo, Morpheus finally blurted out the critical piece of advice that Neo needed to hear: "Stop trying to hit me, and hit me!"

In other words, knowledge is only lethal if and when it is coupled with belief.

Come to think of it, Yoda taught Luke the same thing. After the 800-year-old Jedi Master lifted the X-wing spacecraft out of the muddy lake, Luke runs to him and exclaims: "I... I... I don't believe it!"

The Jedi Master then calmly says, as he must have said to so many other Jedi knights-in-training: "That is why you failed."

Let's leave Dagobah system and get back on Earth. Practically speaking, how can you increase your belief (assuming you have knowledge or a superior skill)?

The best way is to put your knowledge in action. Another way is to teach what you know.

Without applying your knowledge or teaching what you know, it is simply impossible to accurately assess how much you believe in your knowledge or in yourself.

More to come.