Why There's No Substitute For Experience

Learning and doing are perceived as two different things. People often say get a "good" attorney. What they really mean is get an attorney who is well-versed (i.e., educated) and has experience. Premium value is placed on the importance of education and years spent actually applying that education. Without the experience, the well-versed attorney is just a student of the law - not a law practitioner.

Law firms have a good grasp on this concept. The junior members of a firm are typically partnered with senior members for guidance and direction while gaining valuable "hands-on" experience. The same is true for engineering firms.

Experience is only obtained in the field of play. Ask any coach and they will tell you. No matter how long or intense teams practice their respective sport, it can never match the real life dynamics or psychological aspects of being in a real game.

Yes, experience is our greatest teacher. The bridge between theory and practicality is experience. It is both a qualifier and a dis-qualifier. Psychologists agree that a person's ability to learn from their own experience is a reliable measure of intelligence.

The famed Old Spice commercial below eloquently conveys why there's no substitute for experience.