Effective Learning: The Opportunity
It is no secret that in order to keep improving and growing as an individual that the absolute most important factor is the pursuit of endless learning. This could be a formal education, like an MBA, it could be new experiences that stretch us, or it could be information that we seek on our own to formulate our own "curriculum". Each option provides different pros and cons to each individual based on their career, goals, and personal interests. The important thing is that we hold ourselves accountable to seek these opportunities to improve ourselves and quickly implement new ideas or knowledge into action. Without strategic action, we don't get improved results, and the our collective results are what is most important. The goal is to transfer our knowledge into improved output and become part of the top 1% at what we do in whatever area is important to us or makes us happy. Hopefully its both.
The amount of information that exists at this very moment is simply staggering and its roughly doubling every single year. For anyone looking for high-quality, free information, this is an exciting time to engage the massive amount of content that continues to be developed, because the ability for us to seek out our own leaning has never been easier. We also need to remain focused on what we're consuming and not let ourselves be distracted by things that don't help us grow or add value. Since there's truly so much information out there, there's also a lot of diluted or negative contact, like the news or weaker content which we need to ignore. We need to treat the information we consume the same way we would our diet. Consuming garbage leaves us feeling and performing like garbage, so, be careful what information you take in.
Learning is the catalyst for improvement and it doesn't matter if our goal is to make a million dollars this year, be a better parent, or improve our health, the information we're looking for can be accessed within seconds. The availability of this info and ease of access means that engaging in learning is completely on us. Nobody is going to require you to read this article, do a book analysis, or give you weekly homework assignments--the responsibility to seek out this information is completely on us and the initiative has to be our own. With so much information readily available to us, how do we use it most effectively? How do we decide what is useful? And how do we learn from it most effectively so that we're getting results?
The good news is that we DON'T need to read every single book, article, or newspaper recommended by Bill Gates or other influencers. We just need to find core sources of learning that fit well for us now and continue down that path of discovery. Aligning with certain people and their messages who's message aligns with us personally allows us to more easily take on the systems and advice being delivered. While it may take some time to find them initially, once we do, we will continue to develop a more keen understanding of which pieces of information and who's messages are right for us right now. These messages and people will come and go with regard to their relevance to us, but we'll continue to be better at realizing which messages will be the best fit for us at any given time in our lives.
With this abundance of information out there, we have to choose carefully based on what information will help us improve. Important areas to consider are timeliness of the information and the critical mass of that information. By timeliness, I mean that learning about things that are immediately relevant gives our leaning more meaning. If I am trying to make a major sales push through the next quarter, then time spent reading books and articles on sales processes and strategy can be immediately put to use, thus we have active learning. The critical mass of this information happens when we're learning about a specific topic from several different sources over a specified period of time.
To do this, try planning monthly or quarterly focused learning plans based loosely around the same topic. While learning this way, we hear different perspectives on the same topic and start to realize more patterns within the content of what we're learning. The realization of these patterns and systems is the beginning of having a deep understanding of any particular topic that's important to us. Since we pack information together around that specific goal, we're exposing ourselves to alternate perspectives and the newest ideas of that subject, again, allowing us to build both a deeper understanding of the content and the mental models which allow us to use this information with practical application.
The medium used to learn has also changed and those forms of consumption have also increased. We are not limited to leaning by sitting down and reading a textbook page by-page or physically attending a lecture. Instead, we have an incredible amount of audio and video available to us from professionals and top performing people from around the world. This means that our commute, our gym time, and even our work day can be filled with learning and consuming massive amounts of high-quality content that will make us more effective in whatever area that is which we're focusing on. This also removes all excuses that someone is "too busy" to spend time learning something new.
While I still read dozens of books per year (supporting Barnes and Noble as much as I can) and several articles per week on Medium, my most effective and efficient way to consume is through Audible.com. Over the past 2 years I've read about 130 different titles, most of them being business and personal development book. Since I have about a 45 minute commute to work each day, this gives me about an hour and a half each day to listen and learn, basically with no other interruptions. Audible is pretty low cost and just about any book out there is available on this platform. The beauty of it is that you can fit these "learning sessions" in just about anywhere, making it an effective method for people always on the move, traveling, or, as I said before, "busy".
Taking notes or reviewing what we learn is also a great way to build the structure of the new idea in your mind. For example, if you're driving to work and listening to Audible, write a quick overview or outline key takeaways from what you learning during that learning "session". This solidifies the information you just took in on your drive and highlights the pieces of new knowledge that are most applicable to you. It also helps us retain more information when we're taking in a ton of it through the day. I have a journal that I keep these notes in so they can always be revisited. You never know when a note will have a more meaningful impact or deeper connection in the future. Even if something is only mildly interesting today, you could easily be in a situation down the road where its a perfect piece of information that you use later on.
Learning itself, however, is not what will make us a more productive, improved, or valuable person. In order to have our learning be truly meaningful, we must transfer this knowledge into action--massive action! What we learn gives us the tools to achieve or goals and practicing what we learn is another way to engage our learning and take it a step further. Still, taking the first steps into something we have not dont before can still be an uncomfortable idea. The great thing is that anything other than a perfect outcome of trying something new (which perfection is rare even for the very best) gives us more opportunity to reflect on mistakes and failures to readjust and try again. This time, as a more experienced person. Our goal should be to jump into this cycle of learn, try, reflect and have a quick iteration cycle. This takes focus and failure, buts its also a quick way to maximize improvement while decreasing the learning curve drastically. So, try, experiment, reflect, get uncomfortable, and put yourself in a situation that you've never been in before.
Nobody will force you to do this, its on you. Be proactive, be diligent, consistent, and hold yourself to the highest standard of growth and success. Your future is yet to be determined and its completely determined by the work you do today. Read and learn from the best sources of knowledge that interest you and align with your values while taking advantage of the wealth of information that's out there today. With our phone never more than arms reach away, we are often spoon fed news, ads, email, and any other push notification that we have setup. If we're not careful, these tools (that is, our smart phone) can consume and distract us from what is truly important. Stay focused on information that is positive, adds value, and is constructive to your success. Avoid the rest of the garbage at all cost!
Finally, you don't need to have all the information or have a topic mastered in order to try something. Taking massive action toward you goals is the best way to achieve them. Even if you're not ready, you'll certainly learn an incredible amount of new information along the way. If you fail at it, learn from the mistakes and try again, now as a more experienced person. Don't be a junkie for new info and seek incremental gains of information if its holding you back from starting. Pick what's relevant and useful now, then jump in and know that you'll never have all the info--you'll always need to keep learning and growing! No matter what your goal is, stay focused on improving the tools that will get you there most efficiently
The amount of information that exists at this very moment is simply staggering and its roughly doubling every single year. For anyone looking for high-quality, free information, this is an exciting time to engage the massive amount of content that continues to be developed, because the ability for us to seek out our own leaning has never been easier. We also need to remain focused on what we're consuming and not let ourselves be distracted by things that don't help us grow or add value. Since there's truly so much information out there, there's also a lot of diluted or negative contact, like the news or weaker content which we need to ignore. We need to treat the information we consume the same way we would our diet. Consuming garbage leaves us feeling and performing like garbage, so, be careful what information you take in.
Learning is the catalyst for improvement and it doesn't matter if our goal is to make a million dollars this year, be a better parent, or improve our health, the information we're looking for can be accessed within seconds. The availability of this info and ease of access means that engaging in learning is completely on us. Nobody is going to require you to read this article, do a book analysis, or give you weekly homework assignments--the responsibility to seek out this information is completely on us and the initiative has to be our own. With so much information readily available to us, how do we use it most effectively? How do we decide what is useful? And how do we learn from it most effectively so that we're getting results?
The good news is that we DON'T need to read every single book, article, or newspaper recommended by Bill Gates or other influencers. We just need to find core sources of learning that fit well for us now and continue down that path of discovery. Aligning with certain people and their messages who's message aligns with us personally allows us to more easily take on the systems and advice being delivered. While it may take some time to find them initially, once we do, we will continue to develop a more keen understanding of which pieces of information and who's messages are right for us right now. These messages and people will come and go with regard to their relevance to us, but we'll continue to be better at realizing which messages will be the best fit for us at any given time in our lives.
With this abundance of information out there, we have to choose carefully based on what information will help us improve. Important areas to consider are timeliness of the information and the critical mass of that information. By timeliness, I mean that learning about things that are immediately relevant gives our leaning more meaning. If I am trying to make a major sales push through the next quarter, then time spent reading books and articles on sales processes and strategy can be immediately put to use, thus we have active learning. The critical mass of this information happens when we're learning about a specific topic from several different sources over a specified period of time.
To do this, try planning monthly or quarterly focused learning plans based loosely around the same topic. While learning this way, we hear different perspectives on the same topic and start to realize more patterns within the content of what we're learning. The realization of these patterns and systems is the beginning of having a deep understanding of any particular topic that's important to us. Since we pack information together around that specific goal, we're exposing ourselves to alternate perspectives and the newest ideas of that subject, again, allowing us to build both a deeper understanding of the content and the mental models which allow us to use this information with practical application.
The medium used to learn has also changed and those forms of consumption have also increased. We are not limited to leaning by sitting down and reading a textbook page by-page or physically attending a lecture. Instead, we have an incredible amount of audio and video available to us from professionals and top performing people from around the world. This means that our commute, our gym time, and even our work day can be filled with learning and consuming massive amounts of high-quality content that will make us more effective in whatever area that is which we're focusing on. This also removes all excuses that someone is "too busy" to spend time learning something new.
While I still read dozens of books per year (supporting Barnes and Noble as much as I can) and several articles per week on Medium, my most effective and efficient way to consume is through Audible.com. Over the past 2 years I've read about 130 different titles, most of them being business and personal development book. Since I have about a 45 minute commute to work each day, this gives me about an hour and a half each day to listen and learn, basically with no other interruptions. Audible is pretty low cost and just about any book out there is available on this platform. The beauty of it is that you can fit these "learning sessions" in just about anywhere, making it an effective method for people always on the move, traveling, or, as I said before, "busy".
Taking notes or reviewing what we learn is also a great way to build the structure of the new idea in your mind. For example, if you're driving to work and listening to Audible, write a quick overview or outline key takeaways from what you learning during that learning "session". This solidifies the information you just took in on your drive and highlights the pieces of new knowledge that are most applicable to you. It also helps us retain more information when we're taking in a ton of it through the day. I have a journal that I keep these notes in so they can always be revisited. You never know when a note will have a more meaningful impact or deeper connection in the future. Even if something is only mildly interesting today, you could easily be in a situation down the road where its a perfect piece of information that you use later on.
Learning itself, however, is not what will make us a more productive, improved, or valuable person. In order to have our learning be truly meaningful, we must transfer this knowledge into action--massive action! What we learn gives us the tools to achieve or goals and practicing what we learn is another way to engage our learning and take it a step further. Still, taking the first steps into something we have not dont before can still be an uncomfortable idea. The great thing is that anything other than a perfect outcome of trying something new (which perfection is rare even for the very best) gives us more opportunity to reflect on mistakes and failures to readjust and try again. This time, as a more experienced person. Our goal should be to jump into this cycle of learn, try, reflect and have a quick iteration cycle. This takes focus and failure, buts its also a quick way to maximize improvement while decreasing the learning curve drastically. So, try, experiment, reflect, get uncomfortable, and put yourself in a situation that you've never been in before.
Nobody will force you to do this, its on you. Be proactive, be diligent, consistent, and hold yourself to the highest standard of growth and success. Your future is yet to be determined and its completely determined by the work you do today. Read and learn from the best sources of knowledge that interest you and align with your values while taking advantage of the wealth of information that's out there today. With our phone never more than arms reach away, we are often spoon fed news, ads, email, and any other push notification that we have setup. If we're not careful, these tools (that is, our smart phone) can consume and distract us from what is truly important. Stay focused on information that is positive, adds value, and is constructive to your success. Avoid the rest of the garbage at all cost!
Finally, you don't need to have all the information or have a topic mastered in order to try something. Taking massive action toward you goals is the best way to achieve them. Even if you're not ready, you'll certainly learn an incredible amount of new information along the way. If you fail at it, learn from the mistakes and try again, now as a more experienced person. Don't be a junkie for new info and seek incremental gains of information if its holding you back from starting. Pick what's relevant and useful now, then jump in and know that you'll never have all the info--you'll always need to keep learning and growing! No matter what your goal is, stay focused on improving the tools that will get you there most efficiently
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