I’ve been involved in many entrepreneurial communities since 2000. From good old fashioned forums, to the latest trend – groups on Facebook. I’ve seen plenty of people pass through the doors. Some have gone on to build amazing business.
Some, never seem to launch, even when they’ve been around for years. Sometimes, it’s because people just don’t know what they want to do. Other times, they know what they want to do, what kind of business they want to set up and have even started the process, and yet… nothing.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard people say, “I’ve so much to learn†or something along those lines.
Do you find yourself in constant learning mode but have little to show for?
Perhaps you have been told that in order to grow, you must constantly be learning and so, you learn… and learn… and learn.
Want to know a secret?
There’s learning that can be taught. Then, there’s learning that only comes about with experience.
Some lessons never reveal themselves until you do. So without action, you will never learn them. In addition, everyone’s experience is different. Even under similar conditions, there are small differences in your previous life experience, skill level, interpretation and so on, that has impact on what exactly you learn.
Having, coaches and mentors is a good thing. They can give you direction and guidance. They can keep you from going down the wrong road. They can’t however, transfer the exact same experience to you. You have to do.
But, at what point can you stop learning and start doing? Sometimes, it seems like you can’t do without finishing your “lessons†and courses.
Not true.
You can pause learning and start doing at any relevant point of your lesson. You can apply the bits you learned and then return to the lesson for the next steps. Learn and do.
Don’t wait till you’ve sat through a huge lesson or too many lessons. By then you might have forgotten the earlier lessons and have to go back to it again. Learn a little, then do it.
This is exactly how I am consuming and applying huge courses put out on WebCamp by Armand Morin. Each of these are jam packed with information. It’s so very easy to get overwhelmed.
Thankfully, each course is chunked into multiple sessions. Here’s the strategy I use:
- Watch a lesson, learn, and jot down actionable tasks.
- At the end of a lesson or any point in the lesson when I feel I can act, I’ll pause.
- Start doing the first task. This is where the magic of learning on doing begins. Now, I’ll have questions never noticed before. I can either re-wind to re-listen that portion of the lesson, or ask a question.
- While waiting for the question to be answered, I’ll see if there is a way to do other things around that task, or move to the next task.
Here’s a challenge for you. Before you purchase the next info product, promise yourself to apply the information from the last product you bought.
Currently going through a course? Before you move on to the next lesson or session, apply what you learned in the last session.
It might take you longer to get through a course. So what? There is no award for finishing a course quickly. There are however, big rewards for applying what you learn.