Jack Canfield's 36th Success Principle is Learn More to Earn More. His recommendations for learning more are rather straightforward: read for an hour a day, turn television time into learning time, attend classes and training programs.
He makes a great case for cutting down or out your television viwing. By lessening your viewing by 1 hour a day, you gain the equivalent of 9 additional work weeks per year. What he recommends you do with that time is read, read books that are inspiring, books by experts in your field, biographies of admirable people. Fill your well every day with some knowledge. And to really absorb that knowledge, you have to be teachable. Canfield puts it this way, "You need to let go of already knowing it all and needing to be right and look good, and open yourself to being a learner."
This last part is a big one. All of the big learning I've done in the past several years has demanded of me that I let go of needing to be right or looking good. In Nia, my trainer explained that to become a great teacher, you have to be willing to suck. In my coaching training, I was taught that to be a great coach, you have to be willing to be fired. To be great, you've got to get started and that means walking on wobbly legs for a time. To be great, you've got to swing out and that means risking being wrong.
When you decide that you will step up and take the risk, a beautiful pattern of confidence begins. You take a risk and even though you looked silly, made a mistake, got fired, the world didn't end and you learned something. Maybe you were even right or got promoted or someone came up to you and said, 'I admire your bravery" because you gave it a shot. And so you build a little confidence and you try it again. And the same pattern emerges. Eventually you start to realize that being wrong, being wobbly and sometimes sucking is a part of learning. It doesn't mean you're stupid, inept or a loser. It means you're learning!
One of the keys to this approach is to focus what you're learning towards where you want to go. Canfield asks the question, "What do you need to do to get ready?" When you look at your dreams, what would it be useful for you to learn? Pattern drafting? How to write a query letter? French? Anatomy? What would make you prepared for your industry? Start learning it now.
What could you start learning this week that would bring you closer to your dreams?
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