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How to Learn What You Need to Know

When seeking to learn (much less become an expert in) anything, it’s important to realize it’s not going to happen overnight. You’re going to have to do your time like everyone else—learning, building, and becoming the expert that you want to become. Don’t let that scare you. Before you know it, you’ll be at the top of that hill and you’ll never look back.

I just finished participating in Traffic & Conversion 2019 in sunny San Diego (America’s Finest City). I was staying with my daughter and each day I would walk the trails through Balboa Park (see the pic above) on my way to the Marriott Marquis. Fortunately for me, others had walked that trail before me and marked a path I could follow. Then Google mapped those trails for me. Could I have gotten there without following any trails or maps? Maybe. But why do things the hard way when the easy way was right in front of me (and so easy)?

When you need to know (or master) something, why not do things the easy way?

When I was at the conference (which was amazing), I felt like I was drinking from a firehose—so much great information, and so many things to learn. How to get started with all that learning? Here’s my plan:

Prioritize

My first and most important recommendation is: prioritize. When you’re in learning/growing mode, there can be a million things to learn. Not-so-fun-fact: you can’t learn a million things, at least all at once. You need to pick your highest priority, your most pressing need or desire, and go after that. Once you’ve got that down, go on to the next one. So many people I know flit from one topic to the next without ever getting what they really need. You may not need to be a master at anything, but you should invest enough time and energy to get what you need before you move on to the next thing.

Read Books

There are likely books and opinions out there already on your topic. It’s important to read and soak in a variety of ideas from those who are already experts. Knowing the prevailing wisdom and how it came to be will help you on your learning journey, and will also help you form your own thoughts and opinions.

Get Experience

As you are learning from other experts, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned. Learning is so much easier if you do what you’re learning. Put into practice the theories you’re learning about. Test out some of your own ideas, see what works and what doesn’t work. This is critical if you’re going to go from knowing about something to being able to use the information you know. As Tony Robbins says, “Knowledge isn’t power. It’s potential power.” Doing what you’re learning is true power.

Join Mastermind Groups

A mastermind group usually consists of a leader who is an expert in a particular area. You don’t have to join a group that is in your niche; instead join a group that is designed to help you learn what you’re trying to learn. For example, if you need to learn more about public speaking to help promote your ideas, join a public speaking mastermind group. I have a friend named Walt who has joined various masterminds to deep-dive into topics he feels will help him with his business. You should consider doing the same.

Take Courses

Today you don’t have to even leave your house to take courses to learn the things you want to know. You can take both accredited and unaccredited courses to become an expert. Check out Lynda.com , Khan Academy, or Coursera.com. They’re not accredited, but you probably don’t need college credit—you just need to get what you need. The important thing is that you learn what you need to learn in a manner that enables you to learn a topic quickly.

Stay Focused

While you’re involved with learning it can be easy to be distracted from your mission. Your mission is to learn what you need about a particular topic and niche, not to become the best in the world. So don’t lose sight of your end goal just because you find learning something exciting— stay the course.

Hire a Coach

For some people, hiring a coach that can help them stay focused on doing what they set out to do can be helpful. The coach doesn’t have to be an expert in the area you want expertise in either. Instead they should be an expert in helping people reach their goals, whatever they are.

Practice

You’ve heard your mom say it, “Practice makes perfect” and it’s mostly true. The more you practice something and gain experience in something, the more likely you are to learn what you need to know and maybe even become an expert. Use it or lose it is trite but true.

Don’t Give Up

It’s important to persevere and not give up. You may not learn as quickly as you’d like. You may become an actual expert before people recognize your expertise. Just keep going. Keep learning and it will happen. One step at a time and you’ll eventually get where you want to go.

As you embark on your learning journey, there will be roadblocks and speed bumps along the way. The truth is, you can overcome all of them with perseverance, focus, and an effective strategy.

In the comments below, feel free to share what you’re learning, or what you’d like to learn. And if you’re wondering if I can help you get where you want to go, the answer is—I don’t know. But I’d be happy to talk with you about it. Feel free to email me ron [at] rontester.com.

Got a problem that needs your attention?

We are in a growth phase in my business. I know this because, while my team is very excited about our growth, we are also stressed by the additional amount of stuff that has to get done. To help us transition to this new level in our business, I am looking at adding staff, adding office space, etc. Basically, I’m looking for “the solution to the problem.”

So this morning, when I read Seth Godin’s blog post for today, “There is more than one solution to your problem (and your problem is real),” it resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you. If you’re a small business owner or market for a small business, you have problems, you have had problems in the past, and you will have problems in the future. Sometimes they’re ugly problems, sometimes their good problems. Seth says that there are two challenges when facing a problem.

Challenge One: The first challenge is to assume that the solution you have is the only one that will work. So when I interview someone for a new position and I really like them, I’m tempted to see them as the only answer to my problem. I want to hire them so badly that I stop evaluating them objectively. I overlook yellow lights or red flags. The truth is, in almost every situation there are lots of solutions that could/would work. I could hire someone different, move into a different office space if the one next door doesn’t work, etc.

Challenge Two: The second challenge is to minimize the problem when you don’t like the potential solution. This is probably my go-to response. Several of my colleagues would really like to expand our offices substantially. I don’t like the idea for a couple of reasons, so I am tempted to minimize the problem. I think, “It’s no big deal if we squeeze a couple more people in here. Why does everyone need a desk anyway? Haven’t you heard that sitting kills?” In truth, there are options that fall somewhere between doing nothing (my temptation) and making a big move I’m uncomfortable with. But as long as I minimize or deny the problem, I won’t see the possible solutions in front of me.

Two Recommendations:

First, read Seth’s blog. Honestly, I think you should read it every day. It’s always short and insightful.

Second, if you’re having a problem (or problems) and need some help figuring out possible solutions, email me.

Learning Strategies to Get You Where You Want to Go