Do you remember Good Will Hunting?
Do you remember when Robin Williams asks Matt Damon to name his mentors. Will (Damon) starts to rattle off a bunch of names – but they're all dead. They come from books. It was the way Will learned. Reading.
Others learn in other ways. I love books and for over a decade read over 100 books each year. But some things were harder to learn just by reading. Have you ever tried to read a book about chess without a chessboard? Thankfully I learned chess playing against my dad. I learned by playing (though I'm not all that good) over and over again.
How do you learn?
I ask you this question because I've discovered that most people can't articulate exactly how they learn best. I find that not knowing this makes learning much more difficult and when people do eventually figure it out – they always wish they'd learned it earlier.
Some people learn better by hearing things – podcasts and such. Others learn better via experience – where they get to do the activity. Experiential learning is how my son learns. Even if it means running into a wall several times to figure out that it won't move.
Visual learners and those who learn by reading learn in a very different way (and with far fewer bruises).
Learning How to Learn
I have a free email-based learning class on how to learn better, and over 250 people have taken the course. It's objective isn't to teach you about learning styles, but rather how to learn more effectively (regardless of your learning style).
So far the feedback's been great – maybe you want to check it out. (Did I mention it's free?)
Back to Good Will Hunting
There were many things I loved about Good Will Hunting but maybe my favorite was the fight in the bar between Robin Williams and Stellan Starsgard. It's the debate of what you do with talent. Do you push it? Do you let it move at its own pace?
My wife and I work thru these issues regularly as we parent two gifted children who, in our opinions, need pushing. But in the movie, Damon's better off following the advice of Williams (the non-pressured approach).
Damon needed a guide. A coach. Thankfully, for our daughter, we have a brilliant Doctor (PhD) friend who acts as that guide.
Some of you need a Coach
I know you're wondering if I wrote this entire post just to pitch you on my services. Ha! Nope, this isn't about me. But it is about you – at least some of you.
Some of you need a little bit of help to step up your freelancing game. And two of my friends are putting together a little something something just for you. Troy Dean (of WP Elevation fame, where I did my Pricing Webinar) and James Dalman (with whom I co-wrote a Pricing eBook for consultants) are going to be doing a seminar together.
They're calling it a Master Class – and it's tons of help wrapped up in a single day – in San Francisco and then in Phoenix. It's just under $1000 for a day with both, plus tons of bonuses, but guess what?
I got you a 25% discount code – because I love ya! So if you sign up, be sure to use wpbiz25 and get almost $250 put back in your pocket. No need to thank me, I do what I do when I can do it!
How do you like them apples?