Creating Yourself as a Learner

“In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.”

― Eric Hoffer

I find most people consider themselves “open minded” and like to think of themselves as someone who likes to learn new things.

In fact, I conducted a personal study for a few years when leading to approximately 100 groups and 15,000 people by asking the group the question, “How many of you consider yourselves open minded and you like to learn?” Guess what? Everyone raised their hand, every time! This reveals the cognitive bias that in our own view we are open minded, and it’s others that are closed-minded. 

Too Busy To Learn

Moreover, because we are living and working in the Era of the Internet (the fourth industrial revolution) we are often busier than ever. It’s more difficult than ever to leave work at work because so much of our work now is happening digitally through Zoom, through our smartphones, email, etc. As a result, I propose a fundamental blind spot for many committed professionals and business people is “I’m too busy to learn.” 

It is especially difficult to see and own this blindspot in ourselves when we identify as being open minded and someone who likes to learn new things. We all know that real learning – the kind of learning that results in new views, behaviors, insights, and possibilities – requires in-depth engagement, inquiry, often study, feedback, and reflection.

Doing this kind of learning, therefore, requires making the time and creating the environment to actually fulfill my intention to learn something in such a way that it changes who I am, what I see, and what’s now possible for me, my team, and my company. 

This requires Creating Yourself As A Learner.

Creating Yourself as A Learner

In my assessment, much of what passes as business training and most of higher education (college) does not prepare someone to be successful and self-actualized in the current worldwide marketplace. Unless you continue to create yourself as a learner, the marketplace of our current era (The Internet Era) is going to kick your ass! Things are changing so fast and there is so much to know that you and I need to have awareness of the fact that we must choose to be and create ourselves as a learner and, you must remember you have a blindspot – even if you think you don’t – that you’re already open-minded and a learner!

This is actually very, very exciting. For the first time ever you have access to unlimited, autonomous, competitive learning – why? The internet! This is distinct from expecting an authority or “school” to tell you how to navigate The Forcefield of Business and fulfill your vision in today’s world. This changes everything. 

The opportunity is right in front of each of us and you must give up being “too busy to learn” and instead take the case you have access to learning new skills, discovering new opportunities, and designing new compelling offers every day. You have access to new distinctions which give rise to the fulfillment of your vision while surfing the waves of this fast-changing, chaotic, noisy marketplace that we live in.

Lastly, if you and I don’t spend time developing and elevating the way we think and how we think, we simply continue to think the way we’ve always thought. Like anything, if you’re going to change habitual patterns and behavior, it takes intention, focus, and time. What if you were using your brain to fulfill your created intentions that are sourced by your life’s Calling vs. being ruled by already existing brain patterns?

How to Get Started on Becoming A Learner

First and foremost: Register into the Autonomy Course! :) 

Scheduling time in your daily work life (not at the end of the day when you’re tired, not only on weekends – it must be part of your daily work life so that Creating Yourself as a Learner is part of your “job.” It’s fundamental to being a professional.) to actually study, read, or engage in new thoughts and long-form content. 

In today’s culture, much of the content we consume is bite-sized, short, and fuels shorter and shorter attention spans. It is critical that we set time aside to read about complex topics, study what we are reading, and allow ourselves to think critically and think for ourselves.

Finding and selecting coaches and experts to follow and study is also an important part of creating yourself as a learner.

Creating being part of a community of other learners, engaging in specific topics, domains, or inquiries is also an important aspect of creating yourself as a learner.

Engaging in the above daily, not once a week or twice a month, will be critical. This is how being a learner becomes who you are, instead of something you’re doing because you need to, have to, or should.

Several years ago, when I started a daily practice of reading 20 pages each morning in the domain of personal development and 20 pages each morning in the realm of business thought, something dramatic happened for me. Not only was I slowing down, but I was experiencing myself and knowing myself as intentionally and actively learning and inquiring. Doing this significantly elevated the rate at which I began to have new ideas and think creatively and it wasn’t limited to what I was reading. It’s like my brain began to work in new ways. 

P.S.: Did you know 20 pages a day equals 20 books a year?