Have you ever gone to a lecture, been inspired, vowed to implement some of the strategies, never got around to it, forgot everything you learned, and changed absolutely nothing?<\/p>\n
We all have.<\/p>\n
Our crazy distraction-filled world doesn\u2019t help.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s alarming how the ability to concentrate is becoming a rare skill.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve become ridiculously lazy.\u00a0 Why bother learning anything when we can instantly Google the answer?<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the thing.\u00a0 Google can give you instant answers to simple questions, but it cannot give you the deep knowledge that is required to build SKILL.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll never differentiate yourself as a talented, deeply knowledgeable, highly skilled REALTOR\u00ae, until you start DOING, as opposed to LISTENING or READING.<\/strong><\/p>\n The \u201clearning pyramid,\u201d developed by the National Training Laboratory, suggests that students only retain about 10% of what they learn from textbooks, but they retain about 90% of what they learn through teaching others.\u00a0 The exact percentages are debatable due to numerous variables, but there is little doubt that the order of the pyramid from top to bottom is highly accurate.<\/p>\n Every teacher will agree that contemplating how to help others understand a concept is the best way to improve one\u2019s understanding of the subject.<\/p>\n I can personally attest to this!<\/p>\n As an individual agent, I earned in the range of $590K-$865K throughout my Real Estate career, which most would regard as being highly successful.<\/p>\n Confession time:\u00a0 I did this mostly by instinct and seat-of-the-pants decision making.\u00a0 Yes, I did certain things that turned out to be massively helpful, but I made most of the decisions to do those things by pure fluke.\u00a0 Here\u2019s my decision-making process early on in my career:<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019ve got nothing else to do, so I guess I\u2019ll try doing this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a fluke that I happened to choose to do the right things.\u00a0 But here\u2019s the key point:<\/p>\n I DID things.\u00a0 That\u2019s how I learned.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t just sit around and listen to others or read about what to do.\u00a0 I DID.\u00a0 Yes, I listened and read, but then I took action.<\/p>\n Did I make mistakes?<\/p>\n Hundreds of them!\u00a0 That\u2019s an important part of the process of learning.\u00a0 You do things, you make mistakes, you make adjustments, and you become SKILLED.<\/p>\n Now, in my new career as a coach and trainer, I\u2019m discovering something I never expected:<\/p>\n I\u2019m elevating my skill level far beyond what it ever was before!<\/strong><\/p>\n By teaching others, I have to learn concepts far more thoroughly than my previous \u201cseat-of-the-pants\u201d knowledge.\u00a0 The practice of teaching concepts to others is forcing me to learn and retain information at a much deeper level than I ever had before.<\/p>\n This is exciting for me, as I transform my life from REALTOR\u00ae to educator.<\/p>\n And this is guiding my actions as I work towards the development of my online course.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had the entire first section (half a book) written for a while now.\u00a0 But that\u2019s just the first step.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want my course to be just another \u201cregurgitation of information\u201d, to be briefly experienced and forgotten.<\/p>\n My challenge is to design the course so that it is interactive and encourages my students to take action on the concepts.\u00a0 That is how they will become SKILLED.<\/p>\n I will never be satisfied to simply sell my course to a thousand REALTORS\u00ae.\u00a0 I have a far more lofty goal that that:<\/p>\n I want each one of my students to put the ideas into practice and achieve true success.<\/strong><\/p>\n Truly wanting my clients to achieve success is the same attitude I had in my Real Estate career, and I\u2019m still the same person, after all.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the key lesson for you from this post:<\/p>\n If you truly want to learn a new skill, put it into practice.\u00a0 DO it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Beyond that, try to teach the new skill to someone else.\u00a0 This could be as simple as discussing a new concept with your spouse.<\/p>\n You may trip over your words at first.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of the process.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t clearly explain the concept to someone else, it means you don\u2019t know it well enough.\u00a0 Go back, re-read, study, practice, and try again.<\/p>\n Is it a struggle?\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, indeed!<\/p>\n You need to accept that learning anything new is a struggle.\u00a0 Your brain is literally building new neuro-transmitters and connections.\u00a0 Just like a physical workout, your mental workout can be painful.<\/p>\n To train your brain, accept the pain.<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s life, folks.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve got lofty goals, you don\u2019t reach them by sitting around day-dreaming.\u00a0 You DO what you need to DO, including learning new skills.<\/p>\n How do I know learning is a painful experience?\u00a0 Because I\u2019m doing it right now!\u00a0 You think I\u2019m pulling all this stuff straight out of my brain?\u00a0 Ha!<\/p>\n Sure, it\u2019s painful, but it\u2019s also immensely rewarding.<\/p>\n I\u2019m thoroughly intrigued by what I\u2019m currently learning about learning, so watch for more tips on how to learn more effectively, coming next week!<\/p>\n \u2014Coach Ted<\/p>\n I teach GOOD REALTORS\u00ae how to become GREAT REALTORS\u00ae, with a simple, step-by-step, logical, easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement, inspirational program that requires zero interpretation.<\/p>\n