Lessons - Rapid Learning

Welcome to Lessons episodes of Success Story, part of the HubSpot podcast network. These lessons episodes will be shorter conversations with past guests, valued members of the success story community, and myself. They'll be focused on teaching you actionable, insightful takeaways that you can use to upscale your personal and professional life. Every week I write two newsletters, but one of my newsletters has three parts to it. It has a short idea, question, and a quote, and I thought it would be good because I really enjoy the content in this sort of short form newsletter style, and I want to speak about some of the things that I write about because I think they're also going to be valuable, and hopefully they'll be useful and helpful to you. So I think last week is where we'll start. The idea that I wrote about is mastering the art of rapid learning. The question that I asked was about lying to yourself, and the quote that I found was about laziness as a signal. But let's start with the idea and we'll go through everything. So how do we master the art of rapid learning? There actually is a quote about this one, even though this isn't the quote of the week, from Albert Einstein. He said, I have no special talents, I'm only passionately curious. And this is a really profound statement. It's not just a statement that is filled with humility, but there's so much wisdom. Because curiosity is the rocket fuel for learning. So I want to dissect how to hack your curiosity to basically learn anything faster and better. Step one, embrace the unknown. So our education system is usually mistakes, memorization for learning, but the real learning, it always begins with a simple, I don't know. Embracing ignorance isn't a weakness, it's the starting line in the race towards more knowledge, more education. Second step, question everything, literally. Why? How? What if? He's, they unlock understanding and insight. Another quote by Socrates, he famously said, I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think. You want to make thinking and questioning your new habits. Step three, you want to turn the world into your classroom. So learning isn't confined to four walls in a chalkboard, talk to people, read books, not just articles, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries. Every interaction is a lesson waiting to happen and then step four, connect the dots. So Steve Jobs believe that creativity was really just connecting things and he wasn't wrong. So curiosity to link ideas from different worlds, combine art and science, merge history and technology. These intersections are where innovation and wisdom are born. Step five, fail and fail better because every failure is a lesson in disguise. So embrace it, learn from it, move forward. As JK Rowling said, it is impossible to live without failing at something. In step six, reflect and repeat and each day with a reflection. What did you learn? How can you apply it? This isn't just knowledge, it's about wisdom. You always have to remember your brain is like a muscle and curiosity is its work out. So train it, feed it, challenge it. The world is a library. Every person in it is a book, so you want to read, you want to think deeply, you want to ask boldly, curiosity isn't just about learning faster or better. It's really about turning every day into an adventure in learning. So start today. The question that I asked is, are you lying to yourself about what makes you happy? Because the greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions. That's Leonardo. This is the profound truth because it opens a Pandora's box, especially when we consider what actually makes us happy. And I want you to ask yourself, are you lying to yourself about what makes you happy? Think about it. See, every day we're swamped with society's definition of success and happiness. Big house, flashy car, high flying job, checklist, never ends, but is that what truly fulfills you? I'll give you an example, meet Emily. Emily Graduate, Emily climbed the corporate ladder with this incredible speed on paper. She was the picture of success, but at night, the reality was different. During at the ceiling, she's haunted by a single question that I think really resonates with a lot of us is this it. And her dilemma isn't unique. We wear so many masks, not just to fool the world, but to deceive ourselves. And sadly, in a world that is constantly trying to shape us, knowing and owning our truth is like revolutionary. It's so, it's so novel. And here's something I want to leave you with. Happiness isn't a one-size-fits-all. It's a tailor-made suit. It's crafted from our desires and our values. And you want to think about the moments when you felt truly alive. And I bet they don't even make up 90, 80, or even 70% of your existence. This is why. We are often scared to confront our truth, to admit our desires might diverge from the path that we're on, the job, the spouse, the friends, but in that fear lies wisdom and freedom. Freedom to choose, to embrace the odd, the unique, the real us. Happiness doesn't reside in the external. You've heard this before, but let me just drive it home. Not a destination. It's a journey, a journey of authentic choices. So be willing to take that journey, be willing to look in the mirror, I'll have an honest look in the mirror. And remember that each day we're writing our story. We are narrating our own story by our choices and our truths. And the sooner that you shake yourself away can realize that happiness is not something that happens to us, but something that we create for ourselves to better. So what's your truth? What's your happiness? Find it, own it, live it. Because at the end of the day, your happiness is a story, and only you can write. And honestly, it starts with a question, are you lying to yourself about what truly makes you happy? And the answer might change everything. And lastly, the quote that I found that I love, laziness is not a character flaw, but a signal to pay attention. And funny enough, even though I started my last two sections with quotes, this is a quote that I actually put in the quote section of the newsletter. And it's actually not even a tribute to anybody, but I just love what it taught. Let me explain why I found this so important for me, at least in my life. But it speaks about laziness, and laziness usually gets a bad rap. And most would agree that laziness is some sort of cardinal sin or a sign of weakness or some sort of source of shame, but it's not a character flaw. It's actually a signal. Pay attention to it. See, laziness is defined as lack of motivation to do something, despite having the ability to do it. But laziness is actually not a choice. It's a response. So a response is something that is wrong in your life, something that is draining your energy, blocking your creativity, or hurting your well-being. Laziness is not a leading indicator, but a lagging indicator of stress, of depression, of boredom, of fear, of burnout. Whatever it is, it is a massive cause for concern and a signal to pay attention. So next time somebody calls you lazy, or you feel like you are lazy, think about what in your life is causing you to not want to engage and to commit. Anyway, short video, three ideas, an idea, a question, and a quote, hopefully they gave you some value, and make you take a hard look at yourself.