“How did you come up with that sentence in Spanish?”
I did Spanish lessons. Duh. My response was simple because I really didn’t know how to elaborate. I told my new friends on my trip about Duolingo and how you could use this phone app to learn languages.
Truthfully, I really flopped with my Spanish on my trip to the Dominican Republic last week because I find that no matter how much I study, I need more hands on experience. I was a bit hesitant to open up a conversation in Spanish for the first few days. Then of course when I had a few drinks I would convince myself that I was fluent. Practice makes perfect and I definitely have a long way to go.
Here’s the thing: You can learn anything on this planet. Right now is the best time to be alive ever. Nothing is impossible.
My biggest problem is that I do sometimes get caught up with excuses and sob stories. I don’t believe in feeling sorry for yourself, but yet I still do it on rare occasions. This is why I had to write this article. This is as much for me as it is for you guys. I want to show you how you can learn anything on this planet even when your internal self-doubt is eating you alive.
[Must read: How-to Master The Game Being Played Around You!]
How can you learn anything right now on this planet even if you think you can’t?
Podcasts.
The best free education online right now is podcasts. All I listen is podcasts and love songs (I’m not afraid to admit I’m a fan of Taylor Swift). The best part is that everyone has a podcast these days, even your great uncle. Every successful person has done a podcast interview or is it a host of one.
I currently listen to podcasts in the following genres: pro wrestling, business (Seth Godin, Pat Flynn, James Altucher, Ramit Sethi, etc.), and language lessons.
Download a podcast and learn something new on that two hour bus ride or while your girlfriend gets ready to go out.
Study successful people.
Instead of waiting to interview the person or to meet them in real life, why don’t you just study them?
I’m always observing my successful friends in real life.
- Those that are better than me at BJJ, I simply watch their technique.
- Those that have better blogs, I watch to see whats working for them.
- Those that have more money than me, I observe what makes it possible.
- Those that are more charming than me, just kidding, nobody is!
You can observe from afar and still get ahead.
Here’s a helpful hint: Study what that person did to get to where they are now. Don’t study what they’re doing now because life’s very different at the top of the mountain. You can also study someone who’s just a bit better than you.
[Check out: My interview with Chris Guillebeau on starting a business with $100.]
Find a mentor.
Everything has already been done before. Someone has done that before. There’s nothing that you want to learn or figure out that hasn’t been completed by another human being.
I want to improve in the following areas this year:
- Cooking.
- Pro wrestling.
- BJJ.
- Spanish.
Guess what? There are likely thousands of folks that have succeeded in these fields. Finding a mentor is easier than ever because the whole world is connected.
I want you to find a mentor for one area of your life. You’ll be surprised by how easy it is to find someone that wants to help you out when you’re willing to commit.
“Successful people in nearly every field know that they can’t be their best unless they have good coach in their corner.” — Keith Ferrazzi
Pay for the best training.
My friend Farhan has attended wrestling schools and seminars across the continent. I’ve gone to blogging conferences all over the place and paid for training.
When you really want to master something, you’re going to have to pay for the best training. This training usually comes from any of these sources:
- Reading a biography.
- Seminar.
- Private coaching.
- Industry event.
- Online course.
You can’t be afraid to spend a few bucks if you want to bring your game to the next level.
Google.
I’ve searched the web for advice on everything from texting after a hookup to cooking eggs for breakfast. Google has an answer for everything. You already know that.
You can’t make excuses. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You have to do whatever it takes to get the help you need to work towards financial freedom by 30. I don’t care if you want to be debt-free, make more money, quit your job, or go on your first trip. Blatantly exploit the resources are you to to learn anything.
How do you pick what to do?
This is the real challenge here. We have all of the information available to us. I just proved to you that we do. The problem is launching.
To pick what you want to do, you just have to take a shot at one goal. You can’t try to get better at everything. You need to channel your energy on one focus. Then you can move on to the next one.
How you pick your goal is up to you. All that matters is that your 100% firm and don’t change your mind after a few days.
How do you launch?
Don’t get me wrong, I understand how it’s impossible to get started because there’s so much to think about!
The best way to launch is to set a date and force accountability on yourself.
Right now I’m doing a cooking challenge. I’m holding myself accountable by posting about it on Facebook.
If you don’t have a launch date and you’re not accountable then you’re going to fail.
I want you to launch. I released a whole book on this topic. You can grab the physical copy or Kindle edition for $1. We cover everything from starting to getting your finances together to putting together a team that won’t allow you to fail. What are you going to do? Are you ready to launch?
“Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another.” — Anatole France