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Contrary to popular belief, once you graduate high school, or college if you move onto higher level education, your learning and pursuing of knowledge doesn't stop. With a handful of my friends graduating college, I have been seeing a ton of Instagram posts about their school career finally being over and how it is their last class. While it may be true that this is their last college class, in reality life is like one big "class" with a lot of different teachers who are constantly teaching you different subjects and different lessons. The pursuit of knowledge and your curiosity about learning subjects that you don't know should be a life long pursuit as that keeps life interesting and brings about new skills, knowledge and ideas that you can use to pursue the next thing in life. The people who stop learning all together after they graduate are the ones who get stuck in the same basic job for the next 40 years and while they might get good at doing that job, they never really excel in their career, never take on projects outside of their jobs and then they wonder why they are so unsatisfied with their life. Think about one of the most successful people you know, I can almost assure you that they are taking at least an hour or two a day to expand their knowledge and learn something new. If you are not taking advantage of all the resources we have available, you are just doing yourself a disservice. Heck there are even hours upon hours of free content out on the internet that you can take advantage of, from YouTube videos to podcasts, all without spending a dime. If you are not getting the results you want in life, and see other people excelling in those areas, it is because they know likely a lot more than you in the subject area, and have spent countless hours learning it. If you struggle to find results, working hard is not always going to get you those results if you keep doing the same thing over and over hoping for better results if you "give it time." Instead, focus a few hours a day to learn about and start mastering that skill so that you can actually see results. It is not the lack of hard work holding you back (while if you are really slacking that is also a cause), it is the lack of knowledge you have in a subject area.  Why is Learning Every Day So Important?The more knowledge in the more you are able to craft your own ideas and opinions. Just think about all the content out there, podcasts to books to YouTube videos, all created by some of the best people in the niche you are curious about. They have spent years of their lives learning these lessons and now they are giving them to you for little or no cost compared to the time and effort it cost them to learn those lessons. When you don't have to learn every lesson on your own, you can slowly start to get faster and better results in whatever it may be that you are doing because you are leveraging the knowledge of people who are where you want to be. It is essentially like a mentor that you can learn from all day every day from the comfort of your home. As I said above, education is essential to add to your daily routine because just grinding harder is not going to get you the results if you are working on the wrong things or using the wrong strategies. It is likely a lack of knowledge in the area that is holding you back, whether you realize it or not. Unfortunately, I have heard many people say that if they spend time learning everyday they won't have as much time to work, which is true but if they are learning all of the lessons themselves that they could have avoided by educating themselves then they are going to take 10x longer to get the results than they would have if they would have gained more knowledge in the field. You are not taking time away from your day when you learn you are learning so that you can work smarter and not overwork yourself. As much as we all think that we would love to work like Gary Vaynerchuk does, working 18 hour days, that just is not sustainable for most people, no matter how much you think it is just because you see a couple of people doing it. Learn to educate yourself and work smarter. The Best Way to Start Learning MoreYou probably already know, you are just not taking action... So, where is the best place to start? Well, my first piece of advice is to start with the free resources and move on from there. Start by just quick searching for some podcasts in your niche (look at the ratings to find the best ones) and listen to those for free. Also, start searching YouTube videos that you can also watch for free and gain a good grasp on concepts from. I personally enjoy podcasts a little more, as you can get hour or two hour long interviews with the top people in different industries while people pick their brains and knowledge. While you can find this on YouTube, you are not likely to have an hour or two where you can just sit and watch a video compared to a podcast where you can listen to it at the gym or in the car. Next is books, start building reading at least a little into your daily routine. You can just download books from iTunes onto your phone for a fraction of the cost of a paperback or hardcover book and then you have the ability to read and learn anywhere you find some extra time, such as in the line at Chipotle. Some of the greatest thought leaders and business people and just masters in any niche have written countless books that you can dive into as they share the things that helped them the most. Are you are really missing out on knowledge that can save you thousands of dollars, just because you don't want to spend a few dollars on a book? Next is online courses, or guides or resources in general. You can start with free blogs but the most impactful knowledge is going to be from the courses and guides. I am not sure why the online courses have gotten such a bad wrap the past however many years because you can learn much more from them compared to what you would learn in a college course at a fraction of the cost. You can spend $200 on an online course from someone who has spent years learning an industry and learn 10x more than you would in a basic college class that costs you $2000-5000. You are paying more at college per class when you don't even try to learn anything, don't show up to class and bulls**t your way through the class. People probably don't realize how much the classes cost though because they are just taking out loans to take the classes and then don't have to pay it yet. Once they start paying those student loan payments they will realize how much those classes were actually costing them. Podcasts You Should Check OutThese are my daily and go-to podcasts. Podcasts are a major part of my day as they are easy to consume and you can essentially listen to them wherever you want. I usually listen to a podcast on the way to school and/ or on the way home, at the gym, on my morning walks and even in lecture (when they are really boring days). This means I don't have to carve out any extra time to listen to them during my day, I can just do them when I am doing other tasks that I don't have to be thinking about that hard, such as driving. With so many opportunities to listen to podcasts and a way that I found to listen to them faster and get the same information, I have a good list of podcasts you should check out as this is my current collection. No, I don't listen to all of them everyday, this just gives me a good variety to see what ones have topics or guests that are interesting to me. So, here is the list (in no real order).
This will give you a good list to research and find what ones you want to start listening to as these shows cover topics from business to mindset to health and even psychology and investing. Just screenshot this list and pull up that podcast app to start researching these great podcasts when you are done with the blog because now I want to show you how to listen more effectively. *Podcast Listening Tip*Okay, actually going to be two tips because I am feeling generous today. First, find a time to start listening where you might be doing an activity that keeps the motor function in your brain busy, such as walking, taking a shower, working out or driving. I have found I learn much better when I have an activity that I don't really have to think about going on at the same time. Next, start listening to podcasts at 2x speed as you will be able to take in the same knowledge in half the time. Not many people ever even think to try this but it actually really helps and you get to the point after listening to enough that this seems like a normal speed. You are just teaching yourself how to learn again, which is something we probably haven't done since grade school. In the bottom left of the podcast player (on iPhones) there is a little "1x" that you can tap to change to "1.5x" or "2x." I would suggest spending a few weeks listening at 1.5x until that becomes normal for you and then jumping to 2x which will eventually sound like normal speed when you train your mind.  Some Great Books to Start ReadingThe average CEO reads 60 books per year. Again with the Gary Vaynerchuk example here, he says that he has never read a business book and while that may work for him, again that is what he found to work for himself so don't just push off reading and never learn just because you are trying to copy him, heck he has written multiple business books. Reading is an essential part of your week as it helps you bring in new knowledge and learn lessons that took others years to learn, cutting back the time it takes you to start seeing results. I would suggest starting with the classics like the Alchemist, The Richest Man in Babylon, Think and Grow Rich, etc if you have not read those yet as they are essential business and life lessons that stand the test of time. Other than that here is a quick list you might want to start looking at from what I have recently enjoyed.
I hope you were able to grab some advice from this blog and start learning today, let me know in the comments what you are reading or listening to! Thanks, Taylor P.S. if you are looking to support the community and not miss similar future blogs, join the mailing list and get a free guide to even more habits (don't worry I won't spam you) Click here to join the list and get your guide to my favorite habits >> Other Content You Will Enjoy
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