You’ve probably heard it before – never stop learning. But have you ever embraced it? Do you actually get what that means??? I’m not sure you do…
Everyone knows why learning is valuable, right? Yet so few follow the path of continuous learning. What do I mean by that?
Most of us get distracted and occupied with the daily routines and responsibilities that quickly fill our work day.
Woo… that was a mouthful. Let me elaborate.
Instead of investing time in learning new things we often choose to repeat and optimize – i.e. get really good at a few specific things. I know you know what I’m talking about. Stop to think how much time you actually spend learning something new at your job. It’s probably zero because you’re too focused on doing the same things over and over again, with the hopes of doing them better.
What’s wrong with that?
Sheeeeeit… That’s like Michael Jordan only practicing free throws. Would he be the greatest of all time if that’s all he did? Hell no. He would have been great at free throws, but he wouldn’t have won all those championships.
Or, it’s like my 18-month old son only doing 3 things every day, instead of the 184 things he does. He’s running around, climbing on shit, putting things in his mouth, ripping his diaper off, screaming at the dogs, playing in the sand, banging on instruments, etc. He’s doing all these things and learning from every single second. This learning is essential for his personal development, much like learning is essential for our career development. If he only did a few things every day it would take him many more years to grow into adolescence, and eventually adulthood.
Now don’t get me wrong – mastering something is essential in business. The greatest workers are those that are the best at what they do. No doubt about that, young stunner. However! The elite workers are awesome at what they do and never stop searching for more. In other words, they stay hungry and thirsty. They always want more and they understand that their education (a.k.a. learning) is NEVER complete.
Make sense? Good.
Now that you realize it’s a problem, let’s talk about how to find a solution. Lucky for you, there’s a quick fix.
Set time aside. Period.
Put some freakin time aside to become a learn boss. It could be one hour a week for all I care. The point is that you need to treat it just like any other task or item in your job/business. Otherwise, it’ll never make it into your routine. Trust me, it won’t. For me it’s Friday mornings. I block out 4-5am to work on something that’s new and interesting, or something that I’ve been wanting to learn for a while.
So pull up ole’ Google calendar, Outlook, or whatever thing you use to manage your schedule. Create a new recurring event called “Learn Boss Time” and save that mug. Oh, and don’t forget to set a reminder because you know you’ll forget that shit if you don’t.
Boom. You just invested in your career AND made yourself more valuable to society.
Now if your boss or co-workers ask what that’s for you can politely tell them:
“This is my learn boss time. It’s where I invest time in myself to learn new things so I can become a better worker, and ultimately add more value to this company.”
They will either laugh, get upset, or be impressed. If it’s not the latter you should find a new gig. Those people just don’t get it. But after reading this I know you do 🙂
Ali Jafarian
Ali is a father, husband and serial entrepreneur with a deep drive to create. He writes, records, codes and builds things to inspire the artist in all of us.
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