Always Be Learning: From Theory To Practice

Successful people are always learning.

The buzz-phrase you often hear is “lifelong learner.” (maybe it should be “2.0 learn” per the picture to the right). While I don’t love that saying, it does resonate with me for many reasons.

It’s Impossible To Know It All

The only people who really know it all are “know it alls.” You know the type. It’s the person who has an answer for everything, a story to top yours. While they may claim to know everything, it’s often the case that they are covering up their insecurity. There are just way too many life experiences, way too many things happening in the world at any given time to really have a grasp on anything but a minuscule piece of the pie.

Now this may sound pessimistic. It may be cynical. However, if you’ve spent any time with me you know that I’m a pretty positive person. I’m just stating the facts. Yup – becoming a bit more of a realistic as every year passes.

Life Without Learning Is Boring

But here is the cool, fun part. Why would you ever want to know everything? How boring is that? Learning stimulates the brain. It gets the neurons firing, the juices flowing. I’m not a doctor (although my wife is – really, she is), but I’ve gotta think that learning is somehow good for your health. My great-grandmother Shirley was sharp as a tack right up until her passing at age 92. She was always learning.

So, What’s The Point?

Good question. I wrote this much like a stream of consciousness and wasn’t sure myself where it was going. The original reason for putting these thoughts down on “paper” was to encourage others to stretch their brain a little bit – to get out of their comfort zone and do something they’d never have done before. So to those reading this now, go learn something new. That being said, I do have some examples.

From Theory to Practice: What I Learned Recently

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of returning to my now (as of last weekend) alma mater, Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill, NC. I was invited back to co-teach a class on Social Media (see presentation). Like I am with most things in my life, I was PUMPED about the opportunity. I spent countless hours prepping my slides, gathering relevant examples, and collaborating with my fellow presenters.

And just like that it was over. It was the fastest 3 hours of my life. My 15 minutes of fame seemed like 15 seconds. However, I learned a ton during that 180 minutes of class and the countless hours I spent reflecting:

1. I am my strongest critic – Well. I guess I already knew this about myself, but it was reinforced that evening. I picked apart what I could have done better, moments the class was not engaged, and dumb things I said. I received positive feedback, yet spent my time reflecting on how I can improve for next time. Takeaway: Learn from your past experiences.
2. Everyone is at a different place – A handful of students had heard of (some even used!) Twitter, yet most had not. Many had seen the examples I provided, some had not. Most thought a lot about the topic and were quite engaged and inquesitive, a few had not and were not. I didn’t necessarily factor this into my presentation and it may have suffered as a result. Takeaway: Learn to adapt to your audience.
3. Most things can be learned – I’m self-taught in email marketing. I’m learning social media on the fly. I know some stuff, yet there there are a ton of folks out there smarter then me. Yet, this doesn’t stop me from trying. It doesn’t prevent me from continuing to build my knowledge base and attempting to share with others some of which I’ve accumulated over the years/months/days. Takeaway: Learn something new.
4. Everyone has something to contribute – We often surround ourselves with people that are like us. Chris Brogan and Julien Smith refer to these people as “One of Us.” If you take the time to engage in conversations, I promise you’ll learn something new. Marc Ross (one of my co-presenters) and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. However, the more we spoke that evening, the more we both realized we’re not that far apart. Takeaway: Learn from others.
5. Failure is okay – In fact, failure is probably good. You can only fail if you are trying. I attempted a “Twitter Experiment” during class. The details are irrelevant, but the outcome is important. It bombed. It didn’t prove what I hoped it would. I’m not sure it even made sense. But, I tried it. I attempted to do something different. Takeaway: Learn to take some risks (and be okay with the outcomes).

The Presentation

Have a look at my presentation. What do you think? Did you learn anything? Do you have something to teach me or others? Please share.

Social Media: The Train Has Left The Station

DJ Waldow
@djwaldow

Tagged as: KFBS, Learn, Social Media, Video