How to preserve your learning

May 08, 2008 12:55 PM

Fantastic! You’ve just learned something new.

The next step is to preserve it.

So, here are the four things you need to do:

FIRST: Preserve your learning by evaluating it.

After all, we learn not from our experiences but from intelligent reflection upon those experiences.

So, ask yourself these questions:

*What else is like this?
*What did I just learn from this experience?
*How does this fit into my theory of the universe?
*Does this statement give me any insight about myself?
*How can the basic concept be applied to different areas?
*What went right/wrong/perfectly about what just happened?

SECOND: Preserve your learning by writing it down.

After all, if you don’t write it down, it never happened.

So, ask yourself these questions:

*How can I blog about this?
*What folder does this go into?
*What journal does this go into?
*How can I make writing a part of this?
*What list can I immediately make this into?
*What are the various ways I can recycle this intellectual property?

THIRD: Preserve your learning by teaching it to others.

After all, you learn something most effectively the moment you teach it to someone else.

So, ask yourself these questions:

*How can I teach this to others?
*Who else needs to know about this?
*What’s the Universal Human Emotion/Experience?
*Through which medium can I best teach this idea to others?
*Now that I’ve written about this, what else does this make possible?
*If everyone did exactly what I said, what would their world look like?

FINALLY: Preserve your learning by leveraging it.

After all, killing two stones with one bird is always the best business practice.

So, ask yourself these questions:

*Where can I use this?
*What else can be made from this?
*How can I make this last forever?
*How many different ways can I leverage this?
*How can I use this to add more value to myself?
*How can this mistake quickly be made into something good?

REMEMBER: Evaluate. Write. Teach. Leverage.

Preserve your learning today!

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* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag

Still haven’t written your book yet?