Here is an incredible article by Darren Hardy of Success.com. It talks about the age of technology and the instant access we have to so much information. More importantly it speaks to how we spend too much time learning and not enough time executing. I read the article and realized that I am guilty of this as well. I think as coaches sometimes we spend too much time looking for too many things to add to our program (as well as our personal lives) instead of taking some good, time-tested principles and learning to master them. Here is the beginning text of the article but I've added the link at the bottom so that you can read more, including Hardy's thoughts on implementing the knowledge we possess.As the chief champion of self-education and continual learning, this probably sounds like an odd statement, but here is the conundrum I think we find ourselves in. For any SUCCESS reader, and certainly anyone reading this blog, learning is not what we lack; in fact, it might be what’s bottlenecking us.
Beyond CDs, DVDs and books, we also live in an age of e-zines, blogs, RSS feeds, personalized readers, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, et al. We have a never-ending flow of ideas, tips, quotes, suggestions and advice being constantly pumped at us. Swimming in a sea of infinite information, we paddle like crazy just to keep our nose above water. It can be exhausting, right?
We read an article and then move on to the next. We listen to an audio and then seek the next. We finish a book and then start the next….
Therein lies the problem: We are reading a lot, seemingly learning a lot, but never really stopping long enough to digest, contemplate, act, review and improve on anything we have just learned.
As you know, knowledge is not power; it is the potential of power. What you do with knowledge is where the power lies. Never before have we had a society filled with so many knowledgeable failures.
We do not lack for knowledge; it is everywhere and most of it is entirely free. What we lack is real growth, improvement and development.
Let me clear up any misconceptions: I think it is good to constantly surround yourself with and feed your mind new ideas, inspiration and positive input, but don’t mistake that for growth—there is a difference.Positive input is good to keep your thoughts, expectations and attitude positively energized. But it can also cause two challenges:
--You expect to use all the ideas and get overwhelmed, thus becoming mentally paralyzed and unable to act on anything.
--You mistake reading and keeping up with the action as improvement.
Learning is not the problem; lack of real study and implementation is.
Don’t just read a book and put it down. Read it, summarize the key ideas and then write out how you are going to implement those ideas into your life. Now act, review and improve. Act again, review and improve, etc., until those ideas have affected results in your life.
Please click on the link below to read Hardy's growth plan to move strongly forward with the knowledge we gain -- it's outstanding!!!
