Do you have all the pieces?
To complete the learning puzzle
Hey welcome friend!
It’s the start of a new month and I have a few things for you.
So let’s not waste any time and dive in.
Main quest 🛡
You know what's ironic?
Many moons ago, learning a skill was about having access to best resources or top experts in the craft.
If you could know what most didn't, you had a great competitive advantage.
One of the reasons why ancient libraries were important. Not only because they housed specialized knowledge, but because it was centralized.
Fast forward to some point between 2014 and 2019... things took a whole turn.
The issue is no longer lack of access to knowledge (we're drowning in it), the issue is lack of application.
Put it in a shorter, catchier sound bite:
"The problem is not lack of Access, it is lack of Application".
And I'd argue (based on what I've seen over just the past 2 years), that the underlying issue is not the skills themselves.
It is about the mindset people have before getting them.
That can sound abstract so let me give you an example.
Suppose we have Diego who's 39 and has worked in traditional corporate jobs his whole career on the advertising & publicity industry.
In his last company, the entire department got laid off and he got a 1 month notice.
Those news were not particularly well received since he doesn't have much savings in the bank and has a wife and 2 kids to sustain.
1 month later he has no job, no potential replacements, and no clue what to do next.
He sees online these people building their own businesses, using AI to streamline workflows, and making good money in the process.
He's now at the crossroads of keep going the traditional route or go into the unknown and learn all these different things to have a chance of never having to depend on a job again.
Now he needs to know where he wants to be in the next 6-12 months. What "vehicle" will take him there and how to avoid the pitfalls along the journey.
And what normally happens is that the fear of the unknown, the anxiety of having to make something happen, the overwhelm of not knowing what opportunities or resources are worth his time, among many other things; will get in his way to reach his destination.
Most people in that scenario try a couple things, don't see results often, get discouraged, and move to something different saying that what they tried was "not for them".
All that stuff I mentioned is mindset related.
It's a similar thing with AI.
For example, I have sent my older brother more than a few resources on how he can leverage AI tools to do work on his own and don't rely on a regular job. He mostly dismisses it saying "that stuff is for engineers and technical people".
(That's mostly a limiting belief rather than anything else.)
In that example, mindset is what makes us either quit something (maybe too early) or keep on going.
Consider the following scenarios:
First, there's the common reaction: people face something new, make a few attempts, don’t get the expected results, and think “that's too difficult it's not for me" or "I don't have the talent for it".
Another common one is when they try something with lots of initial excitement. But then they realize it’s not as easy as they once thought. Then they get discouraged or distracted and forget about it entirely.
And then there’s a smaller group of people whose approach with something new is more like giving it a couple of tries, be like "wow! this is harder than anticipated. I'll need to learn more about it first" and then they stay in the “information consumption” part a tad too much instead of actually practicing.
There’s also the type of people who feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed and start doubting themselves and their capabilities.
All those scenarios are similar in the way that they don't talk about problems like:
Lack of information.
Not having access to someone experienced (teachers, mentors).
Lacking the proper tools.
Little to no resources (time, money, energy).
They all talk about mindset-related problems.
And the worst part?
These people could have the necessary resources and tools at their disposal.
But if they don't take the required actions consistently at the start… they deprived themselves of the results.
It's like they subconsciously forfeited the race. They quit without realizing it.
That's a truly sad scenario to be in if you ask me.
One that I want to eliminate as much as possible.
A "not on my watch" type of thing.
That’s why I have a challenge for you:
What’s one belief you have about yourself and your capabilities that “sounds” logical but is a limiting belief in disguise?
And what’s one small, concrete action you can take this week to challenge it and find out if it’s true or just a limitation?
Going from spectator to player in life is a mindset game.
And since you're here, you’re in it to win it.
Experiments 🧪
The past month was quite challenging for me. Be it physically, mentally, emotionally, etc…
But thanks to previous experiment I started (you know, the creatine one) it not only was tolerable, it didn’t cause any significant issues. It was like a regular month (without being a regular month).
I had an almost perfect streak of taking the daily 5g of creatine for the past 4 weeks. It has helped me have a consistent level of energy despite unforeseen issues and not-so-pleasant surprises.
I’m also pretty glad to report that after, God knows how many months, I have a more structured and repeatable routine for the biphasic sleep. (At least that’s what I’ve seen for the past week and a half).
Who would have ever thought that a supplement long thought to be only for bodybuilders and “gym rats” would be so useful for the everyday person working out in the field and side-hustling online.
Power-ups ✨
A quick one for you.
Perplexity just released “Labs“. It’s a new way of doing searches and research that goes waayyy beyond just bullet point lists or nicely formatted reports (it even allows you to create mini-web apps!).
I talked about their Spaces feature in the past and showed you a couple use cases (like how I was using it).
This one, I haven’t used it yet.
But…
Here’s a nice example of what you can use it for.
That’s it for this time.
Since it’s the first day of the month, I’m not only going to say that I truly hope that you have an awesome start of the next 30 days. But also that you make the most of that time and don’t let setbacks get in your way.
Talk to you next weekend. ✌️
Cheers,
Juan.