10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Guarantee Success in Learning New Skills
by Danny Forest
1. Who is your average of the five people you spend the most time with?
1.1. Surround yourself with people who will uplift you.
1.1.1. You become who you are hanging out with.
1.1.2. Be with people who have similar goals to you, and you allow yourself to achieve things more effortlessly.
2. Who or what keeps you accountable?
2.1. Set some accountability before learning something.
2.2. Make your goal so clear that it becomes a necessity in your mind.
2.3. Mention what you're working on learning publicly
2.4. Find an accountability buddy.
3. Where do you practice?
3.1. Find a location that is “comfortable” and distraction-free.
3.2. If it’s a team skill, practice with your team
3.3. Always have a good idea of where your optimal practice setting would be before you even start.
4. When do you practice?
4.1. Don't practice ad-hoc without a schedule
4.2. Always practice when your brain is prone to learning.
5. How do you measure your progress?
5.1. Without knowing what it means to progress for you, you won’t progress at all.
5.2. Always figure out what key “metrics” you want to measure for the skills you want to learn.
6. What is your ultimate end goal?
6.1. Be effective and do the right things.
6.1.1. The right things depend on why you want to learn the skills you want to learn.
6.2. Before starting to learn anything, always ask yourself why you want to learn it.
7. How much did you spend learning your new skills?
7.1. Spending money on your learning adds much-needed accountability.
7.2. Buy books. Attend conferences and seminars. Buy courses and programs.
7.2.1. Any of these will give you extra motivation to continue and perform.
8. How much research did you do beforehand?
8.1. Simply searching on Google: “Best way to learn…” doesn’t exactly work.
8.2. The best way to learn anything is never the best way for everyone
8.3. What is YOUR optimal way to learn the skill? Do some research beforehand to figure it out.
9. What is your morning and evening routine like?
9.1. A strong morning routine will put you in a positive mindset for the rest of the day.
9.2. A good evening routine will improve the net quality of your sleep. Good sleep + positive mindset = win.
10. Who is learning alongside you?
10.1. Be surrounded by a community of learners.
10.1.1. It will greatly contribute to your accountability and success.
10.2. Find yourself mentors, tutors, and coaches.
10.2.1. Learning from others directly helps you not repeat mistakes others have already made.