Lowest risk way to start and build a business
The purpose of this article is to share my experience and methodology from stepping into a new knowledge arena and becoming the master within a short period of time, to be able to start and build a business and make money.
In this article, I will break down and outline the framework:
(i) 3 key elements — what a highly effective learner (also called “super learner”) really means
(ii) 4 reasons why we need to learn to be a super learner
(iii) 5 steps to become a super learner
Psst, what’s your goal of learning? If it’s making more money, then I’ve got something for you to speed up your process, help my students to get first 1–3 paying clients within 3 months. lmk in chat what I can help you
What a super learner really means?
My definition: a super learner is a planned, active learner who learn systematically.
3 key elements to categorise as a super learner based on the definition:
(a) planned
(b) active
© learn systematically
(a) planned
Super learner learns with a plan. They don’t go into the forest to hunt (for solution) without a map. While other people spend a lot of time wondering around figuring north and east, a super learner would know exactly where to go, when to make a turn. That is the reason why they learn much more efficiently — with plan.
I have shared “my 5-step learning map for real growth in the shortest amount of time possible without information overload” before, so I would not go into details here. If you have not checked out that article, you may do so now and then come back to this one.
In quick summary, the reason why a learning map is critical to a super learner is because without which, we would easily fall into the trap of consumption of content rather than taking the control to be a focused, active learner. The learning map is there to keep our eyes on the prize.
A learning plan should consist of 5 elements:
(i) the capability to be acquired
(ii) description of that capability
(iii) means of learning
(iv) expected learning outcome
(iv) how we evaluate the capability
In my book review on “How to read a book”, this learning map is extremely helpful for level 2 inspectional reading where we (readers) would act as an inspector of the book and look for clues to decide “whether this book is worth my time to read it in full”. If you would like to see the full book review on “How to read a book” (which is highly recommended by the way), click here.
(b) active
The principle is the more passive you are, the more you are consuming content; the more active you are, the more you are learning.
Learning is an active activity. You need to make effort to think, reflect, question, conclude, make logical deduction etc. One cannot learn if he or she merely sits there, let the mind go empty and let the content flows.
In just a moment, I will break down and share the 5 steps to become a super learner — each step is actionable and require you to take active action. No action, no gain.
© learn systematically
A super learner is able to learn a lot within a short period of time without confusing or overwhelming oneself because there is a system. A system is what keeps the information organised in the super learner’s mind. The system acts like the tree stem and branches while the pieces of information is like leaves. Without the stem and branches the leaves would fall everywhere and it would be difficult to find and organise. With the stem and branches, we know exactly where a certain leave should be, and can find it easily when we need it.
The analogy reminds you of mind-map? Great, because that’s exactly where I got the idea from. Although personally I don’t like to use digital mind-mapping tool (I prefer hand-writing mind-map, or structure in word), it is more important that we have structure and framework to follow when actively learning and less about the specific tool or format.
4 reasons why being a super learner is a much sought after skill?
#1 our attention span is shorter (thanks to social media and reels)
#2 having to deal with many aspects in life, most of us don’t have 10 hours to sit down and learn
#3 the world moves faster with technology, so should our pace of learning
#4 normal people could take 4 years to acquire the same knowledge that a super learner takes 1 year to obtain, would you rather spend the 5 minutes (time to go through this article) to learn how to be a super learner and benefit from the skill for the rest of your life?
With these in mind, let’s dive into the 5steps to become a super learner.
Step 1: creating the learning map
Please refer to “my 5-step learning map for real growth in the shortest amount of time possible without information overload” for details
In essence, a learning plan should consist of 5 elements:
(i) the capability to be acquired
(ii) description of that capability
(iii) means of learning
(iv) expected learning outcome
(iv) how we evaluate the capability
Step 2: creating the structure
To build a high rise building, you need to set the foundation structure first. Similarly to absorb a ton of information in the shortest period possible, you need a foundation structure — something the piecemeal information can hold onto and know where they stand.
Take this article for example, the structure is clear:
(i) 3 elements
(ii) 4 reasons
(iii) 5 steps
That is how I present the information to you because this is the structure and framework I created to learn to be a super learner — it is logical, easy to remember and clear.
When you first come across the information, you may not know how to create the structure. What I would do is to find objective reference for the structure of the subject that I am learning, that could be: industry report, books, course content, blog posts, and even youtube video on the subject.
Industry reports are a good point of reference because they are usually very structured — that will give you a starting point of how to structure your information.
Books are carefully and professionally edited to be presented in the most logical order as possible, so that would again give us some ideas in structuring our information.
A course is designed as a step-by-step guide to achieve a specific goal, hence we can refer to the course content to build our own structure.
Blog posts (like this one), and youtube video (good structured ones) can also provide some insights on the structure.
The structure can be adjusted later on, but it is critical to have one in place before we input any information to make sure we are learning systematically.
Step 3: being a sponge and absorb as much relevant information you can within a short period of time
If you only have 15 mins to learn each day, that is fine. We just need to make sure we make the most out of it.
Absorb as much relevant information as you can find on the topic that you are studying and start filling out the structure. You don’t necessarily need to follow the structure in searching for information (you can if you feel more organised and easy), but our goal is to fill our tree stem and branches (structure) with leaves in the shortest amount of time possible.
When the learning map and the structure created, you will know exactly what you are looking for. For example, if you have a book on hand, you can check out the table of content or index to know which chapter or pages would be relevant to your learning. You only need to study the relevant information and that would save you hours and hours reading the book from cover to cover and not sure what to extract from the book afterwards. That is the power of super learning.
Step 4: cutting the useless branches
Now that we have matched the leaves to the branches, it is time to trim the tree. We do not need all the information we have obtained, and in many cases, we would not be able to remember that much. This is a step where we look at the tree (structure) and leaves (information) we have created and collected with a critical eye to see which is necessary and essential for the purpose of our learning objective (you may want to refer to your learning map constantly to focus on your goal of learning).
Step 5: using the systemised knowledge to solve your problem
Your learning plan should have specify the capability to be acquired with description of that capability — which is what we want to acquire for the attainment of certain goal and result.
Learning is the active pursuit of the solution.
So, what’s the problem we are trying to solve and actively finding the solution for? That would depend on what do we want to achieve.
The difference and gap between what we would like to achieve — i.e. the goal and the reality — i.e. where we are now, is the problem we are trying to solve.
Now that we have the systemised knowledge ready, it is time to apply it to solve our problem — to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be.
In the process of utilisation of the systemised knowledge, we should keep an open heart to adjust our knowledge based on actual practice and experience.
Since the knowledge that we acquired so far probably come from other people’s experience and their knowledge, we would want to tailor it to our own in the process of utilisation — which would involve removing anything that may not be applicable to our situation and supplementing the knowledge part that we may not have thought of before until actually applying the knowledge.
Follow these 5 steps and you will also be a super learner — being an active learner pays off handsomely. You will observe and obtain quantum leap result in a short period of time and achieve self-growth and self-development in such a short time that you may not previously consider possible.
Anyone who takes the effort to become a planned, active, systematic learner can become an expert in a subject within the shortest amount of time possible without overwhelming or confusing oneself (i.e. a super learner).
To your success,
Connie
Any question: DM me at IG @simplifiedbusinesscoach
