Successful people have a thirst for knowledge. They want to know the latest data and facts. Some people strive to become more successful but they think they know it all. That’s the surest sign of someone who will never actually become successful. The most successful people in the world know that they don’t know everything. They never stop learning.
Absorb Knowledge in a Variety of Ways
You can’t just learn from one person or in one way. Seek out knowledge, data, and information from a variety of places. If you want to become truly successful, then you need to develop a thirst for knowledge. Read books, attend webinars, attend seminars, and find a mentor or coach. Subscribe to an alerts service on the web (like Google alerts, Textwalker, or Mention) to be informed of the latest news and blog posts in your area of Interest. Use scholar.google.com to find relevant research studies.
This will help you become very well rounded. In my book, Unlock the Creator in You!, I teach the importance of filling your mind with new information. The more input you have, the more creative and innovative you’ll be. Learn from those who have a different perspective than you have. It’s fun and exciting because it’s very well known that the most successful people are also the most creative and innovative. They zig while everyone else is zagging. That’s the way you need to be.
I completely understand how difficult it can be to fit this kind of learning in. You’re working so hard on your business and you have so much going on in your home life that it seems next to impossible. I assure you, it’s not. There are some great, easy ways you can absorb new information without taking away from anything you need or want to do.
First, you have to schedule it in. You likely don’t have time during the workday. Maybe set aside 30-60 minutes each evening dedicated to catching up on the latest information and learning things that are going to help move your business forward.
It can also be very helpful to learn how to speed-read. There are some interesting studies on how speed-readers absorb and learn more than those who read word for word.
Also, just because the book in front of you has 500 pages doesn’t mean you need to read every word or every page in that book. It’s completely fine to be selective.
Maybe not every chapter applies to you. Maybe you have a specific need right now. It’s fine to focus on those things— it’s more beneficial, actually.
Be Selective About What You Learn
That doesn’t mean you should buy every book and product that comes your way. For one thing, you don’t have enough time to read everything you come across. For another thing, it can be distracting to focus on information that doesn’t directly contribute to your goals.
Are you someone who frequently tends to buy into a new marketing course or method? If so, you’re stuck in learning mode. There’s a difference between learning new information that will help you run your business better. You’ll never get ahead if you’re always buying the next bright shiny object.
You must be selective. If your business model is helping offline businesses advertise online, why would you buy a new book on how to promote products as an affiliate on Amazon? Then why would you buy a book the next week on making it big as a Kindle author?
Sure, it’s great to have multiple streams of income but you’ll never get there if you don’t follow through with one business model first. Once you have a solid handle on one income stream you can start in on other income streams.
It’s also very important to trust those you’re learning from. There are unfortunately some marketers and business people who only create products to make a buck. They don’t practice what they preach and they don’t know what they’re talking about. Make sure those you look up to walk the walk.
That’s one reason so many in my Earn 1K A Day forum are grateful to be members— I’ve been very open about my ups and downs and I freely share information that can help them. There are many active members that share great information even when they truly have nothing to gain from it.
You have so much going on in your life that you must be selective about what you do. Learn from the very best and learn in a variety of ways and you’ll be well on your way to becoming even more successful.
Learn the Art of Focus
I’ll admit it— some days it seems next to impossible to focus so you can learn and absorb information in the right way—there’s a lot to learn and a lot of other stuff to do. There are so many distractions, both online and off. I’ve had to work very hard to come up with a mindset and toolkit that allows me to focus on the work I need to do. You need to figure out what works for you.
There are so many options in front of you. How can you choose just one? There are endless paths you could take to become more successful. How do you know what the right path is? Then, how do you stick to it long enough to find true success?
The tools I’ve given you so far will start you off on the right foot. You know what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. You’re excited about the possibilities and you’re ready to get to the next level.
But the day to day is what holds you back. You’re off focus one day and promise you’ll catch up the next day. Then it happens again and again. Before you know it, the days are zooming by you and you won’t have made any progress. It’s all because you’re not able to fully focus on the work in front of you.
What’s the answer?
Planning Ahead Helps
First, it’s impossible to focus if you’re thinking of the million and one things you must do. Should you work on this project or that project? That’s why planning ahead is so important— you need to make these decisions before the work day so you can just get started and breeze through your work during your precious work hours.
If you try to decide what you’re going to do and stew over it, you’ll get a lot less done. You’ll also be more tempted to do unimportant things like surfing the web or needlessly checking your email.
Promise yourself that you’ll start to plan ahead. Plan your day to day and be clear and firm about your to-do list. Get at least your top 3 priority tasks done each day. You’ll get an amazing amount done and you’ll be a lot more focused. The human mind can only handle so much— it may as well be high value tasks rather than a confused schedule with no clear plan.
Free Yourself from Distractions
How much work can you get done in a few hours? How much work can you get done in a full workday? How much work can you get done in 12 hours of work? Depending on your work style, you might overestimate or underestimate the amount of work you’ll do in a certain period of time. Usually, people overestimate it.
You have a full workday so you should be able to get a lot done, right? Well, not if you’re not focused. You might be distracted by people working around you, by your family members, by thoughts that you’d rather be doing something more fun, and by various social networks and websites. By the end of a full workday you might have gotten next to nothing accomplished.
Do what you can to free yourself from distractions so you can work and learn in the right way. If you need to, there are browser add-ons you can install to block yourself from certain websites or tasks during peak work hours and during your learning time. This is a great way to retrain yourself to focus. You may have fallen into some poor work habits but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.
Also, consider where you do your work and your learning. It’s a dream of many to be able to work or read in a crowded Starbucks in the middle of the day, but maybe that’s much too distracting for you. Many people relish the thought of working from home and getting to stay home with their children, but maybe that’s too distracting for you. Many people believe they work best in an office environment, but what if it’s truly distracting and you’d be better off working from home?
We’re all different. Freeing yourself from distractions is not a one-size-fits-all process. You have to figure out your working style. Figure out what’s holding you back and then put measures into place so it’s not an issue anymore.
You must train yourself to become more focused. Many successful people can be successful in just about any environment because that’s what they’ve trained themselves to do. But you’re not there yet— you’re at the point where you need to practice focusing and not letting anything take you off course. The more successful you become, the more mindful you’ll be of what might hold you back. You’ll care so much about moving forward and getting great things accomplished that nothing will stand in your way.
Remind Yourself of Your Motivations
Nothing pushes you forward and helps you focus as well as having great motivation. You should be so motivated to learn and do better so nothing will stand in your way. You should feel like you’re on fire— like your success is inevitable.
If you don’t feel that way, it’s time to figure out why. It’s time to figure out what you’re true motivations are. You have to pump yourself up to achieve goals that will change your life. Then, you’ll have focus like you’ve never had before.
Have you ever started working or learning and got so into it that it felt easy and you no longer noticed the passage of time? You want to enter into that state of flow whenever possible. Think of the last time that happened and brainstorm why that was. Try to recreate the environment and latch on to that mindset you had. Anything could be happening around you but nothing was going to take you off course.
Stay motivated and you’ll stay focused. Practice entering into a state of flow in your work and learning time where you’re totally absorbed and get incredible things done no matter what happens. You’ll be much happier, more productive, and a whole lot more successful.
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