Tag Learn Everyday

Learn to Earn

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I’ve frequently said that one of my greatest strengths is that I’m pretty much average in almost every way. Almost. There are a couple of things I do that most people simply don’t do. They could, they just don’t. That’s why I can often exceed the expectations of others despite my being average.

One of those things is that I’m up hours before other people. I am also fortunate to be able to read quickly while retaining most of what I read. I write almost as quick as I read, a blog post like this takes maybe 15 minutes to write. Those things combine to help me do the one thing that has helped me succeed more than any other, they help me to always always always be learning. I give myself time, very early in the day, that other people choose to not give themselves. I use much of that time to learn. 

By 6:00am I’ve read two or 3 newspapers, perhaps listened to a podcast, watched a TedTalk or read a magazine or two. I’ll look at what the overseas stock markets are doing so I’ll know whether or not it’s a good idea to peek at my 401k that day or not. Plus it’s in that timeframe that I write this blog two days a week and make my Principles of Leadership Videos for Twitter. 

All this before most people are even thinking about getting themselves out of bed. That allows me to accomplish more than my average cohorts even if I’m below average the rest of the day. 

So I don’t cut people much slack when they tell me they don’t have time to do this or that. I know for a fact that what they are lacking is not time, it’s priorities. 

Most people quit learning at 18 or 22. They may pick up some extra skills on the job, they may learn some stuff through osmosis but the vast vast majority of people stop their formal education the last day they walk out of school. 

You cannot reach your full potential without constantly learning. Knowledge compounds over time. The more you learn the more you will learn in the future. The more you learn the better your choices will be. Better choices lead to better outcomes and far fewer negative consequences. 

Better outcomes and fewer negative consequences lead to higher incomes and lower expenses. Success boils down to what you know and how you use what you know. 

It makes little difference how far you got in school, you can and should still be learning. You need to fire up those study habits from whatever grade you finished and start studying again. Make time to study. Make time to learn. Make time to earn. Make time to succeed…in every area of your life. 

I run into a whole lot of people who are smarter than me. But they don’t know as much as I do. I see many people who have the potential to far surpass any of my accomplishments but I know they are very unlikely to. They are comfortable with what they know. They may not know it all but they are very confident that they know enough. 

Truth be told not knowing something causes very few problems when compared to “knowing” something that just isn’t so. Consistent learners are always challenging what they “know” to see if it is in fact accurate. 

People who keep learning keep rising. Average people who keep learning and using what they learn will consistently outperform above average people who have stopped learning. 

Somebody much smarter than me, I don’t recall who but there’s this thing called Google where you can look it up, once said, “if you’re willing to learn no one can stop you. If you’re not willing to learn no one can help you.” 

I’ve already learned some stuff today but it’s still early, I’m sure I’ll be learning more before the day is done. Will you join me? Not only today but tomorrow and the next day too. You’ll be surprised how much you still have to learn once you commit yourself to learning everyday. But other people will be even more surprised and that’s what makes learning so much fun. 

Want more of LeadToday? I’m changing things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I have started publishing two videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $5 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month. 

If you’re interested in taking a look head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success. 🙂

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday 

Yearning for Some Learning

Steve Keating Leave a comment

Successful people have a yearning for learning. The most successful people never stop learning. They know that curiosity might kill a cat but it helps a human being grow. 

A bunch of great things come from learning everyday. 

Consistent learning makes you consistently more interesting to other people. You always have something interesting to pass along. Be aware however that nobody likes a know it all so use your hunger for knowledge to better yourself, not look better to others. 

The more you learn the easier it is to relate to people different than yourself. You’ll find more in common with others. You will value the opinions of others and have more empathy for them. That empathy will make it much easier to communicate with people who you don’t normally associate with. 

Learning helps build self-confidence and self-esteem, two big factors in your success. When you know you can learn anything it’s easier to believe in yourself. It’s easier to believe you can do anything. It’s easier to believe that because if you’re willing to learn it’s a fact…you can do anything. 

If you’re a leader, or hope to one day lead, then consistently learning sets a great example for the people you lead. It’s also a great example for your kids. The people you influence will do what you do far faster then they will do what you say. You have a much better chance of helping them become consistent learners if you’re a consistent learner too. 

People who know more tend to make more…more money that is. The more we know the more we can do. The more we can do the more we can help other people. The more we help other people the more likely it is that benefits follow. The benefit of knowing you did something good follows. The benefit of making a difference in the lives of other people follows. Leaving behind a legacy of caring when you’re gone follows and yes, the benefit of more money follows as well. 

Never in human history has it been easier to learn. The internet is loaded with good information. Much of it is even true but one of the first things you need to learn is that much of it isn’t true so choose your sources of information carefully. 

There are a ton of excellent podcasts. Even more highly informative blogs. TED Talks are informative AND free. 

Plus there are books! Leaders are readers. 15 minutes a day can make all the difference between learning something new and being stuck with old ideas and old ways of doing things. 15 minutes a day. If you have convinced yourself you don’t have 15 minutes a day to read then let me suggest the very first thing you need to learn about is prioritizing the important things in life. 

You have all the time you need, what you don’t have are the right priorities. Once you figure that out you will be unstoppable. Remember, you read it here first

Learning a Little Leads to Learning a Lot

Steve Keating 4 Comments

People are busy. I hear people talking all the time about the things they don’t have time to do. Sacrifices must be made in the name of time, even though we wish we didn’t have to. 

People are really busy…but are they productive? 

I’m sorry to say that in too many cases the answer to that question is a great big NO. People get so busy that they can’t even find the time to question if what they are doing is getting them closer to their goals and objectives. (Assuming of course they invested time in actually setting goals) 

I’d suggest to you that if you didn’t do something yesterday to get closer to one of your goals then no matter how busy you were you were not productive.

One of the most productive things people can do is set aside a few minutes EVERY day to learn something new. With all the blogs and podcasts available these days that’s never been easier. If you’re selective with the blogs and podcasts you read and listen to you could even learn something true. 🙂

But again, people are really busy and don’t have time to feed their brain. That’s what learning is you know, literally feeding your brain. I’m pretty sure if you can find 15 minutes a day to feed your stomach then you can find the time to feed your brain as well. 

That’s all I’m suggesting here and not even 15 minutes a day, how about 15 minutes 3 or 4 days a week. For many of us that’s far more than we’re investing in our futures today. 

Read a book, even if it takes weeks and weeks to finish it. The most successful people are big time readers. They are never far from a book. They have made a habit out of reading which is not surprise. Successful people have developed the habits of doing the things that less successful people don’t like to do…or won’t invest the time to do.

I’ll bet you can’t tell me how you used all 10,080 minutes available to you last week. But I can tell you that it’s highly likely you frittered away a good many of them. Those are minutes you’ll never get back, you’ve lost them forever. If you had invested 45 of them in learning then you have at least 45 minutes that can never be taken away from you. 

A little learning, each and every week leads to a lot of learning before you know it. Make a habit of learning something new on a regular basis; you might be surprised at how much there is to learn. 

So Much to Learn

Steve Keating 1 Comment

I have been fortunate over the years to work along side some smart people. Some of them were so smart that they even knew they had a lot to learn. Unfortunately, while some of them were smart they weren’t exactly smart enough to know that they didn’t actually know it all.

I’ve learned a lot over the years myself, including this little nugget of truth…the day I’ve learned all I need to know will be my final day on earth. I have so much more to learn that I may live forever!

Several years ago I was on the interview team for an open marketing position. One candidate in particular seemed very qualified. He had great experience and at first it seemed like he would fit the culture well. The interview was pretty much done and we were just kinda talking and I mentioned I was in the process of earning a Marketing Executive Certification. We talked about all the classes involved and he stated that he would never do something like that.

When I asked him why he said, “I’ve learned all I need to know about marketing.” “There isn’t anything else left to learn.” I had worked with people who seemed to think they knew it all before but I had never before heard anyone actually say it out loud.

Now the interview was really done and so was this guy’s chances of joining our team. He was maybe in his early forties and he was convinced he knew it all. Not only knew it all, he knew all that would ever be known about marketing.

It was obvious he wouldn’t be a good fit for a company with learning in it’s DNA. I actually felt kind of bad for the guy because I knew his future was going to be full of missed opportunities and limited success.

The amount of learning a person does seems to be directly linked to the amount of success they have. Let that sink in a bit…do you understand what that actually means? It’s fantastic!

It means that since a person’s ability to learn is limitless so is their level of success. It means that so long as we keep learning our opportunities for success keep multiplying. It means that your potential success is completely within your control and totally unlimited.

That is incredible.

If you’re looking for success you now know exactly where you’ll find it. You will find it in a mentor. You will find it in a book or a classroom. You may find it in a TED talk or a blog. If you’re really committed to succeeding you will find it everywhere you look.

Keep in mind that the goal of learning isn’t packing more information into your head, it’s taking action based on that information packed into your head. Successful people never stop learning. They also never stop adapting based on what they have learned.

So…what do you have to learn today?

The Best School in the World

Steve Keating 3 Comments

Almost every successful person in the world attended this school. I should probably remove that “almost” qualifier and say every successful person. It is a tough school with lessons so difficult they often seem insurmountable. Some people, the less successful types, don’t even have the courage to walk through the virtual doors of this school. 

 

It’s the school known as “The School of Hard Knocks.” Some people call it the school of life.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with this school it isn’t found in a building. It’s not located in any particular place. The school never closes, not even when you want it to. When you’re trying something new or working your butt off to succeed you can find yourself in this “school” with no notice. All of the sudden it just happens!

 

The “classes” taught there can be very challenging but once learned they tend to stay with you forever. They are frequently life changing. They are most often self-taught. The “tests” associated with these classes can leave scars that last a long time. Some of the scars can be seen but many of them are only felt. But the feeling can be incredibly painful. 

 

These lessons cannot be bought, they must be earned. As difficult as they can be I’d encourage anyone to attend “The School of Hard Knocks” because some of life’s best lessons are taught there. It seems as if that Hard Knocks place is the one that shows you how to use all those fancy degrees and formal education you received from the other schools.


Don’t shy away from life’s tough lessons. The stuff you learn in a school with four walls can help you make a living but the stuff you learn outside those walls can help you make a life.


The Smartest Person in the Room

Steve Keating 9 Comments

If you’re the smartest person in the room you’re likely in the wrong room. If you’re always the smartest person in the room you’ve got a big problem. 

 

Smart people work hard to make certain they invest their time with people smarter than they are. They also know that there are a whole lot of people smarter than they are. 

 

You may be the smartest person in a particular topic but that doesn’t mean you can’t still learn from other people. 

 

If you ever actually are the smartest person in the room then you had better find a different room or fill the room you have with smarter people. But it’s highly unlikely you’re really the smartest person in the room. Believing you are is a problem, it’s a problem because more than anything else that arrogance is an attitude issue. 

 

Believing you’re always the smartest person in the room is reflected in how you speak with, or more likely speak, at people. What you say will often come out with a level of snark that everyone notices … well, everyone except you. 

 

Believing you’re the smartest person in the room also affects how effectively you listen. Actually, it completely prevents you from doing anything that remotely resembles active listening. You may think you’re fooling people into thinking you’re listening but you are not.

 

If you’re a leader with the smartest person attitude you have an even bigger problem. The most effective leaders interact with their people in a way that makes their people feel as if they are the smartest people in the room. The least effective leaders interact in a way that leaves no doubt they believe their people are less intelligent than they are. That’s no way to help people grow. 

 

You can’t grow, professionally or personally, without people in your life who are smarter than you at times. Once you find those people listen to them, watch them and always be open minded about what they say and do. 


It may not make you the smartest person in the room but I’ll guarantee it will make you smarter. 

Back to School

Steve Keating 2 Comments

It is that time of year again when the youngsters head back to school for another season of learning. There are advertisements  everywhere touting “back to school” specials on everything from clothing to pencils. I’m surprised by how much stuff kids need to go to school these days, it’s an incredibly expensive investment for parents. 

 

Sadly I hear it’s a very expensive investment for teachers as well because too many of them need to supplement school budgets with their own dollars. That’s terrible but that’s also not the focus of this post.

 

The focus of this post is on the learning that takes place as a result of “being in school.” School is after all the place where kids and young adults go to learn. Whether it’s kindergarten or a graduate school program as long as someone is in school the teaching, and hopefully the learning, never stops. 

 

But what about when you’re done with school? What happens when you’ve graduated and moved on? What happens when there are no more “school years” and you have years that are a full 12 months? Year after year.

 

Well, for many people the learning stops when school stops. The most successful people however know that learning must never stop. They understand that failing to continuously learn most often leads to continual failure. I’d actually say that failing to learn is the leading cause of personal failure. 

 

Years ago when I was selling Dale Carnegie Training I would see people on an almost daily basis who were unwilling to pay to take a course. They wanted to take it but would only attend if their employer would foot the bill. 

 

They were unwilling to invest in their own future but they had no problem expecting someone else to invest for them. 

 

What about you? Are you willing to invest in yourself? Willing enough to go “back to school” regardless of your age, stature in your organization or your past success? 

 

I know this next statement sounds a bit like a cliche but it is 100% true…the most successful people, in any walk of life, never stop learning. Never!

 

Those most successful people know that “school” isn’t a place, it is a mindset. They find learning experiences everywhere and from everyone. They also set aside time for more formal learning experiences. They take both traditional classes and online classes. They attend conferences to learn and many of them have mentors to help them identify their learning opportunities. They regularly invest in themselves. 

 

Look around and keep your eyes and your mind open. You’ll see “school” all around you. It has never been easier to find people and experiences that can help you expand your potential. But you have to want to learn. 

 

When you have the desire to learn no one can stop you. If you don’t have the desire to learn no one can help you. You can skip the stores and back to school supplies but if you want to achieve your full potential you cannot skip the learning. 


I think I hear a bell ringing….must be time to head to class. See you there!