Be a Curious Learner
Learning is at the heart of all discovery – reflecting on your experiences, finding your preferred learning style and seeking the best way for you to learn. Formal education systems rarely teach this well.
Learning how best to learn is a great investment of your time. Eva Keiffenheim’s weekly ‘Learn Letter’ is an insightful and useful read to reignite your love of learning. She also posts regularly on Medium.
This is about having the right mindset and committing the time and resources to a different way of being. Author, Steven Pressfield describes this hunger for mastery as ‘Turning PRO’. Carol Dweck talks of being open to opportunities and cultivating a ‘Growth Mindset’. Some businesses are great at supporting your learning journey – others are not. It does not matter – it is your journey and your investment.
Look to be strategic in how you identify, invest in and stack new skills. Know your sector and what you want to ideally do next. Finding great projects that enhance your expertise should be your starting point for progression not going on courses.
It is vital to actively pursue learning opportunities that stretch you at work. You need to be constantly seeking projects that test you, learning adventures, opportunities to grow, ways to enhance your skills and finding new skills that will differentiate you. It is not an annual conversation with your boss – it is a way of working.
Learn in an environment where you can practice and master the skills in your working day. Then read up and take programs to drill down into specific’s, that set you apart from others, in your own time.
Remember – everyone is a work in progress. Permanent ‘beta mode’ means a lifelong commitment to continuous personal growth and constantly questioning yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you are a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or a reinventing yourself mid-career. Great people, like great companies, are always evolving. They’re never finished and never fully developed.
So getting good at learning is a wise investment and your curiosity is your fuel for this! And you know what curiosity looks and feels like from the description. Practice living in that state every day.
Each day presents an opportunity to be curious, learn more, do more, grow more. It is the mindset of every entrepreneurial discoverer in life … and it is fun!