This is the fastest path to success...
What is the fastest path to success?
Learning from people who have achieved the success you strive for.
In this post I share three ways that I do this in my own life and business.
I am a massive believer in learning from others and over the years I have probably spent more than $100,000 on education and upskilling - for example via online courses, workshops and conferences.
Every day I have time blocked in for professional development and learning new skills.
But I am strategic about what I use that time for. I normally have a focus area that I want to learn more about at a given time - for example recently it has been about getting better with using video in my business.
I then find the experts in this field and I learn from them via the methods I will explain below.
I don’t try and piece together how to learn new skills myself. I seek out the experts in the field I want to improve and I learn from them.
Don't try and learn everything the hard way by trial and error or hours of YouTubing, instead spend time soaking up the experiences of those who have already made the mistakes and who have achieved the success you want.
Here’s how I do that…
1: Free - Listen to podcasts
If you’ve found an expert in a field you want to learn more about then see if they’ve done podcast interviews you can listen to where they talk about how they have achieved their success. They may also have their own podcast to listen to.
This is the free way to learn new skills - but generally won’t teach you the full step by step system that will make it easy and fast for you.
If you've been around here for more than 5 minutes you'll know I'm a massive fan of podcasts.
I take a long walk every day and I spend that hour or so listening to podcasts and audio books during that time.
While I do love the 'true crimes' type podcasts, what I normally listen to are business podcasts so I can hear interviews with people who are building great businesses or where I can learn about things that people are trying and having success with in their own lives and businesses.
If you want some podcast ideas then check out this blog post I wrote here
2: Low cost - Read books/audiobooks
The low cost way of learning new skills is to read or listen to audiobooks.
Authors will outline their methods and systems in the book and you can then use that information to apply the concepts to your business/life.
I don't have a massive amount of time to read physical books - normally there is a large pile sitting next to my bed waiting to be read! But I do spend quite a bit of time listening to audio versions on my walks.
Here is a post I wrote with my 10 must read business books
3: Fastest - Take online courses
Courses are by far my preferred way of learning new skills.
Obviously courses have a higher barrier to entry than books or podcasts due to the costs involved, but I am always taking online courses so I can follow the easiest path forward for new things I want to learn as quickly as possible.
Time is my greatest asset so when I want to learn a new skill I always seek out experts and take their online course. It cuts my learning time down dramatically and I have a proven path to follow to acquire the new skill in the shortest amount of time possible.
The thing I love about online courses is that the creator has put together a step-by-step path for you to follow. Yes, you can probably piece together a lot of the information yourself if you spend hours googling or looking on YouTube, but who has time for that!
But I love a step by step process and I'm happy to pay someone to put that together for me. I obviously take the same approach in the way I create my own online courses for you guys as well.
I have literally taken so many online courses over the years and every year I probably take one or two new courses or programs.
As mentioned, the programs I choose are normally based on what I’m trying to get better at or learn at the time.
Lately I’ve been putting a focus on video in my business so some recent courses I’ve done are:
Part-time YouTube Academy (by Ali Abdaal)
This is Video School with Virginia Kerr
Matt D’Avella’s YouTube course
I also have a rule that I must complete every online course that I take. I don’t want to be the type of person who builds a collection of half finished or not started courses. I have spent money on the course and I commit to carving out time to actually get the course completed.
I also have an entire folder on my computer dedicated to the courses I’ve taken. I download workbooks or PDF resources to these folders so if I ever want to refer back to something quickly I’ve got it all there in one folder.
So be strategic about what topics you choose to do courses on and find the best course(s) in the industry that can teach you.
So the fastest path to success is this:
analyse what you need to learn right now in order to move your business (or life) forward
find the expert(s) who are teaching this topic (you can search YouTube or social media to find them if you don’t already know who they are)
see what they have to offer so you can learn their system or process in the way that works for you - here’s your options:
free: podcast interviews or YouTube videos
low cost: books or audiobooks or attending a low-cost conference
fastest: online courses, masterminds, higher ticket programs
Don’t try and learn everything the slow, hard way. Find the people who have the success you strive for and learn from them instead!
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
