In the world of abundant information, action separates you from the rest.
People today know a lot of stuff as content consumption has been higher than ever. With the technology that we have today, anything can be googled read, and learned. So it's no longer a question of who knows more or what but about who can execute on the idea and knowledge.
In such a world of abundance of people with just knowledge, having proof of work(POWs) can make you stand apart from your peers and get that job, internship, opportunity, or life that you wish for.
Having hands-on experience doesn't necessarily mean having years of experience but just getting your hands dirty. But most people get confused in this regard.
We all read books, binge watch courses, and watch productivity videos on youtube but very few can implement the ideas over there. But this is the part that matters to your growth rather than the consumption part.
We can learn, read and then run simulations in our head about how we will do certain things after learning/reading but rarely does things work out in that matter. In the real world uncertainty is such a factor that is so random and can act in your favor or against you. But when we go through this experience we then grow and learn how to tackle such situations and navigate through such uncertainties.
So this is not a reason for anyone to give up on getting our legs into the water. A surgeon can learn and read all the books on the topic but he won't be able to be the best at it or even be able to perform one just by reading but by practicing it. Similarly in marketing to everyone can learn and read about ads manager and how to use it. But the hands-on experience can only be gained by running ads and then learning how to optimize for conversion.
Just think of a time you took up a Udemy course and after finishing it didn't take any action. Think of the opportunities missed, the time, energy, and the money wasted doing the course. This is one of the reasons for the advent of cohort-based courses where you could learn as a community along with a mentor and then take action with the help of projects, assignments, and mentorship.
Having first-hand experience is crucial to growth in any field.
3 Actionable tips you can use to hack the growth/learning curve:
The next time you decide to take some Udemy, Skillshare, or any other course take a pen and paper just before starting and write down a tangible result that you want to achieve at the end of the course. For E.g: If you are learning no code then you can create a no-code portfolio site or an Airtable job board database till the end of the course.
If the course is on topics like economics or psychology then you can also decide to write notes using the Feynman technique where you write down what you understood from the course in such a way that even a layman can understand.
Protip: (Having an accountability partner helps you stay on track without procrastinating and completing the project without fail, so try doing the course together with a friend).
Finally, remember that even the greatest of ideas remain only ideas until they are executed upon and that if you don't execute the time spent learning the stuff it would have been worth spending elsewhere.
So the next time even when you watch a productivity video execute immediately as most of us also tend to forget to execute after some time. Happy learning and also executing.
