Learning the skill of learning skills

Howdy,

Another week of The Hemingway Post! I guess Christmas did come early.

Speaking of Christmas, when is it okay to start putting lights up?

After Halloween? After Thanksgiving? All year round like Tim and Susan next door?

Anyways, I’m getting off topic.

We have a short message for today, but it's still very important.

We’ll dive into an experience from my life and then explain why it matters.

Let’s do it.

—

I’ve always had big dreams.

One day, I want to start my own company, build it off the ground, and scale it.

And up until recently, I wanted to do it ASAP.

No need to wait or research or learn, just wanted to do.

This ambition is good, no doubt, but there was something I didn’t understand. I never asked myself,

“What skill sets do I have that will make this dream successful?”

The answer?

Nothing :(

I know a little of everything like sales, marketing, and accounting, but I’m a master of nothing.

And without skill sets to guide my decision making, the chances for success are slim to none.

Depressing story so far, right?

But there's something I realized while going over this in my head…

If I can build important skill sets now, I will be set up in the future to start my own company.

By taking slow steps to put me in a better position, I am moving toward my dream…even if it’s a slow walk.

So, over the next months and years while I’m still in college, I’m going to learn important skill sets.

For me, these include sales, communication, leadership, decision-making, etc.

For you, it could be something completely different. It all depends on your goals.

If you want to be more handy around the house, you should learn the basics of painting, building, and plumbing.

Or maybe you want to get a new job, so you get better at interviewing, resume writing, and emails.

The point is, this framework can be applied to your life.

This is what you do:

1. Have a clear idea in mind.

   Ex: I want to build a stronger relationship with my significant other

2. Ask yourself, “What skills do I need to make this idea reality?”

   Ex: Learn how to have hard conversations, be more empathetic, and express gratitude (no these are not inherent, they are skills that can be learned)

3. Create a system to learn those skills.

   Ex: I will remind them how grateful I am at least once a day, etc.

4. Stay consistent with your system/routine.

   Keep doing it!

—

I hope this shows you the importance of skill sets.

We often try to take shortcuts on our way to our dreams.

And that’s okay. It shows that you want to take action to build the life you want.

However, we can’t skip the crucial steps of learning how to get where we want to go.

Last week, I left you on a cliffhanger and said it would be resumed this week.

However, I think that this week's lesson needs to be said because it’s so important.

Next week, we will talk about how to ask great questions.

Until then,

Keep making progress. Keep driving forward. Live the Heming-way.

See you next Monday,

Trevor