The 3 R's of Learning

While researching my book, “Black Belt Secrets of Success”, I spent a lot of time studying the lives of successful people throughout history. In the book, I highlight 11 common traits each of these individuals possessed that helped drive the success they experienced. The first, and most important, of these 11 success traits can be summarized in a single sentence:

“Successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do sometimes, or not at all.”

As I did my research, I discovered that many of the most successful people who ever lived were often not the scholarly experts we might think they were. Thomas Edison only received a few months of formal education in public school, yet he became perhaps the most prolific inventor of all time, with 1093 U.S. patents and hundreds of foreign patents to his credit.

Albert Einstein faced significant academic struggles early in his life. His teachers doubted his potential, thinking he lacked the aptitude for conventional learning. He never graduated high school but ultimately earned a PhD from the University of Zurich in 1905. Interestingly enough, Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity while working as a patent clerk.

Steve Jobs is considered a pioneer in the microcomputer revolution in the 1970s and 1980s, even with only a single semester of college to his credit. He went on to co-found Apple and oversaw the introduction of the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad.

Literary great, Charles Dickens, dropped out of school at an early age to help support his poverty-stricken family. Likewise, Mark Twain had no formal education beyond elementary school, choosing instead to become a typesetter in a print shop.

Science fiction icon, Ray Bradbury, suffered from dyslexia and struggled in school. While he did manage to squeak through high school, he did not go to college. He chose instead to educate himself through the library to become a self-proclaimed “Library Graduate.”

Jack London, Horatio Alger Jr., and F. Scott Fitzgerald were all also “dropouts” who didn’t finish school. Founder of Virgin Group, billionaire Richard Branson also struggled with dyslexia and ADHD, dropping out of school at the age of 15, frustrated and disillusioned, to start a magazine. Branson credits his diverse, successful career as his “formal” education.

Walt Disney dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to join the U.S. Army. He was rejected for being underage, so he joined the Red Cross where he served as an ambulance driver in France. He was fired from his first newspaper job for “lacking creativity.” Banks refused to fund his Disneyland concept over 300 times.

Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school at the age of 10 to work as a soap and candle maker. He later founded the first independent newspapers in the fledgling U.S. colonies. Franklin, like Edison, was a prolific inventor, He was also a shrewd student of human behavior and demonstrated his political genius as a U.S. Ambassador.

What did all of these historical figures have in common, besides being failures and dropouts?

They all taught themselves HOW to learn.

When we are first born, we are taught HOW to learn by our parents. Through trial and error, we learned to crawl, sit up, stand up, and to walk. As toddlers, we learned to feed ourselves, dress ourselves, and we learned how to talk. We learned letters, numbers, colors, and words.

Life (and our parents) were our teachers and as we explored the world around us, with an openness to learn, we taught ourselves a LOT.

Then, we turned 5 or 6 and our parents sent us to school.

At that moment, our world changed. We were no longer taught HOW to learn, but what to learn. Education, for the most part, became a passive experience of being lectured and required to memorize facts and figures. We were mainly (if not exclusively) tested based on our ability to regurgitate these facts and figures.

From there, we moved on to college or Vo-Tech, where again the focus was on the WHAT of learning. We chose a field of study and engaged in a course of learning based on WHAT was required to successfully earn a degree or certification.

Upon graduation, we enter the workforce. We join an organization that will teach us WHAT is required to successfully fulfill our duties and responsibilities to remain employed. Most of us will spend the rest of our lives living in the world of WHAT, completely unaware another world exists, the limitless world of HOW.

HOW Thinking refers to the process of thinking itself, not simply thinking about absorbing already learned information.

Remember, WHAT Thinking is simply the transfer of information.

The former is ACTIVE. The latter is PASSIVE.

One of the defining characteristics of these successful historical characters is the fact that while they struggled with traditional WHAT learning, they thrived at HOW Thinking. WHAT Thinking is limited to the information available. HOW Thinking moves beyond the boundaries of available information, “what is”, to consider “what could be”.

So, it begs the question…

How do you learn how to learn?

The human mind is perhaps the most complex device ever created. It’s potential is virtually limitless. The average brain weighs roughly 3 pounds. It is made up of 60% fat, with the remaining 40% comprised of water, carbohydrates, and salts. The brain contains about 100 billion neurons, about the same as the number of stars in the Milky Way.

These neurons are connected by trillions of synapses, forming a neuron forest through which electrical impulses can flow. The brain runs on electricity, producing enough power to light a 25-watt light bulb. Every time the heart beats, 20-25% of blood flows to the brain.

Now here’s where it gets interesting.

The brain is constantly changing in response to experience, a process known as neuroplasty. Our brain continues to produce new neurons throughout life, essentially rewiring itself as it acquires new experiences and information.

Did you get that? Our brain is not static, fixed, or incapable of learning as we get older.

Our brain continues to produce new neurons throughout life, essentially rewiring itself as it acquires new experiences and information.

A common trait of the historical figures I shared earlier is the fact most lived curious lives. Many of them, despite a lack of formal education, educated themselves through reading and through the varied life experiences they encountered. Their curiosity to seek to understand “what could be” led them on a lifelong journey of discovery, leading to their success.

This is at the heart of HOW Thinking.

It’s about learning what is known, and then moving past that to seek to discover what is still unknown. Interestingly, a state of curiosity activates the parts of the brain responsible for memory (learning), reward, and motivation.

Curiosity helps us learn better, especially when we’re passionate about a subject. It helps reduce the uncertainty of “what if” and encourages the seeking of new information and insight. Curiosity also helps solidify memories, spawning the growth of new neurons and continually expanding the capacity of our brain.

Brain expert, Jim Kwik, refers to this as “Limitless.”

A common trait of successful people throughout history is the fact they start (and often end) their day with reading. They engage in the 3 R’s of Learning, and this helped lead them to success.

Let me introduce you to the 3 R’s of Learning.

Reading is the first R.

President Harry Truman once said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”

I agree.

Successful people throughout history used reading as a means to learn what they did not know, remain curious about what else is out there, and glean the wisdom and insights of successful people who came before them. Successful people are also avid readers of humanity and the human experience. Through observation, they learn how successful people deal with adversity, as well as how they respond to success and failure.

They view each day as an opportunity to learn, experience, or discover something new. They remain lifetime students of learning.

Reading is fundamental to HOW Thinking.

Studies at the National Institutes of Health have found that our brains can only focus on effectively learning new information for 30 minutes to an hour. The NIH found that optimal learning takes place in 20-to-30-minute windows. After that, focus and memory retention start to waiver.

The second R is Rest.

Going back to the NIH studies on learning, they found that frequent, short breaks (five to ten minutes in duration) during learning sessions allow the brain to consolidate and store information where it can be easily recalled. It also refreshes the brain’s ability to focus.

So, for optimal learning, we should READ for 20 to 30 minutes, and then REST for 5 to 10 minutes.

The third R is Reflect.

Successful people maintain an attitude of curiosity. When they sit down with a book, they start their learning session by priming the mind to learn. They ask themselves two questions. The first one is asked before they start to read. This triggers the Reticular Activating System to pay attention to what’s coming and prioritize it in the brain’s thinking:

What can I learn from what I’m about to read?

If we are reading via an Audio Book or Video, we might modify the question today in this way:

What can I learn from what I’m about to read, see, or hear?

The second question they pose to themselves after they’ve finished reading. It ignites the brain’s curiosity center, engaging it in HOW Thinking:

How can I apply something I learned to learn, grow, improve, or explore what could be?

Successful people throughout history have used this simple 3-step process to move beyond failure to achieve immeasurable success. We can use this very same approach to move beyond the WHAT Thinking that governs (and limits) our lives to engage in HOW Thinking as we explore what could be.

Let me leave you with a 30-Minute Success Formula you can implement, starting today, adapted from these successful individuals I’ve talked about today.

· READ: Start your day reading something informational, inspirational, educational, vocational, or historical for 20 minutes.

· REST: Pause from your reading session for 5 minutes, giving your brain time to process, consolidate, and store the information you just took in. Get a drink of water, sit quietly, take a walk, go to the bathroom, but don’t do anything but rest your brain.

· REFLECT: Take out a journal and briefly summarize what you’ve just read. Write down ONE THING you can apply today to learn, grow, improve, or explore what could be. Give yourself 5 minutes to complete this exercise.

For even better results, do this at the start of your day and again just before you go to bed. This process, Book-Ending Your Day, is a Success Habit of highly-successful people.

You can join that illustrious group today when you practice The 3 R’s of Learning.