How to Learn From Smart People

Today, more than ever, many intelligent and highly productive people choose to share what they know in public. What they’ve spent over 10000 hours learning or honing over the years are available online.

That’s thousands of hours of lessons learned, ideas that work, habits that deliver results and essential skills for a successful life.

Life-changing knowledge is available for people who are serious about intellectual growth.

Opportunities to upgrade ourselves are all around us — blogs, newsletters, courses, podcasts, documentaries, books, etc.

Almost everything you need to build a better life can be found in the sources of knowledge you are ignoring.

You don’t even have to leave your home to upgrade your mind.

And even if you leave your house, you can access them on that powerful computer in your pocket.

“We’re at the beginning of an infinity of knowledge,” Naval once said.

Almost everything you want to change your life or design a better life is out there — if you are serious about upgrading your life, you will make time for it.

“The value is in the knowledge, and the knowledge is inside the observer and the creator, in other words, a human,” says Naval.

The good question is: are you making the most of free but excellent knowledge online? Are you in control of your knowledge sources?

There are thousands of sources of great knowledge for a better life online. You don’t even have to pay for many of them.

There are experts, curators, synthesisers and thought leaders you can follow or invite into your inbox.

Allow me to share a few of my favourite sources with you.

Make time for these blogs and newsletters — they will change how you think and make decisions.

Read Brain Pickings, Farnam Street, The Atlantic (How to Build a Life Column), More to That, TED Newsletters, Collaborative Fund Blog, Derek Sivers Book Notes, Commonplace, Psyche, and Behavioral Scientist.

You could also read Robinhood Snacks, Morning Brew, James Clear’s The 3–2–1 Newsletter, Naval, Maker Mind, Ray Dalio’s newsletter, Wait But Why, Granted, and Dense Discovery.

There are unique places online to find quality content to feed your mind. Do your brain a favour and invest in better knowledge sources.

These newsletters and dozens of others have become my learning engine for personal growth. They dip deeper and explain relevant topics better.

Who you choose is up to you.

I prefer cross-domain knowledge, so I tend to subscribe to newsletters on topics I care about (technology, productivity, learning, philosophy, psychology and investing). I focus on anyone whose opinions, lessons and insight teach a valuable, timeless lesson.

Don’t hesitate to trade your inbox for valuable insight.

The people behind them provide a concise flow of knowledge for easy digestion. They are worth the time investment.

If you choose the newsletter route, don’t over commit.

Choose your sources carefully. You don’t want them to be a distraction, so sign up to a few you can make time for and actually read.

Choose what can feed your curiosities.

There are practically dozens of newsletters for any topic you care about. And don’t hesitate to unsubscribe if you don’t find your newsletter valuable anymore.

I use the same approach to find people to follow on Twitter.

These days I tend to read insightful threads on Twitter. I recently started over on Twitter to ensure I am not wasting my time on useless tweets.

Many thought leaders and experts are now sharing what they know in public, on various platforms. You can find many of them here on Medium.

You can find them on Substack, LinkedIn, and their personal sites. You can take your learning a step further by investing in their books.

Be deliberate about your learning.

Finally, remember what Plutarch once said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”

What sources of knowledge do you use to upgrade yourself?

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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.

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