Writing is an experiential art.

I’ve learned more writing online almost every day for the past two years than I could have ever learned reading about the art of writing.

I’ve learned what works, what delivers exponential results over time, and what’s a complete waste of time through practice.

Albert Einstein was right, “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is an experience.”

“Experience is the best teacher” is a famous quote attributed to Julius Caesar. It’s profound and makes a lot of sense if you think about it.

I value both direct and indirect experiences.

Apart from your own experiences in life or career, stories of other’s experiences in great biographies can also teach us invaluable life lessons and timeless wisdom.

But you can’t improve if you don’t make time to reflect, measure and contemplate what helps or what you should stop doing.

“Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is”, Howard G. Hendricks said.

Formal education teaches knowledge. Lifelong learning or real-world practice connects the dots of the various pieces of information we learn, even in a structured environment.

If you’ve taken over from structured learning and have embraced self-learning, you are probably learning more through real-world practice than you can ever learn in formal education.

The best wisdom is gained through practice. People who have the privilege of practice alongside structured education take learning to another level.

They have the opportunity to retain more of what they learn than those who practice less and memorise more.

When I was studying Law at the university, I never had the opportunity to practice in the real world. Today, I’ve forgotten 90 percent of what I spent four of my life studying. It’s a shame.

The true form of learning comes with real-life experience.

Life is a series of learning opportunities and experiences. You can build your best career if you don’t give up lifelong learning. Stacking skills as you grow is the best form of career insurance there is.

Your life or career growth is entirely up to you. Don’t make that your employer’s responsibility. It is up to you to upgrade your skills and mindset or make the best use of your time whilst you still have time.

“Education truly begins when you start working in the real world. Continuing to learn new concepts and ideas that can help you succeed in professional situations is too important to be left to chance,” says Barry Ritholtz of Bloomberg.

Experience doesn’t necessarily catapult your career, but your next life depends on it. If you gather enough wisdom over time, you will know the essential skills, knowledge and lessons to keep for life.

Practicing in the real world makes it easy to know what to repeat, upgrade or forget tomorrow. It makes process optimisation easier — which determines how fast you make progress or grow.

Experience or practice is the best teacher because the process allows you to learn real-world lessons, leads to measurable growth, teaches you timeless wisdom for your next life.

You can’t achieve real growth in life without experience

Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, once beautifully explained: “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”

Experiential learning is hard but totally worth it. Until you practice your art, you are not learning in the real world.

Imitation, observation, and reflection can help us improve or become a good version of ourselves, but experience is truly the best teacher.

Nobody can teach you how to learn; they can only guide you or provide the right knowledge. The rest is up to us. Don’t fail your future self.

Do more for your future by embracing the practice, picking up skills, upgrading what you know and changing with time to stay relevant.

By all means, learn from someone else’s experience, but don’t forget to put your own skin in the game.

Wise people learn from others — they don’t have to learn all the mistakes themselves. Smart people do the work and learn from other intelligent minds.

If learning doesn’t translate into real-life or career improvement, you are probably making it an academic exercise.

You can learn from things happening for or to you in real life than you will from reading about things going on for others — no matter how smart they are or how much influence they have in the lives of other people.

Learn to grow in wisdom through experience. Learning is a lifelong experience. Make it enjoyable, and the process won’t be a chore. Continue to build your body of skills, lessons and wisdom for the rest of your life.

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Previously published on Medium

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