Learn it. Record it. Apply it. (...or, don't flush yer learnin' down the drain)

Do you ever feel swamped in information overload? Pete over at Great Circle has an excellent post about "drinking from the firehose" of information, absorbing the best of it without drowning.

He offers several tips, all of which are worth exploring, but one in particular jumped out at me:

When you’ve finished that book, article or DVD - write yourself a one sentence summary of its relevance and/or application to your situation.

If you're anything like me, you've probably come across the solution to just about any problem or challenge you may be encountering right now, only to have it dribble back out your ears and disappear.

I love the idea of sitting down and saying, "What have I gotten from this book, and how can I apply that to my life?" Maybe it's more than just a sentence. Maybe it's a paragraph, or a series of relevant points. However you approach it, the beauty is that over time you start to create an ongoing resource to draw from.

The follow-up part of the question, "...and how can I apply that to my life?" is the clincher here. When you know that, you can start to take action. When you start to take action, what you've learned can stop being just a theoretically cool idea and make a real difference in your life.

You probably don't even need to buy any new books for this to start having an effect. Just go to your bookshelf and start pulling books off. Grab one and leaf through it and ask that question, "What did I get from this book? How can I apply that to my life?"

You might just be surprised at what you already have at your fingertips.

Check out The Occupational Adventure Guide

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Comments

[Pete Aldin]

Gosh, we certainly do flush a lot down that drain don't we. I was speaking at a Rotary Club last night and one of the execs there told me "You know, I've heard hundreds of talks and read dozens of books over the 30 years I've been in business. I only remember the message of 2 of the talks..."

Love your double whammy questions. When we see the link (application) we're so much more likely to take it on board, eh?

Love the look of the site, by the way!