By Daniel Becerra

Hard work pays off. Writing and thinking instead of just watching and hoping pays off. Preparation and dedication instead of leaving things to chance pays off. It may not be right away, but it will pay sometime, someday – do not worry, because it will. However, even then, suggesting that you work hard and that you dedicate time to thinking, preparing and writing does not cut it. There are strategies, there are ways of doing things correctly.

The pain of ignorance can bite you badly if you ignore it long enough, and the hardest part is that ignorance can be there even when we don’t believe it’s there. One of the most common mistakes is being just a follower and not a student. You will hear someone say “I’m a student! I read plenty of books on plenty of topics!”. Yes, you read them, but the question is “Do you study them?”. It is easy to get caught up reading plenty of stuff and yes, some stuff will stick in your unconscious and you will act accordingly, but that’s your unconscious and it’s only triggered on certain occasions. The best things happen when you design them intentionally. Not many great things occur because of luck, if any! Therefore changing your thinking, behavior, and beliefs will take more than just reading books. It will take right strategies and procedures. It will require you to be a serious student, and not a serious follower. The difference is key.

Let me show you the Cone of Learning.

Yes, the cone dates to 1969, but the measurement is still pretty accurate. Common sense should tell you the same thing. Don’t you remember more when you watch a movie than when you read it. Don’t you learn more about something when you see it done instead of just being told how it’s done? Chances are you do. Now, if you KNOW that reading is the most passive way of learning and realizing, then why are you only reading (Also, why is the school system still using reading as its number one source of learning?). I have advised my readers for a while now to not just read what I write, but THINK as they read what I write. Charlie Tremendous Jones taught me this through his books and presentations and it has changed my life. Chances are that a day from now you will not remember a single thing from this article, but you WILL remember what you thought of it. Therefore, think through it, rather than at the end of it. When you just read, you memorize; but when you think as you read, you REALIZE. Reading is just the beginning of the learning process! Get excited because there is a lot more to it than just reading!

It is not surprise that more often than not a person who has been working for years with little college education is more qualified than fresh college graduate with no job experience. Real learning comes from withIN and not from a book. The book is simply an incentive, but they can be magical. I love books for this reason, they will help you see things as the author saw them, and that alone saves so much time. Of course, it goes without saying that you need to study what you read and not just read it. Take notes, discuss the book with someone, listen to it on audio if you can, record your own notes from the book, stimulate what the book or article suggests to do, and then do the real thing. THAT is studying.

Statistics show that students who take notes, record heir notes, and discuss a subject in group are more likely to get better grades in college and university – that should tell you something. If you’re serious about REALLY becoming more sophisticated on your languages and manners, then take notes. If you’re serious about REALLY improve your dating life, then hang around the people who have a great dating life.

Getting a Mentor

“In order for you to be a compelling person you have to put yourself in a compelling situation.” – Dr. Renford Reese

If there is anybody who influences you in a positive way in any aspect of your life, you have the chance to become a better person; but you have to MEET and GET TO KNOW that person. So show interest and approach that person, email them, be interested in who they are and request them to mentor you, to teach you things. Once I discovered the incredible power of just asking someone to shed some wisdom in me, it made a remarkable difference. Books are a beginning and they will put you in the track to change your mindset and as your mindset changes, so will your ability to attract people who think like you. Engage this people and learn from them.

Be a student, and not just a follower. Be serious and you will succeed.