What if you already know enough?

[Hopeful]

Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

You’ve been programmed whenever a new challenge comes up to instantly go searching for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

Oops. Guilty! Thanks for the reality check.

 

[Deleted74396]

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

You’ve been programmed whenever a new challenge comes up to instantly go searching for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you.

Andy the way you write and get across ideas is amazing, it's inspirational, I always get pulled in when reading!

I wasn't a great student and only reluctantly went to college at 16, but I feel like after engaging with too much of the ClickFunnels community I started to consume and research too much.

After stopping letting those take up my free time, I soon felt better about myself. Before I found FLF I was actually the opposite of what you mention at the start here!

I thought I was an incredible Facebook expert who could do anything, then I joined FLF (thanks to a Reddit suggestion) and saw that I don't have all the answers and do have more to learn.

Or at least, even if in practice I knew what to do, I'm not able to communicate these ideas effectively prior to experience with them. Talking to people with businesses totally different to ones I've ran, I've realised I don't have all the Facebook marketing solutions yet

I actually referred another Redditor here as I couldn't answer his social media marketing question, and it's only the part of his business that he's really struggling with. I want to help him so bad but I just haven't been able to. One thing I like about FLF is that there are so many people willing to help.

 

[Deleted74396]

I love just in time learning. I try to focus on the hurdle in front of me and not the one way beyond, and that’s what just in time learning is about.

Though I’ll say again that I’ve nothing against learning per se. I’m just aware that it can be an a slippery slope as well as an action fake.

The lines that keep me in check are:

“You can’t invoice for input.” (Blaise Brosnan)

“Overthinking is the art of solving problems you don’t have.”

But don't you need to learn quite a bit in advance to show you can solve the potential clients problem before they start paying you? For example those people I said I wasn't sure how I was able to help, had I been a call, even just saying 'honestly I'm not sure how to do that, but I'm a quick learner and will figure a way' isn't going to inspire much confidence and lead to a sale surely?

 

[Andy Black]

But don't you need to learn quite a bit in advance to show you can solve the potential clients problem before they start paying you? For example those people I said I wasn't sure how I was able to help, had I been a call, even just saying 'honestly I'm not sure how to do that, but I'm a quick learner and will figure a way' isn't going to inspire much confidence and lead to a sale surely?

People want to hire problem solvers. Sure, they would prefer to hire someone with a track record of solving the problem they believe they have. But if you’ve solved similar problems then that’s often enough.

“Hey Andy. Can you help me run the Google Ads for my shepherd business?”

“Hmmm. I’ve only run ads for blacksmiths. I don’t know if will work exactly the same. At a guess I’d try A, B, and C. I think we’d know in a month or two if it’s going to work. Do you want to test it?”

“Sure. Let’s try that process and see where we end up in a month.”


I have a process and people buy that.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Chasta_tea]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?


But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a couple of thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.



I think the more insidious, hidden, danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.



I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)



You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I better get a logo.”

“I better get a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I better go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”

Here in this forum we’d call any of the above “action faking.”

Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.


But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


I’m working with a career salesman at the moment. I’m hoping to onboard him so he can help me get more local service business clients.

He kept telling me of all the courses he’s been on and all the books he’s read.

That’s ok. I won’t hold that against him. He’s been a salesman over the course of 20 years, and been on the road most of that time.

“Dude. Don’t set “appointments”. Just meet for a chat over a coffee.”

“Dude. Don’t bring that hardback A4 book. Here, I got you a small black Moleskine notebook.”


The best bit from one of our chats this week?

“Andy. This is great. I’m really enjoying just chatting to people. I love this word “chat”. I’m having to deprogramme myself from all that corporate bullshit I used to have to go through.”

Bingo!



Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.



Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right? The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?



...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

PPS: I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

WOW! @Andy Black once again with the knowledge bombs! Couldn’t agree more with this post and this is coming from someone who read 6 books 2-3 times each in a matter of 6 months! In the interest of not sounding like a hypocrite, I do credit those 6 books for creating an essential paradigm shift in my way of thinking. Reading is such a passive, no-action oriented task that it bleeds non-productivity to me. This is why, to this day, I cannot sit with a physical book in my hand and read it. Not when the minutes, hours and days are putting me one step closer to the grave. However, when I was a broke single mom tethered to that cold dead cubicle, I utilized audiobooks to pump life into my 8-hour shift during periods of down. This in turn shifted my thinking from “let me suffer through this” to “let me get the heck out of here”. Lol

In this day and age, I would even say creating a website is not even the first thing you need to do anymore when you start down the path of entrepreneurship. Not when most everyone skips your website to find your social media page. Prior to my paradigm shift, I created a Facebook page for a niche group, shared nothing but memes about how tragic the life of a single parent is and started gaining 100s of followers. I honestly didn’t even understand what was happening until I began seeing the world through the eyes of the mentors (both dead and alive) who had shown me the path through those few books I read. Now I understand why I gained those 100s of followers is because I wasn’t trying to sell them something they didn’t need. I was relating to them and the pain they faced on a daily regular basis by sharing my own vulnerabilities as a single parent.

So, at the end of the day, put the book down and get out there. I promise anyone they are an expert at something or many somethings and don’t even need a book to tell or show them that.

Thanks for sharing @Andy Black!!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Martin Boeddeker]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?


But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a couple of thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.



I think the more insidious, hidden, danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.



I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)



You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I better get a logo.”

“I better get a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I better go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”

Here in this forum we’d call any of the above “action faking.”

Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.


But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


I’m working with a career salesman at the moment. I’m hoping to onboard him so he can help me get more local service business clients.

He kept telling me of all the courses he’s been on and all the books he’s read.

That’s ok. I won’t hold that against him. He’s been a salesman over the course of 20 years, and been on the road most of that time.

“Dude. Don’t set “appointments”. Just meet for a chat over a coffee.”

“Dude. Don’t bring that hardback A4 book. Here, I got you a small black Moleskine notebook.”


The best bit from one of our chats this week?

“Andy. This is great. I’m really enjoying just chatting to people. I love this word “chat”. I’m having to deprogramme myself from all that corporate bullshit I used to have to go through.”

Bingo!



Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.



Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right? The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?



...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

PPS: I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

I've read this post for the first time but very well said! Thank you, even though it's almost two years later.

 

[Andy Black]

Bump for those who have a New Year resolution to “learn more”.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vinz]

As I said in Diego Lu's post, I want to thank you Andy also on this one.
I should have this as a daily reminder.
I'm the guy who searches the internet for a solution, books or courses when I'm faced with a problem instead of going in and start getting involved in it.
I want to focus on what I can create instead. What can I do ? Who can I help ?
Thanks again.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Diego Liu]

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.

This is such a beautiful and powerful wake-up call. I just added it to one of the favorite quotes I must constantly come back to review.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Raju Zodiac]

To piggyback off of this, my favorite method is to learn through production.

I'm "transitioning" from physicist into a machine learning engineer, because I'm solidly in the camp of "code it yourself if you can". So what's my process for learning this new field?

Example: I wanted to learn to program a deep reinforcement learning algorithm called Deep Q Learning. In a nutshell, it's a way for artificial intelligence agents learn to play video games. These algorithms have applications far beyond trivial video games, but games are the most accessible to the new learner without access to Uber or Doordash levels of data. So how could I learn this?

Option 1) Watch someone else's video tutorial, blindly copy the code line for line without really thinking too deeply.

Option 2) Read some material on how the algorithm works, translate that into code, and turn it into a YouTube video series to teach others.

Option 1 would have gotten me functional code to play with, but if I wouldn't really know the why behind it. When I decide I want to learn something else, I would have to watch more videos and spend the same amount of time because I haven't learned anything that I can generalize.

Option 2 means that I have to struggle (almost 16 hours of coding, testing, debugging) to build something from scratch. At the end of that, I have to go through line by line and be able to justify it to an audience. Then spend a few hours recording, editing, and uploading. So it takes 20 hours when I could have just spent a few watching someone else's content.
I have to endure the pain of feeing stupid and inadequate; ride the wave of feelings from excitement, anxiety, despair, and ultimately triumph and pride. This is in contrast to the purely pleasurable feelings you get from consuming someone's content. This is not an easy path to choose.

But the end result is that I understand the topic inside and out. It means that when I want to learn the next topic I can leverage my slightly deeper understanding to learn it faster.

Repeated iterations of option 2 result in compound returns on learning. This allows one to arrive at a state of deep domain expertise in difficult things.

This is the difference between what Lex Deville would call Tier 1, and Tier 3 gurus. The Tier 1 gurus understand the why, because they have taken concepts from their brain into production. Knowing the why and not just the how allows them to generate new knowledge to sell to the tier 3 gurus. The tier 3 gurus gobble it up and then wonder how the Tier 1 guys come up with this stuff. Never stopping to think that perhaps they should step back and look at first principles.

It's also the reason why Biophase can go from one eCom success to another, as if he's blessed by some Archangel of selling shit online.

TL;DR

Follow Andy's advice and get started learning something by doing / producing
Don't wuss out and read tutorials, really learn how to do it and just take the pain
Become the tier 1 guru and then generate new knowledge in your domain

@404profound

Thank you so much lowtek. I have just recently graduated college and I have no job(by choice). I have been trying to get into the world of cryto and web3 (application production not trading) and I have been "learning" since the last 4 months and never took any action on it. Now that I have read your post I am able to reflect on myself and my "learnings" and I have realized that I have not learnt anything productive. I will now try to implement all the knowledge that I have gained to produce something and see where it goes although it feels like I don't have enough knowledge to get started yet. Thank you again for the awesome post

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[James007Hill]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a few thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.


The more insidious danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.

I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)


You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I need a logo.”

“I need a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I need to go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”


Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.

But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.


Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right?

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?

What would you do then?

Do that.

...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Thanks Andy. I particularly liked the idea that "free content" is not free unless you value your time at 0. Reminded me too of the saying "if the product you are consuming is free, you are the product".

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a few thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.


The more insidious danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.

I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)


You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I need a logo.”

“I need a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”
Il
“I need to go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”


Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.

But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.


Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right?

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?

What would you do then?

Do that.

...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Thank you for this article. Particularly, I needed to be that.

 

[ethan34]

I appreciate this post so much and I wish I read it earlier. Constantly overthinking "Is this scalable?" "Should I read another book?" "Maybe I should focus on a different problem?" "Maybe I can't really help these businesses?" "What if I waste my time?" "What if I can't close clients?" I'm sure there's so many people out there like me who hop around and never stick to one thing, and then end up far behind the person who just stuck to their nonperfect business and didn't overanalyze all the time.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

I appreciate this post so much and I wish I read it earlier. Constantly overthinking "Is this scalable?" "Should I read another book?" "Maybe I should focus on a different problem?" "Maybe I can't really help these businesses?" "What if I waste my time?" "What if I can't close clients?" I'm sure there's so many people out there like me who hop around and never stick to one thing, and then end up far behind the person who just stuck to their nonperfect business and didn't overanalyze all the time.

Ahhhh. Overthinking. The art of solving problems you don’t have.

Glad this thread helped.

What will you do to make a sale this coming week?

 

[Andy Black]

Thank you Andy this advice is gold. I just got my first client.

Good for you. That’s great!

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.

It starts with helping people.

Asking people if you can help them is not helping them.

I get it in my LinkedIn and Facebook messenger inbox all the time.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Can I send you some helpful tip?”

Ffs… just ask the question or send the tip.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ninjacopywriter]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a few thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.


The more insidious danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.

I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)


You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I need a logo.”

“I need a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I need to go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”


Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.

But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.


Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right?

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?

What would you do then?

Do that.

...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Thank you for sharing this thread with me Andy

I was always the type of person that took action and figured out things along the way. I just learned how to create a newsletter by creating a newsletter haha.

I went on substack, created a quick logo on canvas, picked a name, wrote the About section, wrote the welcome email, wrote two email/articles - the structure I got from one girl I follow who is a part-time creator.

That was it...

But then, when I was looking for a job to have some cashflow, I encountered a lot of rejection or ghosting and job postings with SEO in their description or Google Console or whatever.

Then, I realized I didn't know and I started to learn some things - though I confess I kept avoid SEO until now. At the same time, chatGPT came along and I was like...do I really need this skill?

Maybe for now yes...

But I am more the type of "let's figure out" as we go even though now I feel a little stuck career-wise

 

[Etype76]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a few thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.


The more insidious danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.

I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)


You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I need a logo.”

“I need a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I need to go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”


Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.

But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.


Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right?

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?

What would you do then?

Do that.

...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Wow! yeah I never think I know enough, even though I know more than all those around me and so they all look to me as a leader. But it's a much bigger sea than my little pond here! There is so much to learn so I don't flub it all up! I guess quality over quantity for sure. I skipped collage and jumped right into IT and MIS in the beginning of my career. Have been through marketing, business development, project management, and have been part of many failed startups so have a broad spectrum of knowledge, but I still feel the need to learn, or find mentors who have been where I am. Hopefully that will manifest here! Thanks for another great post!

 

[ashutosh_]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?

But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a few thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.


The more insidious danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.

I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)


You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I need a logo.”

“I need a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I need to go to the library and get a heap of books on how to start a business.”


Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.

But did you know the hidden rabbit-hole lying in wait for you in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I wouldn't have known that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

Whenever a new challenge comes up you’ve been programmed to search for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.


Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right?

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?

What would you do then?

Do that.

...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport.

I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”.

I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Damn, this is so true! I needed this wake-up call. Thanks!

 

[themohr]

The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

This. This is exactly the point I've reached. After working in CA for 20 years, obtaining a master's degree, etc. I just want to produce something great! Your post affirms exactly what I needed to hear.

Cheers!

 

[random_username]

I've read the line "produce, do not consume" in MF, but until I've read this post few times, I didn't get it. It definitely opened my eyes at how much time I'm wasting under the influence of "I'm learning something", instead of just doing something concrete and seeing what happens. Thank you for writing this.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Nik@16]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?


But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a couple of thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.



I think the more insidious, hidden, danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.



I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)



You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I better get a logo.”

“I better get a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I better go to the library and get a heap of books out on how to start a business.”

Here in this forum we’d call all of the above “action faking.”

Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.


But did you know the super dangerous rabbit-hole awaiting you if you set foot in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t even know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I didn’t even know that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


I’m working with a career salesman at the moment. I’m hoping to onboard him so he can help me get more local service business clients.

He kept telling me of all the courses he’s been on and all the books he’s read.

That’s ok. I won’t hold that against him. He’s been a salesman over the course of 20 years, and been on the road most of that time.

“Dude. Don’t set “appointments”. Just meet for a chat over a coffee.”

“Dude. Don’t bring that hardback A4 book. Here, I got you a small black Moleskine.”


The best bit from one of our chats this week?

“Andy. This is great. I’m really enjoying just chatting to people. I love this word “chat”. I’m having to deprogramme myself from all that corporate bullshit I used to have to go through.”

Bingo!



Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

You’ve been programmed whenever a new challenge comes up to instantly go searching for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school btw) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.



Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right? The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?



...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport. It’s waaay easier than trying to do so on my phone on Facebook. Just saying.

PPS: I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”. I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Great Post. Cannot be more insightful.

 

[MattPo]

Thank you for your eye openers!

 

[Smuggo]

This is basically me for the last month. Trying to launch my first business and doing this all-around stuff. I need to remember this topic. Thanks!

 

[Ninjakid]

You will never know everything there is to know

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Deleted50669]

Don’t know who came up with it but “Just in time learning” is the concept.

Learn. Act. Learn. Act. Learn. Act.

I remember in Unscripted MJ referred to it as "Act, Assess, Adjust". I don't think I really grasped what that meant until I started on my idea.

 

[Zcott]

For those of you considering another course, another book or another podcast before you start:

What would you do if you already knew enough?

This thread title initially made me think of the quote 'I don't know what I don't know,' but once again, @Andy Black posses a blunt question that immediately makes you stop and question your actions.

Really excellent question. I guess a response would be how do you know when you know enough?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Thinh]

Don’t know who came up with it but “Just in time learning” is the concept.

Learn. Act. Learn. Act. Learn. Act.

First time I heard it was in Tim Ferris The 4 hour work week. "Just in case learning" (bad) vs. "Just in time learning" (good).

And I would reverse the order: Act first, then learn, then act, learn, etc.

 

[James Klymus]

The most obvious danger of consuming too much is that it turns you into a consumer.

A lot of that “free” (and paid) content out there is designed to turn you into someone else’s consumer. (And it’s not free btw... not unless you put zero value on the time it took to consume that “free” content.)

You probably knew this right?


But here’s something I’ve noticed from PMs with a couple of thousand forum members:

Many of you don’t think you know enough to get started.

Many of you are constantly looking for something else to consume so you can finally become a producer.



I think the more insidious, hidden, danger of consuming is that it makes you think you don’t already know enough to start.



I always imagine a young lad knocking on the door with a lawnmower in tow.

“Hey mister. Do you need your grass cut?”

“Not today thanks.”

“No thanks. Maybe another time.”

“Oh wow. I was just thinking of finding someone to cut my grass. Yes please.”

(I live in a very polite little world.)



You know what that lad didn’t do?

He didn’t think:

“I better get a logo.”

“I better get a website.”

“I don’t know enough about cold calling.”

“I better go to the library and get a heap of books out on how to start a business.”

Here in this forum we’d call all of the above “action faking.”

Many of us know to give ourselves a stern talking to when we catch ourselves action faking.


But did you know the super dangerous rabbit-hole awaiting you if you set foot in the library?

“Oh boy. I didn’t realise I needed to know about marketing as well as just starting a business.”

“Uh-oh... I didn’t even know I needed to create avatars of my ideal customers before I go knocking on doors. What if I go round the wrong estate?”

“USP?! Whoa. I’m glad I came into the library today. I didn’t even know that I didn’t know about USPs.”

“Scaling? Growth? What’s that mean? Should I even try to start a grass cutting business?”

“OMG... look at all this stuff I didn’t know I needed to learn before I even step out of the house and speak to people this fine Saturday afternoon.”


I’m working with a career salesman at the moment. I’m hoping to onboard him so he can help me get more local service business clients.

He kept telling me of all the courses he’s been on and all the books he’s read.

That’s ok. I won’t hold that against him. He’s been a salesman over the course of 20 years, and been on the road most of that time.

“Dude. Don’t set “appointments”. Just meet for a chat over a coffee.”

“Dude. Don’t bring that hardback A4 book. Here, I got you a small black Moleskine.”


The best bit from one of our chats this week?

“Andy. This is great. I’m really enjoying just chatting to people. I love this word “chat”. I’m having to deprogramme myself from all that corporate bullshit I used to have to go through.”

Bingo!



Many of you are straight out of school or college.

You’ve been taught to consume and read your way out of problems.

You’ve been programmed whenever a new challenge comes up to instantly go searching for a book or course.

This is how deep the script has it’s claws in you. And the further you got into the education system the deeper those claws.

I get it. I was a good student. I got my degree. I worked a cubicle for nearly 2 decades. I took the courses. I Googled for “books on XYZ”. I took “evening classes on ABC”. I even decided I “needed” an MSc to get ahead.

I learned slowly that the lad with the lawnmower (who may very well have dropped out of school btw) was street-smart where I was book-smart.

And that he was streets ahead of me.



Then one day someone asked me a very simple question:

“Andy. What if you already know enough?”

Oh.


We all want to join team producer right? The best way is to produce more, not consume more.

What if you already know enough?



...

PS: This was all *produced* on my phone on a coach to the airport. It’s waaay easier than trying to do so on my phone on Facebook. Just saying.

PPS: I could have consumed a podcast for the hour, or I could have produced a post in that hour. I chose to gain clarity by producing, to help others by producing, and to not clutter up my head with yet more “knowledge”. I chose to clear my head not fill it.

Awesome insight on this dude. I find my self going down a similar rabbit hole too often

 

[Andy Black]

Awesome insight on this dude. I find my self going down a similar rabbit hole too often

Yeah, they’re rabbit holes with trap doors on top. You often don’t see them till you’re already descending.

Thanks for the rep.

 

[LittleJohn]

I don't think reading is essential. I'm sure there's plenty of successful business owners who can't read, or who have never listened to a podcast or audio book.

I appreciate you continuing the chatter. My view is bigger than just business. For personal development as a human reading is essential.

But you make a point that I think can be valid.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.