848: LEARN while DOING. DO while LEARNING.

WEBVTT

00:00:00.059 --> 00:00:01.185
Hey, what is up?

00:00:01.185 --> 00:00:04.448
Welcome to this episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:00:04.448 --> 00:00:17.152
As always, I'm your host, brian Lofermento, and in this solo Sunday episode, we are going to be talking about a very important balance in business and life, and that is doing and learning.

00:00:17.152 --> 00:00:18.605
I'm excited about this one.

00:00:18.605 --> 00:00:23.425
Let's dive in, all right.

00:00:23.425 --> 00:00:47.902
So I'll be honest with you here at the top of today's episode is that when I sat down or, I guess, stood up to record this episode, I really questioned what is the best way to talk about today's topic, because when we talk about learning versus doing, obviously they are two very important sides of the coin and for all of us as entrepreneurs, I think we all have a heavy dose of each of these inside of us.

00:00:47.902 --> 00:00:51.229
We all love learning, but we also love doing it.

00:00:51.229 --> 00:01:30.680
That's why it's so important for these two to coexist and that's really why I wanted to record today's episode, because every single time I talk to again I just feel like I've been doing it so much in recent episodes is calling out the wantrepreneurs and the newer entrepreneurs, but I really do think that this applies to all of us throughout the entirety of the entrepreneurial spectrum is that we always need to focus on this constant blend and balance of learning versus doing, and when I think about learning versus doing, I'll be transparent with you here in today's episode, as part of me wondered should I talk about learning while doing or doing while learning?

00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:35.251
And I think where I arrived here in real time in front of you all, is that it's both.

00:01:35.251 --> 00:01:37.668
The answer to this equation is really both.

00:01:37.668 --> 00:01:40.289
We need to both learn while we're doing.

00:01:40.289 --> 00:01:47.194
But most importantly I think this is where I want to go with today's topic is we also have to do while learning.

00:01:47.194 --> 00:01:48.885
What the heck am I talking about?

00:01:48.885 --> 00:01:51.549
What are we really getting at here in today's episode?

00:01:51.620 --> 00:02:11.070
Well, at a really core level, I hear too often too many entrepreneurs that believe that this is a sequential order, that first I need to learn, learn and then I must do, and on the flip side, we can all embrace the concept of doing while learning, and it really is.

00:02:11.070 --> 00:02:24.750
It's a small tweak, it's a mindset shift, but I think it's something that not only frees us to do the things that we need to do, but I think it also gives us that understanding of this is an evolutionary process.

00:02:24.750 --> 00:02:27.984
How often on this show do I talk about the journey?

00:02:27.984 --> 00:02:37.891
How often do we use the term iterative process, or we talk about this being a path and there's going to be a lot of twists and turns, and we know this to be true.

00:02:37.891 --> 00:02:41.829
We hear this from literally every single guest that we have on.

00:02:41.829 --> 00:02:53.122
You can read it in any single entrepreneurial story is that it's always going to be a journey, and so let's talk to the entrepreneurs, or the people, because we're all guilty of this.

00:02:53.122 --> 00:03:04.185
I'm really talking to every single one of us here today, but let's talk about those of us who have that belief that this is a sequential process, that first I must learn and then I must do.

00:03:05.046 --> 00:03:05.568
And you know what?

00:03:05.568 --> 00:03:08.866
Because I love using examples and I love calling people out.

00:03:08.866 --> 00:03:19.468
In today's episode, I'm actually going to use me as a real life example, because, for those of you who have listened to this podcast for a long time, you know that YouTube is an area that I've always kind of talked about.

00:03:19.468 --> 00:03:58.741
Obviously, I love being in front of a camera, I love being behind a microphone, I love creating content that serves others, and so, with all of that in mind, for a long time now, I've talked about beginning to pump content out on YouTube and beginning to learn YouTube, and we've had amazing guests on the show who have talked about what it takes to succeed on YouTube, and that's a topic area that I've loved to learn about and maybe something that I've not executed on Now, fortunately, here in 2024, we very much have been investing and executing on perfecting or at least mastering or at least improving when it comes to YouTube, and we've had some traction.

00:03:58.781 --> 00:04:13.936
It's nothing to write home about just yet, but our team, we do celebrate our small steps forward, but this is a great example of how, for years, I thought that I must learn first and then I must do that.

00:04:13.936 --> 00:04:17.245
I must learn YouTube before I do it.

00:04:17.245 --> 00:04:31.610
I separated the two from each other, when the reality is is that we must learn while doing and importantly this is why I'm going to say it both times here in today's episode we also must do while learning.

00:04:31.610 --> 00:04:37.305
It's not that we take a pause to first learn and then execute.

00:04:37.305 --> 00:04:40.391
The entire process works more efficiently.

00:04:40.673 --> 00:04:57.850
In fact, I would actually argue that the entire process only works if we do both of those, if we learn while doing and we do while learning, and so frequently I think in life we really lean on that anecdote of learning how to ride a bike.

00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:01.526
You know how many phrases in the English language do we have that surround you know?

00:05:01.526 --> 00:05:03.211
Oh, it's just like riding a bike.

00:05:03.211 --> 00:05:07.904
And so think back to childhood, when we all learned how to ride a bike.

00:05:07.904 --> 00:05:08.927
What did we do?

00:05:08.927 --> 00:05:12.062
Did we sit there and read a book about how to ride a bike?

00:05:12.062 --> 00:05:14.747
Did we watch YouTube videos about how to ride a bike?

00:05:14.747 --> 00:05:44.269
Even if we did let's play that out for just a second Even if we did learn first about riding a bike, the reality is, when our butt hits that seat, no amount of learning is going to help us in the doing, because I think the real lesson behind life and business and learning how to ride a bike is that the learning comes through the doing and the doing is also simultaneously the learning.

00:05:45.110 --> 00:05:51.764
So all too often, when we separate these two, I think it sets us up for failure on a few different fronts.

00:05:51.764 --> 00:06:16.483
First and foremost, which I feel like we trick ourselves into believing that that sequential process is something that will enhance our chances for success, and we believe that the more that we learn, the less likely we are to fail, when, in reality, the more that we do, the less likely we are to fail.

00:06:16.483 --> 00:06:29.951
Will we have more failures out of the gates by simply doing yes for sure, and that's why I've always loved that notion of you may lose the battle, but don't lose the war.

00:06:29.951 --> 00:06:36.216
We have to remain firm in our sights and firm in our beliefs in this process.

00:06:36.216 --> 00:06:59.935
It's why right now obviously a lot of you know I'm a big Boston Celtics fan and I will confess here on the air because I don't want to set myself up for failure here that as a giant Boston Celtics fan we're in the middle of a playoff series in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers right now, and I'm recording this many days in advance of a few very important games in our series, so I don't know the outcome by the time that this episode is airing.

00:06:59.935 --> 00:07:06.776
I hope that the Boston Celtics are very comfortably through to the Eastern Conference finals before the time that this airs.

00:07:07.077 --> 00:07:11.093
But the reason why I bring basketball up is because look at the basketball playoffs.

00:07:11.093 --> 00:07:14.281
It's a seven game series, best out of seven.

00:07:14.281 --> 00:07:15.122
What does that mean?

00:07:15.122 --> 00:07:22.271
Even if you don't support sports, then a best out of seven series means that it's the first team to win four games.

00:07:22.271 --> 00:07:23.815
That's what's important.

00:07:23.815 --> 00:07:34.021
You're going to lose a game or two here in this season to use basketball and to use the Boston Celtics as an analogy the Celtics are the best team in the league.

00:07:34.021 --> 00:07:36.992
We steamrolled everybody in the regular season.

00:07:36.992 --> 00:07:42.771
We had a historic regular season very comfortably the best team in the league, record wise.

00:07:42.771 --> 00:07:45.139
But now we're in the playoffs and guess what?

00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:50.319
The Celtics have uncharacteristically dropped some games that they shouldn't have.

00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:51.151
They've lost.

00:07:51.151 --> 00:08:04.300
And when I listen to our star player, jason Tatum, who is very mature for his age this is a guy who's 24, 25 years old and he's one of the NBA superstars when I hear him talk after the game, he said it so simply.

00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.880
What Did people expect us?

00:08:06.880 --> 00:08:07.403
To win?

00:08:07.403 --> 00:08:08.589
Every single game.

00:08:08.589 --> 00:08:24.716
Of course we're going to lose some games along the way, and that is the attitude that frees us up in life.

00:08:25.036 --> 00:08:34.761
But I believe it's on the first page, probably, or the first three pages of my book where I talk about Amelia Earhart, who obviously is a pilot that we all know.

00:08:34.761 --> 00:08:38.423
This is someone who has sent shockwaves through the course of history.

00:08:38.423 --> 00:08:53.893
We all learn about her as a child, because Amelia Earhart made history, and one of her most famous quotes is something that's always stuck with me since I was a kid Always think with your stick forward, always think with your stick forward, always think with your stick forward.

00:08:53.893 --> 00:09:15.279
She was at the forefront of aviation and think about how crazy aviation was of a time period in American history, in human history Aviation humans taking to the sky and flying in these crazy contraptions and machines that just normal people, that the Wright brothers built.

00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:16.755
That's incredible.

00:09:16.755 --> 00:09:31.576
And when Amelia Earhart, when she spoke about flying, when she spoke about how scary that is, imagine taking one of the earliest models of planes over water, imagine taking it high up in the sky not knowing if it's gonna fall down.

00:09:31.576 --> 00:09:47.177
And so when Amelia Earhart talks about or talked about flying and the fears that are associated with it and the high risks of failure associated with it, she said always think with your stick forward, always think with your stick forward.

00:09:47.570 --> 00:09:57.164
And when I think about all these years that I've quote unquote been learning about YouTube, how much more would I have learned by simply doing?

00:09:57.164 --> 00:10:08.442
The learning is in the doing and the doing is what facilitates and makes possible the learnings, and I think this is such an important mindset.

00:10:08.442 --> 00:10:19.779
Obviously, today I'm using so many different analogies, so many different stories to really illustrate this for you and with you, but the reason why is because I genuinely believe it's this mindset.

00:10:19.779 --> 00:10:27.067
It's a mindset that makes us more dangerous as entrepreneurs and, trust me, I say dangerous in the best way possible.

00:10:27.067 --> 00:10:30.826
It opens up a whole world of possibilities for us.

00:10:30.826 --> 00:10:48.903
Because right now, if you are confined only by the walls of your current knowledge, only by the walls of your current comfort zone, only by the walls of what you currently know today in your core competencies, if you forever remain limited by that, then you're exactly that.

00:10:48.903 --> 00:10:49.525
You're limited.

00:10:49.525 --> 00:10:51.770
You're going to live within that box.

00:10:51.770 --> 00:10:56.020
You're going to rob yourself of so many opportunities to say you know what?

00:10:56.020 --> 00:10:58.413
I have no idea how to ride a bike.

00:10:58.413 --> 00:11:00.899
I have no idea how to speak this language.

00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:03.572
I have no idea how to be successful on YouTube.

00:11:03.572 --> 00:11:09.884
I have no idea how to close a sale from a phone call or over email marketing.

00:11:09.884 --> 00:11:11.878
I have no idea how to do all of these things.

00:11:11.878 --> 00:11:17.482
Well, you'll never know how to do any of those things until you start doing.

00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:21.278
And so so much of our content here on this podcast.

00:11:21.278 --> 00:11:22.301
I'll just call it out right now.

00:11:22.301 --> 00:11:23.931
So much of our content.

00:11:23.931 --> 00:11:25.052
It's written right there in Nike's slogan just do it.

00:11:25.052 --> 00:11:28.835
It's written right there in Nike's slogan just do it.

00:11:28.835 --> 00:11:37.341
It's something that we as people and we as entrepreneurs, we know that advice, we know that we should just do it.

00:11:37.341 --> 00:11:39.604
It's something we inherently understand.

00:11:39.604 --> 00:11:59.817
But the game is easier said than done, and so I think that's why, when it comes to personal development, when it comes to investing in our own growth, when it comes to the entrepreneurial mindset, I think that it becomes a game of not just saying these phrases, not just understanding the very concept of just do it.

00:12:00.110 --> 00:12:10.477
I think what it comes down to is how can we reframe this, how can we view it differently so that in those moments where we need it most, it hits us and it resonates with us.

00:12:10.477 --> 00:12:15.822
And that's why is this another take on the very simple concept of just do it?

00:12:15.822 --> 00:12:17.298
Yes, of course, it is.

00:12:17.298 --> 00:12:22.136
At the very fundamental root of today's message is just do it.

00:12:22.136 --> 00:12:27.815
But really, I wanted to frame it because so much of us commit to learning.

00:12:27.815 --> 00:12:31.081
We are entrepreneurs, we commit to a lifetime of learning.

00:12:31.081 --> 00:12:35.116
I think that that's such a core part of our entrepreneurial DNA.

00:12:35.116 --> 00:12:51.296
But I also think that, since we very willingly, since we very readily, since we very excitedly wear the learner's cap, since we very happily assume that role in life and in business of learners.

00:12:51.296 --> 00:13:02.178
We need to embrace this angle of this message of not only can we learn while we're doing, but we can also do while we're learning.

00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:08.062
It's something that I see with so many newer entrepreneurs is when I ask them where are you in your business?

00:13:08.062 --> 00:13:09.395
Are you ready to go get clients?

00:13:09.395 --> 00:13:11.236
Like that's such an exciting time.

00:13:11.236 --> 00:13:17.813
It's part of the entrepreneurial energy that makes me love interacting with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs as much as I do.

00:13:17.813 --> 00:13:24.655
It's because that energy upfront, when you are learning, when there is a world of possibilities that's reinvigorating.

00:13:24.655 --> 00:13:26.119
That's what keeps us alive.

00:13:26.119 --> 00:13:28.191
That's why we love learning so much.

00:13:28.191 --> 00:13:33.051
And so when I ask these newer entrepreneurs are you excited, are you going to go get your first client?

00:13:33.051 --> 00:13:41.345
Are you going to go get your first batch of clients or customers, or are you going to start having more sales conversations and meeting people and networking?

00:13:41.345 --> 00:13:50.114
And it kills me when I hear them say, well, yeah, I really want to and I want to get to that point, but right now, I'm learning this.

00:13:50.114 --> 00:14:02.417
I'm learning Facebook ads, I'm learning about branding, I'm learning about sales, I'm learning about pricing methodologies, I'm learning about insert any topic here that we're all always learning about.

00:14:02.917 --> 00:14:18.548
And so this episode, I hope really puts it into perspective for all those times that we convince ourselves we're learning first and doing after is that we will learn while we're doing and we can do while we're learning.

00:14:18.548 --> 00:14:21.153
It's not rocket science, but gosh.

00:14:21.153 --> 00:14:51.139
As I do with every single Solo Sunday episode, I hope that this hits you where you are and I hope that it hits you where you need it, because this is something that, if we can master this, it means that we're going to take a lot more baby steps in life and we're gonna be a lot more uncomfortable at so many different times in life, and it also means that we may take a few more L's in life, we may lose a few battles, but ultimately, these are the things that are going to help us win that war.

00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:55.221
So that's it for me in today's episode.

00:14:55.221 --> 00:14:56.736
I hope that you enjoyed this one.

00:14:56.736 --> 00:14:58.677
I will say we have just got.

00:14:58.677 --> 00:15:18.513
If you think that I sound super energetic and enthusiastic about all the great stuff that we've got going on behind the scenes at the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast, it's because I am, because we've got another incredible week of so many amazing entrepreneurs coming on the show this week, with us kicking off with Tanner McIver in tomorrow's episode.

00:15:18.513 --> 00:15:20.577
I'm really excited for you all to hear about Tanner.

00:15:20.577 --> 00:15:43.330
His personal life story not only his entrepreneurial story but his personal life story is fascinating to me because this is a man who lives with the deepest layers of intention and it's because he has hit rock bottom and he saw the light and now he helps others do that You're going to have some big perspective shifts with Tanner in tomorrow's episode, which is episode 849.

00:15:43.669 --> 00:15:47.802
And then Wednesday is another milestone episode for us episode 850.

00:15:47.802 --> 00:15:51.961
I am joined by the very fun to interview Bart Casparo.

00:15:51.961 --> 00:15:54.077
Bart is not your average lawyer.

00:15:54.077 --> 00:16:01.683
Bart is a lawyer who saw so many needs in the marketplace and he became a very accomplished tech CEO.

00:16:01.683 --> 00:16:17.875
Hearing the way that Bart not only thinks about his tech, not only the way that he thinks about consumer privacy and how it affects all of us, but also the way he thinks about business growth and serving others and identifying those marketplace gaps really insightful, super excited to host Bart on the show this Wednesday.

00:16:17.875 --> 00:16:24.340
In Friday's episode, which is episode 851, we are joined by an Emmy Award winner.

00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:38.115
Bryant Vanderweerd is outrageously talented in all the things that he does and he applies so much of it to a really cool industry of craft beer, so you're gonna wanna hear his Emmy-given talents in Friday's episode.

00:16:38.510 --> 00:16:40.278
All of this is just a big tease to say.

00:16:40.278 --> 00:16:40.761
You know what?

00:16:40.761 --> 00:16:48.933
Pound that subscribe button because we'll see you, as always, every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:16:48.933 --> 00:16:56.216
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:16:56.216 --> 00:17:00.163
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:17:00.163 --> 00:17:06.617
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:09.398
And I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:17:09.398 --> 00:17:18.160
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.218
These are not sponsored episodes.

00:17:20.218 --> 00:17:21.816
These are not infomercials.

00:17:21.816 --> 00:17:25.210
Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

00:17:25.210 --> 00:17:36.262
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:17:36.262 --> 00:17:44.761
So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website, because you can send us a voicemail there.

00:17:44.761 --> 00:17:46.095
We also have live chat.

00:17:46.095 --> 00:17:50.720
If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.123
Initiate a live chat.

00:17:52.123 --> 00:18:01.538
It's for real me and I'm excited because I'll see you always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.