My recent inspiration: Steven Bartlett - British Entrepreneur, Investor and Podcaster (The Diary of a CEO)

The late spiritual leader Yogi Bhajan once said, “If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.”

The Law:

TO MASTER IT, YOU MUST CREATE AN OBLIGATION TO TEACH IT

The Story of Steven Bartlett:

It felt like the entire population of planet Earth had gathered to watch me melt on stage that evening, but in reality, it was just a handful of my fellow secondary school pupils, their parents and a few teachers.

I was 14 years old and had been tasked with saying a few closing remarks at my school’s exam awards evening. As I walked out onto the stage, the auditorium fell into an anticipatory silence.

And there I stood, frozen, terrified and mute, for one of the longest minutes anyone has ever endured, staring down at the trembling piece of paper clasped between my clammy, nervous hands, on the verge of urinating into my own underwear, experiencing what people refer to as ‘stage fright’. 

The script I had planned to deliver was shaking with such ferocity that I couldn’t see the words. Eventually I blurted out some impoverished, cliched, nonsensical remarks before charting off stage and out of the door as if I were being followed by a firing squad.

Fast forward ten years from the traumatic day and I’m speaking on stage 50 weeks a year in every corner of the globe - I’m headlining alongside Brack Obama in front of tens of thousands in Sao Paulo, I’m speaking in sold-out arenas in Barcelona, I’m touring in the Uk and speaking at festivals from Kyiv to Texas to Milan.

The explanation:

I went from being a train wreck of a public speaker, to rubbing shoulders with some of the very best to ever do it, and there is one simple law that I credit with the transformation. I created an obligation to teach.

At 21 years old, I made a promise to myself that every day at 7pm, I would write a tweet or make a video delivering a single idea, and then post it online at 8pm. Of all the things I’ve done in my life to advance my knowledge and skills, this is thing that made the most difference. It’s no exaggeration to say that it has completely changed the trajectory of my life, and consequently it’s the piece of advice I urge most strongly upon anyone looking to become a better thinker, speaker, writer or content creator. The key factor here is that I made learning, then writing/recording and sharing it online, a daily obligation, not just an interest.

So, if you want to master something, do it publicly and do it consistently. Publishing your written ideas forces you to learn more often and to write more clearly. Publishing a video forces you to improve your speaking skills and to articulate your thoughts. Sharing your ideas on stage teaches you how to hold an audience and tell captivating stories. In any area of your life, doing it in public, and creating an obligation that forces you to do it consistently, will lead you to mastery.

“The person who learns the most in any classroom is the teacher.” - James Clear

The Law Simplified:

Learn more, simplify more and share more. Your consistency will further your progress, the feedback will refine your skill and following this law will lead to mastery.
#myreflections #anideaaday #thediaryofaceo #stevenbartlett