Lesson I’ve Learned #21:
I was taught the Feynman Learning Technique in college, it’s worked my whole life:
1. Pick a topic that’s interesting.
2. Ask “Why?” until I get it.
3. Explain it in a story a child understands
4. Fill in gaps I find in my explanation.
Lesson I’ve Learned #22:
The majority of people who hurt me do it without knowing or understanding. They’re just focused on their own pain.
Doesn’t excuse bad behavior, just a fact.
Hard lesson to even realize, much less internalize.
Lesson I’ve Learned #23:
Power doesn’t corrupt. Power attracts pathological personalities. Power’s magnetic to the corrupted and corruptible.
Seen this many times, and painful to accept, but true—even in myself. (H/t Frank Herbert)
Lesson I’ve Learned #24:
One of my favorite marketing lessons is the job that diamonds do.
Men buy diamonds for the look on the woman’s face when she opens the box.
Women buy diamonds for the look on other women face when they see it. (h/t Roy H. Williams)
Lesson I’ve Learned #25:
There are no secrets. Just things I haven’t learned yet. (h/t Keith Cunningham)
Lesson I’ve Learned #26:
A lesson I could only understand after having kids: I can never be greater than what my children think of me.
If I’m to be judged by what I do, their experience of me is the defining arbiter of who I am.
Lesson I’ve Learned #27:
I used to think self-awareness was about understanding what I was thinking.
Took me a long time to realize that self-awareness is much more about understanding what I am feeling.
Lesson I’ve Learned #28:
One thing I’ve learned about my wife—she sincerely means it when she says she doesn’t want a Christmas gift.
But I buy one for her one anyway. Something she needs but won’t buy for herself.
And she always loves it.
Lesson I’ve Learned #29:
There are no safe places. Only safe people.
Lesson I’ve Learned #30:
It’s much easier to be a hero than to be famous.
The difference is that famous people depend on what other people think of them to be who they are.
Heroes only have to care about whether they are doing the right thing.
The point of sharing these lessons is to help others on their journey. If you know someone who could benefit from a lesson, please forward this blog post to them.
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