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Learning from People who Know More than You

July 23, 2009 By Monica S Flores

As you go about your routine, have you built in time for ongoing personal development?

For me, I take at least 20 minutes a day to get a feel for what other people are doing— people I respect. I call this “continuing education” and the way it works for me is I check in from time to time on people who I know are more successful, more effective, and have a bigger following than me.

For example:
Oprah – businesswoman extraordinaire
His Holiness the Dalai Lama – religious figure
Marshall Goldsmith – thought leader
Michio Kaku – physicist and futurist
TED.org — a great introduction to what smart people are doing worldwide

What are you doing to think better? As an A+ student in high school, I considered myself at the head of the class, but when I entered an Ivy Leage for college, I realized that there were plenty of people brighter than me — so I started to focus on my core attributes and develop a success mindset that goes beyond any kind of limitation for my own abilities and instead builds up the abilities of my community and clients, as a whole. All of us working together achieve more.

What are your core attributes? What are the unique skills and talents that you have in your life? Entrepreneurship, for many of us, means showing up, being focused, finding the right people to help, and identifying and sharing a clear vision.

Who do you “follow” who is just a little bit more than you — maybe they’re more senior, or they’re more networked, or they’re more green, or they’re more sustainable.

Find someone who is performing at a higher level, and find out how they do it and what makes them “tick.”

In my Facebook account, I’ve grouped these people into my “Influentials” list and I review it when I check my news feed. Let’s face it — not everyone has a stimulating status update, but when you get a sense of how these A+ people operate and what moves them during their regular day, you can learn how to achieve on their level.

Monica S Flores

Monica S Flores

Monica S. Flores leads large-scale web development projects in refactoring, redesign/redevelopment, digital platform buildout, & new product launches. She works with US-based & international associations, non-profits, public agencies, & startups on how to reach their communities online. Her focus is to build community, foster connectedness, & use her technology & management skills to make a better world. She believes each of us has an ability/obligation to use our knowledge, ideas, & talents to advance fairness, justice, safety, health, sustainability, & wellbeing. Find her books <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/monicastradebooks">at Amazon</a> or <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/monicaflores">connect with her on LinkedIn</a>.

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Comments

  1. Cindy Morris says

    July 24, 2009 at 8:16 am

    I do think it is helpful to see what others are doing but sometimes it can be overwhelming if we get into what I call “comparison” mode. We can all learn ways to improve our businesses and our lives but I think it is also important to acknowledge our own accomplishments so we don’t feel like we are playing ‘catch up” to someone else’s path. There will always be those who have more, know more, are more than me. Sometimes It is important to just feel ok with how far I ahve come and toi give myself a rest in the comapring race.

  2. Cindy Morris says

    July 24, 2009 at 8:19 am

    oops! See what I mean? My computer just went wild and posted the previous comment before I had a chance to clean up the typos! I KNOW someone out there is a WAY better computer user than I am! At least I finally am USING the computer!

    Sometimes SUCCESS is more about being ok with our accomplishments so far than being driven to be like someone else.

    Cindy Morris, msw
    Priestess Entrepreneur
    http://www.SuccessPriestess.blogspot.com

  3. Chrysty says

    July 24, 2009 at 8:09 am

    Great reminder this morning! Basic principles, but unless you do something with them, they can’t help you achieve new levels. Thanks! Great read.

  4. Monica S. Flores says

    July 24, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    Cindy!

    We’re both Aggies! and I figure if I survived multiple winters in Ithaca, I know I can pretty much survive anything 😉

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