Embarrassing Story Time

A few years ago, I was living in Ecuador for a few months doing some consulting work when I almost got arrested and put in jail, by accident.

Yes, you read that right. I was enjoying a traditional meal with new friends at a restaurant when things took a turn for the worse.

You see, I was trying to speak Spanish, but my limited language skills got me into trouble.

I mistakenly said something that sounded like...

I was trying to buy my new friends' unborn grand-baby, which understandably angered and shocked my Ecuadorian friends.

They thought I was committing a serious crime, and emotions quickly escalated.

Thankfully, the situation was resolved without me getting arrested, but it was a close call. [Full story on my last YouTube channel here]

So, why am I sharing this story with you?

The Power of Looking Foolish: A Key to Rapid Learning

One of the keys to rapid learning is being willing to look foolish.

This means being okay with making mistakes and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones to try new things. For me, this meant speaking Spanish even though I wasn't proficient and risking making embarrassing mistakes.

By doing so, I was able to improve my Spanish skills and gain confidence in other areas of my life where I was a fish out of water.

Creating Urgency: Another Key to Rapid Learning

Another key to rapid learning is creating urgency.

When we have a pressing need or desire to learn something quickly, we are forced to focus and take action.

In my case, I needed to learn Spanish quickly in order to communicate effectively with my colleagues and friends. [watch the video to learn ways I learned Spanish faster - it works for many languages]

This urgency motivated me to prioritize my language learning and put in extra effort to improve efficiently.

Gaining Confidence for Compound Interest in Learning

Gaining confidence is critical to creating compound interest in our learning.

As our confidence grows, we become more motivated to continue learning and improving, creating an unstoppable acceleration in our progress.

Skill Stacking and Multi-Mastery

I started to see the benefits of skill stacking and multi-mastery, where I combined multiple skills to create a unique set of abilities that made me more valuable in my personal and professional lives.

In fact, my Spanish skills became a valuable asset in my consulting work, allowing me to understand the local culture and business practices better and provide better recommendations to my clients.

Applying Rapid Learning to Other Areas of Life and Career

Have you ever had an experience where your skills unexpectedly transferred over into another area of your life or career?

By reflecting on what it took to immerse myself in a new language and culture, I was able to skill stack and apply my new knowledge to consulting work for a client who served non-native English speakers.

I improved the founder’s user experience by recommending changes to her website and course offerings using English cognates and reducing the use of acronyms.

This not only made the content easier to understand for her international customers, but it also reduced brain fatigue for their target audience.

The Power of Growth Mindset

The best part is that anyone can do this with a willingness to learn and an eager growth mindset.

With these keys of rapid learning in mind - looking foolish, creating urgency, and gaining confidence - you can become a super learner and future-proof your career in the modern Renaissance.

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I hope my embarrassing story and lessons learned about rapid learning and skill stacking have inspired you to take risks and learn something new.

Remember, being willing to look foolish, creating urgency, and gaining confidence are the keys to becoming a rapid learner and multi-master.

If you want to hear the full stories that I shared in this newsletter, check out my video on The Art of Learning Anything Faster.

And if you want to read about How I Saved a Client 3 Months Off Development in just 3 Hours, check out my blog post.
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And, as always, feedback on Twitter is great. Which point above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet via a tag @SamanthaPostman and put #SamanthaSays at the end, so I can find it.

Be Curious. Live boldly! Live a life you love, my friends.

Blessings to you,

Samantha Postman
Business Consultant, Polymathic Educator and Serial Entrepreneur