Let Experience of Others Teach You.

Most people I talk with agree that experience is the best teacher. People learn from experiencing things personally or through observation and then applying what they have learned to themselves.

Surprisingly most don’t realise it’s not their personal experience that is the best teacher. The best teacher is learning from the experience of others without the agony or ecstasy of a personal experience.

And if it’s too good to be true?

People shy away from taking a punt on something that seems too good to be true can be something. This is because of the the old cliché if it’s too good to be true it generally is.

Conversely, the primary reason people talk themselves out of something that looks unbelievably profitable is that they simply don't know whether the opportunity is real. They may also feel they could be embarking on a risky venture.

That is why experiencing the event personally has its down side. Learn from the experiences of others. It’s easier, less costly and more predictable. I am not talking about personal experiences that you would enjoy like the experience of tasting a good wine.

Rather, I’m referring to personal experiences that you would prefer not to have if it has the potential to hurt you or your family. Some would give their right arm for such knowledge. I have that knowledge and will share it with you.

Anecdote

Let me tell you a story. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was wound up in my own success, killing myself and working 15 hour days.

I Started the day at 5am and went through to 8pm snacking on goodies every 2 hours and enjoying $400 lunches. I ended up gaining 45 kg weighing 130kg and sat in front of a computer doing very little else.

What was worse was the more successful I became the busier I was. I was caught in a vicious cycle, a roundabout and I couldn’t seem to get off. I was like a raging bull charging straight for the matador only to have his sword plunged between my shoulder blades down into my heart.

Casually, during a conversation, a colleague said to me in a light hearted manner, “What are you going to do with all your money when you’re dead?” It was like a 10 pound hammer had hit me between the eyes and I felt dizzy as though I was seeing yellow stars!

Bad Example

Here I was an overweight person doing nothing to improve the quality of my life. No exercise, bad eating habits and neglecting my family and social life. I’d wake up to only one thing, work. I’d go home to only one thing thinking about the next day’s work.

Previously, I had seen this behavior in others but somehow I didn’t think it applied to me. I had become a victim of my own ignorance and world of self importance. How much easier would it have been if I took the advice of others before me? Instead I had to experience it and pay the price of not learning from the experiences of others.

TIP: Personal experience is not always the best teacher.

Remember when we were children, we learned our way around the kitchen. However, helping mum cook in the kitchen was a dangerous pastime. Most of us have been burned at one time or another.

That was when we were young and had no concept of learning except through our own experiences and mistakes. As adults we grew in knowledge and intelligence and found there was another way. We can learn from others!

We saw the pain our parents or siblings experienced when they crushed their finger in the car door as it slammed shut. We soon realised that to avoid the same pain, we had to keep our fingers well out of the way of a closing door. Didn’t we?

Not at all! I’m sure there are still adults who slam their fingers in car doors. It seems that even as adults some still have to experience the personal act before they learn the lesson.

Examples

Take for example people that smoke. They know the possible consequences of smoking but do they stop? They often stop when they are in hospital and the doctor advises them to quit or they will die.

What about speeding? Speed can maim or kill if in an accident. And yet people still speed.

In these examples as with most experiences the person knew about the consequences of their actions however refused to change until they personally experienced devastation.

The Astute

The astute person watches others to end up with the desired outcome they are interested in having. It’s simple really, assimilate the experiences of others and don’t do something that has an outcome you don’t like.

Now, relate that back to the situation above and ask if it would be wise to be motivated by my story. Do you want to be free of stress and have a healthy lifestyle? Well, don’t do what I have done. This is what I did to change my situation.

Immediate changes

In the first week after making the decision to change, I reduced my workload. The tasks that I didn’t have to absolutely do myself, I delegated. This put me in the position of working a normal 7-8 hour day like everyone else.

I was faced with the dilemma, however of maintaining contact with my customers?

To solve this problem I installed auto responders and automatic systems for sending emails to prospective and existing clients.

Month One

The servicing of my existing customers was also a large part of my workload. How was I going to fix that?

I installed a customer service system. Trained others how to manage customer questions and enquiries.

Month Two

By now I was starting to enjoy life and was working on what I love to do. My business wasn’t suffering. It still turned over about $47,000 a day.

Month Three

Last but not least I embarked on a strict eating and exercise program to get fit and lose weight. It took me a while to find the best diet to guarantee the best results with the least amount of effort but I did do it. I now enjoy life at 80KG and I love it.

I became so enthused about the changes and seeing my business grow while working less and enjoying life, I wrote a hands on manual of how I did it. It’s called:

“THE LAZY MAN’S GUIDE TO MULTI MILLIONS”(How I went From Zero to 140 Million in 18 Months)

Let’s relate this back to “experience” being the great teacher. The astute person will gain advice from someone who has the experience in solving a particular problem or situation.

Some pay for advice in order to learn what they have to do to have a trouble free environment. Even though some pay for advice they don’t always apply it to what it is that they want.

Instead they choose to act on their gut feelings and/or emotions at the time. They still refuse to learn from other’s experiences. It would seem they couldn’t learn unless they personally experience the pain themselves.

History and Other Lessons

Even a military strategist will look at history to assist them in deciding what step to take next to achieve a particular outcome. History repeats itself many times. For a military strategist to ignore history in time of war is a tragedy for them, soldiers and for the country they serve.

I have been asked many times for business advice. Some advice is easy to give because I have been successful in this area.

Ignorance Price

Many times my advice has been ignored by those asking for it and in many cases this has cost them dearly. That’s their prerogative, I can only empathise not sympathise with them for being fools.

On one such occasion I asked an individual who had just lost $750,000 this question: Why did you not take my advice? They said, “Just because I get advice, I don’t have to take it”. The answer blew me away.

What a foolish man. He is and will be paying for that attitude for many years to come. Asking for, taking and paying for advice is something to be valued. Learn from the experience of others.  Don’t play the ignorant fool and have to learn from your own personal experience.