Know Can Do!

How You Can Make Education * Action = ResultsA Reality In Your Life

One of the huge mysteries for most coaches and teachers is “Why does one student excel with the education provided, while another student struggles and loses interest in the subject?” After reading Know Can Do, I am a lot closer to understanding how unraveling this mystery, and have learned a system on how to instruct a student to implement education, and how to excel at learning and doing!

In this article, I want to share with you the three reasons that the authors Ken Blanchard & Paul J. Meyer expanded upon in their book why students don’t use what they learn.  In addition, I will expand upon how to make Education X Action = Results a reality in your life, and how the Jake & Gino community is creating the essential follow up system to put knowledge into action.

Here are the author’s three simple yet profound reasons why we don’t put into action what we learn:

            1.Information overload.            2.Negative behavior (stinkin thinkin, superbly expressed by the authors)!            3.Lack of follow up.

Let’s break down each of these reasons and give solutions on how to overcome these impediments.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD:

We are all drowning in information today. Unfortunately, we retain only a small fraction of content when we hear it once, and most of us consume the content and move onto the next book, or video.  Can you remember the book you read last year, or even last month? So, the question is, how do you defeat information overload?

First, I would find out what type of learner you are. Are you visual, auditory, or kinesthetic? Do you need to watch videos, read a book, listen to an audio, or actually do the task.  This is crucial, and the main reason why many children under perform in school.  Just ask Jake! When he found out he was a kinesthetic learner, it was as if a weight was removed from his shoulders. That was his “AHA” moment, and the reason why he disliked school and excelled at sports.  The fact is Jake is a pretty brilliant guy and an amazing entrepreneur, but not by school standards. If you want to learn what type of learner you are, simply go online and Google “type of learner, and a plethora of sites will pop up where you can take an assessment and find out your learning style.

Next, follow the author’s advice by “learning less more”. What the heck does that mean? I actually love this advice for learning how to invest in multifamily real estate. When a student joins our Academy, the content that we provide is overwhelming. We want our students to start out by creating goals, and taking baby steps in the beginning by learning a few key strategies, such as focusing and selecting a market, and beginning to network with brokers in that market. “Learn less more”!

The time will come to learn how to manage the property, finance the deal, underwrite the deal, negotiate the deal, etc. As you can see, if the student dives in and begins to consume all of the content, information overload sets in and the student will shut down. How do I know? I was guilty of information overload years ago, when I began my journey into multifamily real estate.

The key in the beginning is to concentrate on a few key concepts over and over again, what the authors refer to as “spaced repetition”.  What you focus on grows, and focusing on a few concepts when you first start out will make it much easier to master the concepts.

Why do students want to learn something new instead of struggling with something that they should master? One word. FUN!!!  It’s more fun to “learn” new content, and we trick ourselves into thinking that we are being so much more productive if we continue to plow through new content without mastering the old content.

NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR:

A person’s thought and state affect how he or she learns and puts into practice the education that is being consumed.  Education is simply a change in behavior. If you have learned “how “ to buy and manage an apartment complex, yet fail to buy one, have you become educated on the subject? Nope!

In life coaching, we tackle a person’s limiting beliefs and show how a limiting belief can hold back someone from taking action. If you would like more information on the four energy blocks and how they hinder and hold us back from achieving our goals, click here What Are The Four Energy Blocks!

The solution to a negative mindset is to begin listening with a positive mindset, with:

                      – No Prejudice                      – Excitement                      – Positive expectancy                      – Note taking                      – How can I use this attitude

These are all excellent suggestions from the authors. Let’s face it, if you think you can’t buy an apartment complex, you are not excited, you expect to fail, you do not educate yourself and adopt how can I do this mentality, you are DOOMED!

Once you see the task as achievable, and you can see yourself doing it, then chances of success rise dramatically! It’s no wonder once a student buys their first deal, their second deal is not too far behind. It took Jake and myself eighteen months to buy our first deal, but after that first deal, we acquired 200 units within a year, and 1000 units within five years.

A positive open mind sparks our creativity and ingenuity, and we seek out what is correct in the knowledge, and not what is incorrect.  You will want to get the deal done, instead of trying to poke holes in the deal.

LACK OF FOLLOW UP:

I have to admit, I am guilty of this third transgression. I am a voracious reader, but am I actually changing my behavior after consuming a book. I am going to follow the author’s advice on follow up. How do we overcome a lack of follow up?

Accountability is the key, whether through a structured coaching and education platform like Jake & Gino, or simply taking notes, going back and reviewing your notes.  If you do not follow up, chances are you are going to revert back to your old habits. The power of repetition is key, and spaced repetition allows the content to sink in.

I would recommend you to either join a community of like-minded individuals, or seek out an accountability partner. Those weekly calls are huge in a couple of ways. It forces you to prepare and learn the content, and it gives you a sounding board to bounce off new ideas. I guarantee you that you are more likely to let yourself down more often than letting your accountability partner down.

My follow up routine includes either reading a book, listening to an audio or watching a video, and taking notes. Once I am done with the lesson or book, I will re-read my notes, and begin to transcribe them onto my laptop. I will go over those notes a few days later.  I will even read the book again and take additional notes, gleaming information that I may have missed the first time.

If I am researching a specific topic, I will try to schedule a podcast with an expert on the topic.  I love interviewing experts, and being able to ask them specific questions.  My level of energy is raised, it’s fun, I’m excited, and I feel that I can do it. Learn less more, repetition, and follow up! The keys to retaining the information you just learned.

Thanks to Ken Blanchard & Paul Meyer for writing and sharing their immensely impactful book Know Can Do!!  I highly recommend it. It has revolutionized how I am teaching our student base, and more importantly, how I am achieving the ultimate goal of educationà a change in their behavior.

Our goal is to teach students how to adapt these principles, achieve the change in behavior, and ultimately, how to become financially free through buying apartments.

Check out all of the valuable real estate book reviews from the ream at Jake and Gino.

MIH!!