Classes in Awesome

I'll be honest. I thought a lot of that self-dev crap was well, crap. Hooey. Pointless.

Of course the older I get, the more I realize how important self-development work really is to getting me where I want to be. This includes the visualization exercises, goal-setting, practicing, and of course learning.

The visualization exercises I get. That took me very little time to perfect because I have an incredibly active imagination. I mean, how else could I write a book in 2 weeks time? The goal-setting thing I get. I read enough self-help books (courtesy of a few mentors and a life in the church) to figure out how that can work - and I made it work for me. Even practicing I could get behind. I mean, I'm a writer. Blogging daily is my workout. The performance happens in the novels. But learning, ironically, was a different issue.

There are a few types of learning that lead to awesomeness. First there's school. School is *actually* useful, despite your memories of tests covered in drool and nasal instruction. School helps a person figure out what they like and don't. It helps to hone some basic skills, like the ability to research and communicate (very important in pretty much EVERY field in which it is worth being awesome). But school has limits. Required school only goes to a certain age. Elective higher education has resource constraints, as does continuing education classes and conferences. So what happens to those of us who are left without time or money to devote to these pursuits?

Well the second option is probably the easiest. This is the kind of learning that is fun and easy to do - the self-help learning. For people who enjoy exercises and self-exploration, this is a candy store. There are tons of books and workshops available (let alone videos and podcasts). When I got hooked on this stuff, I found it invigorating. The reason was because it helped me create a road-map to where I wanted to go and who I wanted to be. If I could get stuck in learning, I might get stuck here. Except of course, self-development books don't actually get me to improve in a particular area. They provide a framework, not content. And as we know, we need content.

The last type of education is the one I have been digging my heels to avoid. I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't get behind reading more about writing. Generally I find a lot of what people write online and elsewhere when plying their trades to be bullshit. Okay, let me clarify. There are the people who DID it, and do it because they're passionate and reading their words is INCREDIBLY helpful. Then there are people who are clearly selling something. They make me want to vomit. Yes, so that's why I drag my heels. I don't like to vomit.

Unfortunately, it is necessary to read up about your area of expertise - or the area in which you *want* to be awesome. One reason is it actually helps you get better. Practice does make perfect, but without that added benefit of knowledge it wouldn't make your trade awesome. Sometimes I'm too close to a project to see its flaws. When I can read someone else's words about style or world-building, it can help me figure out where I could improve (and we can ALWAYS improve).

Another reason is it saves time. I could wander around in the dark bumping into every other thing, or I could switch on the light and walk the easiest path through the room. Learning about your field is like that. Rather than wasting time and effort on things that may or may not work, why not read about someone ELSE'S mistakes and use their knowledge to your advantage? That's what I fully intend to do, now that I'm through with stumbling around in the dark (how ridiculously stupid of me!).

The moral of the story is, learning is required in order to become impressively awesome. Actually, learning is required to be worth your salt and it needs to be several different types. Add in some practice, visualization, and goal-setting and you're well on your way to being impressively awesome.

Did you have some stumbling blocks to being impressively awesome? Are you just now realizing what you need to learn more about? How did you get there? What are you doing now? Feel free to share comments below!