Episode #48: Learn Like A Beginner featuring Tom Vanderbilt
“I really wanted to kind of rehabilitate the word beginners, I think it has for many people has kind of a negative connotation. It's like, its this awkward stage, you have to get through when you start something new.”
Why do so many of us stop learning new skills as adults? Are we afraid to fail? Have we forgotten the sheer pleasure of being a beginner? Or is it simply a fact that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Tom Vanderbilt is a journalist, blogger, and author of the book, “Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning,” After seeing his young daughter learn to play chess, Tom wondered “Why not me?”
So he did – and then learned six more skills. In he describes frankly (and humorously) the embarrassment that comes with repeated failures as well as quiet triumphs.
He begins a year of learning purely for the sake of learning. He tackles five main skills (and picks up a few more along the way), choosing them for their difficulty to master and their distinct lack of career marketability--chess, singing, surfing, drawing, and juggling.
“One of the hardest things for people is just taking that first step. I mean, which really boils down to, you're just signing up for something just making that call.”
What he doesn't expect is finding himself having rapturous experiences singing Spice Girls songs in an amateur choir, losing games of chess to eight-year-olds, and dodging scorpions at a surf camp in Costa Rica.
Tom stops by the podcast and chats about his book shows how anyone can begin again, why they should take those first awkward steps and how a refreshed sense of curiosity opened him up to a profound happiness and a deeper connection to the people around us.
For more information about Tom and his work, visit here.
#Learning #Beginner #People #Idea #Pursuits #Adults #Growth #Motivational #BestLifeEver #AudaciousLiving #BeAudacious
