Personal Development Blog For Living Your Full Potential

I just spent the last two months doing a deep dive trying to understand Martin Heidegger’s seminal work, Being and Time . You probably shouldn’t read it. It’s also one of the most interesting and thought-provoking books I’ve read in the last decade. This post is my attempt to reconcile those two beliefs. The reasons not to read Being and Time are obvious. The book is only half-finished. Of what was written, the second division is so muddled, that even after taking a companion class with dozens of hours of lectures, I still have no idea how to make sense of it. Also, Heidegger was a Nazi . It’s not clear how much Heidegger’s politics influence his writing. Especially around 1927 when this book was published. Still, there’s an undeniable ick factor. However, even if you do separate Heidegger’s politics from his philosophy, he may have bigger problems. Philosopher Philippe Lemoine describes Heidegger, half-jokingly, as “The only man about whom one can truly say that being a Nazi was...

Rapid Learner, my six week course designed to make you a better student, professional and lifelong learner is now open . I’ve made major updates to this edition of the course, including 20+ newly recorded lessons, deep dives, walkthroughs and more. For the first time, I’m also experimenting with a (limited) option which includes private coaching. Be sure to check out the page above for details. Registration will remain open until Friday, April 10th at midnight Pacific Time. If you have any questions at all about joining, be sure to email me ! The post Rapid Learner 2.0 is Now Open appeared first on Scott H Young .

Tomorrow I’m going to be opening a new version of Rapid Learner —with 20+ new lessons, deep dives, options for personal coaching and more. If you’ve been following my work on learning and are ready to take things to the next level, this is your opportunity. I’ve already shared a few key ideas this week. I wrote about why now is the perfect time to start an ultralearning project . I explained common mistakes people make when picking projects (and how to avoid them). Finally, I introduced the concept of a practice loop , and gave suggestions for perfecting yours. Today, I want to discuss the impact learning has on your whole life. Staircase or Circle: You Decide We all have ideas for things we want to improve. Maybe you want to learn about investing so you can manage your finances better. Maybe you want to learn about how to build good fitness habits, so you can stay in shape. Maybe you want to build skills for your career, learn new subjects or otherwise become a smarter, better ve...

All this week I’ve been sharing lessons to prepare for a new session of Rapid Learner . Next Monday, I’m going to be reopening the course which has been revamped with over twenty new and updated lessons. Previously, I wrote about why now is the perfect time to start an ultralearning project , and gave three different paths you can take to come up with ideas. I also shared pitfalls people make in choosing their project, particularly the peril of indirectness. Today I want to get into the weeds and talk about a useful concept to think about learning any skill, whether it’s math, art, languages or business: practice loops . What is a Practice Loop? A practice loop is an activity, or group of activities, you repeat over and over again while learning something. For example: Basketball – Playing games is a practice loop. But so are layup, shooting and passing drills. Painting – Each painting you make. Programming – Each program you complete. Physics – Each problem you solve. B...

In times of difficulty, you want your efforts to matter. Not just to pass the time, but to build something that endures. Recently, I shared why I think now is the best time to start an ultralearning project . Not in spite of the anxious time we’re living in, but because of it. Taking resolute action through uncertainty allows you to improve the things you can actually control, instead of breaking under what you cannot. Today, I’d like to continue that theme and talk about how you can structure your efforts so that what you are learning actually matters. Side note: Months ago, my team and I started work on a new edition of Rapid Learner , with 20+ new and updated lessons. Next week we’ll be holding a new session. Past students can access the new material for free. The Peril of Indirect Projects In my book, Ultralearning , I cover the research on transfer. It’s not pretty. Countless studies confirm the fact that much of what we set out to learn doesn’t actually transfer to the sit...

When I published Ultralearning last August, I had no idea how the world would have changed six months later. Self-directed learning from home has become a requirement for millions, not just a quirky pastime for a few. Yet I understand if getting excited about learning seems far from your mind right now. These are scary times. Both our physical and economic health are in danger, and it can often feel like there’s nothing you can do but sit and panic-scroll your newsfeed all day. There’s no shame in being worried. I am too. But in tough times, it is how we choose to respond to our worries that will define us as people in the years to come. Did we dissolve into panic, or did we rise up and do something constructive? Now is the time to learn. No, you can’t control what will happen to the world around you, but you can make yourself a better person, more equipped for the road ahead. Investing in learning something deeply is more valuable now than ever: Learning makes you a more inform...

In any field, there are a few ideas that are core to understanding everything else. Biology makes little sense without evolution . Physics without symmetries and conservation laws is baffling. All mathematics can be built out of sets . Self-improvement isn’t usually regarded as an intellectual field. It’s mostly an assortment of various gurus and pundits’ suggestions on how you ought to be more successful, happier or wise. Thus it might seem like self-improvement doesn’t really have core ideas at all—just opinions. However, I think there are some common themes to the art of living better. These ideas are pervasive, coming up again and again. Even in the writing of people who take a stand against them, their prevalence still requires that they be acknowledged. The Core Ideas 1. Habits Nearly all forms of self-improvement first require that you change your behavior. Unless the improvement you’re after is purely mental, you’re going to have to actually do something first. Habit...

What’s the most effective way to read a book? Should you stick to paper books you can flip the pages, dog-ear and write notes in the margin? What about Kindle or other eReaders, which let you download new books instantly and cheaply? Is it okay to listen to an audiobook instead, or is that “cheating”? The research on the effectiveness of different forms of reading seems to indicate no significant difference . There’s some research in favor of paper, for instance this study that suggested mind wandering was higher with audiobooks . Other studies have favored paper over digital . However, my overall impression of the research is that the differences are slight, and probably outweighed by personal preference or convenience. In other words, if you prefer paper, ebook or audiobook, you’re probably free to make that choice yourself. My Approach to Reading I use all three formats to read, and I think the benefits of doing all is better than using just one alone. The benefit of audiobo...

Recently, I wrote a piece asking why taking action is hard . Why do we so often struggle to take our ideas and actually do something about them? It’s tempting to just say people are lazy or unmotivated, but I think the question is a lot more complex and interesting than it first appears. Related to this question is what makes something effortful? Why is it “easier” to watch Netflix than solve math problems? Like taking action, this question risks being overlooked because of our familiarity with it. It’s “obvious” to us that television is easier than algebra, so we don’t bother to ask why. However, like action, I think effort is also more mysterious than it first appears. Effort as Energy Expenditure A simple view of effort is that it simply represents an investment of a fixed resource, possibly calories or glucose. Running is more effortful than sitting for this reason. If you run constantly, you use up more calories than sitting, and thus need to eat more to stay alive. Since ...

Rapid Learner is my most popular course on learning more effectively. It’s a six-week course designed to guide you through everything you need to know to ace your next exam, master professional skills or learn anything you care about more quickly and efficiently. Over the last several months, my team and I have been working on major upgrades to the course. A major motivator for this upgrade was bringing some of the ideas and method in line with my recent book, Ultralearning . For those who read the book, but wanted more structure and detailed guidance, this course is a good fit for you. What’s new in Rapid Learner 2.0? Dozens of new and revamped lessons . These lessons were created not only because of new research I added in the process of writing Ultralearning , but also to address common issues that came up since the first edition. Deep Dives: Notetaking and Spaced Reptition Systems . These lessons go into minute detail into how to take notes effectively, as well as how to use ...