Learning Last Year

In a podcast interview, Ken Blanchard said "If you stop learning, you might as well lie down & let them throw dirt on you." And, according to Daniel Amen, a lack of time spent learning may actually hasten the arrival of that dirt.

I aspire to be a lifelong learner, but do my actions match my aspirations? The end of a year is a natural time to look back and see how I did. So, what was my learning like in 2017?

If you follow me here or on Twitter, it will come as no surprise that my primary source of learning is through books. I know that's becoming a little old-school, but I still love books. The ideas feel more fleshed out and real to me. In 2017 - one of the busiest years of my family and professional life - I managed to read 122 books. Obviously, not all of those were work-related, but it's rare that I spend time in a book and don't learn something valuable.

And while I read many good ones, the two best business books from last year were Thanks for the Feedback by Doug Stone and Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. I've already given those books as gifts and can't recommend them highly enough.

Another source of learning I added this year was interactive, online training. I watched hundreds of training videos on Sidecar Overdrive and Grant Cardone Sales University. I learned a ton from them about running a business and selling products and services. I'll have a lot more to say about this space in the near future. Here's an example from Cardone, where I earned my beginner sales and customer service certifications:

In addition to audiobooks, I also learned from dozens of podcasts last year. Some of my favorites were the Tony Robbins Podcast, Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman, Unthinkable by Jay Acunzo, Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller, Brand Newsroom, the Marketing Book Podcast, STORY Podcast, Six Pixels of Separation, the EntreLeadership Podcast, the Tim Ferriss Show, the Unpodcast and so many more.

Apps were a big contributor to my learning: Blinkist (I know they won't want to hear this, but the only reason I don't have the paid version is I don't think I'd be able to stop listening to it), Peak Brain Training (the Pro version, which is the only "game" I have left on my iPhone, staying true to my 2017 New Year's Resolution), VT2GO (for Sidecar Overdrive), the Bible, RightNow Media (which I get through my church), of course my public library app and their two e-book and audiobook apps cloudLibrary and RBdigital, and more.

I read lots more through newspapers, magazines, blogs and social media. How about you? What were your primary sources of learning in 2017? What should I be looking at in 2018? Let me know in the comments.