Most humans go through 4 levels of learning. 

Ever analyze a baby walking or figured out the process of riding a bike?  The process of learning how to walk or ride a bike is the same.

Step One – Unconscious Incompetence

Simply stated, you don’t even know what you don’t know.  I find it funny when people say I’m no good at this or no good at that…well how do you know?  Last time I checked, most of us are born into the world with the same skill set…breathing, eating, crying, peeing and pooping.  Everything else is learned.

Step Two – Conscious Incompetence

This is the step where you realize how crappy you are at doing something and how difficult it is to do.  This is where a good majority of skill attainment or goal achievement is abandoned because of poor self-esteem, lack of willpower, tenacity or courage to forge ahead.

Step Three – Conscious Competence

In this step, you powered through step 2 and realize you can do the skill that you’ve set out to learn.  Having said this, you are still doing it the hard way…perhaps relying on sheer willpower to get you through.  In the case of riding a bike, you see this phase just before the training wheels come off.  The balance isn’t quite there yet so you force the body awkwardly in the opposite direction to try and maintain the bike upright on 2 wheels.  Or in the case of learning how to golf, your head is filled with so many swing thoughts the end result is an un-natural looking and ineffective swing.

Step Four – Unconscious Competence

This is the stage where what was previously difficult becomes automatic.  You attain this stage with repetitive practice.  Any skill can be mastered and become automatic with enough practice.  Ask Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods how many shots or swings they’ve taken over their careers and they’ll tell you hundreds of thousands of times.  Ask them how many times they’ve done the same in their mind and herein lies the secret…they’ve rehearsed their routines in their mind just as many times if not more than they did physically.

Listen to any champion’s after speech.  Most of them will say that they’ve envisioned this moment all my life or I practised that shot over and over again in my head as a kid.

Walt Disney once said – “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

The key to becoming good at anything is taking ACTION.  It’s also important to understand that the sub-conscious mind is a POWERFUL engine that once tapped into can make skills easy to master or goals easier to attain just like riding a bike becomes easy and automatic.

Everyone of us has the ability to get to step four quickly for any skill or desired outcome.  Conscious physical effort gets you there and mental visualization will help you get over the top. 

To learn more about visualization techniques check out these articles:

Visualization Techniques and Sports Performance

How To Use Imagery and Self-Hypnosis for Sports

Remember, these techniques can be used for any skill or outcome you wish to have.

You want to talk about commitment?  How about committing to wearing a name tag for a consecutive 3674 days?  In fact, Scott has actually tattooed a name tag on his chest.  Scott Ginsberg has made a brand of himself by being approachable and by being a bit of a contrarian.

He recently did a video interview on The Rise to The Top which discusses:

• How the Name Tag Thing Started,
• How The Name Tag Thing turned into a business that generates well over 6 figures for him annually (for the most part without any hired help),
• Scott’s System of Offering Value,
• Some keys to marketing & promoting yourself online and offline,
• His key to execution,

…much much more.

It’s a 40 minute video so if you’re pressed for time here are some of my take-a-ways and my thoughts:

It all starts with ACTION…it’s a fundamental law of physics.  Things don’t move unless force is applied.  In the world of commerce, it can be argued that if you’re doing nothing your actually moving backward because your competitors are doing something.

Don’t worry so much about “HOW” you’re going to something versus “WHY”.  “HOW” is the biggest contributor to stifling ACTION.  Get on the path toward “WHY” a figure the “HOW” along the way because “HOW” always changes.

You should always be MARKETING…PERIOD!  If your VALUE proposition can’t be found then people can’t pay you for it can they?

Don’t worry about becoming or being an expert…be a resource instead.  The reality is that people only really care about how YOU can make THEIR world a better place for THEM.

To be GREAT you need a SYSTEM.

In order to Win you need COMMITMENT.  Are you committed to:

• honing your craft or value proposition?,
• providing VALUE to your customer?,
• your family?,
• to YOU?

Will Smith has always been one of my favorite actors.  I stumbled across this clip and found it inspirational and motivational.  Dare to dream and take action!  Enjoy.