The BEST Auto Repair Shop Owners Know the Dangers of Learning

The Dangers of Learning by Rick White, President 180BIZ

So, something's not going right at the shop. You step back and figure out that you need to learn some things. So, you take some courses. But so many people get stuck in learning mode. And I am going to talk to you about that. Yes, there will be issues in your shop. In fact, your goal shouldn’t be to get rid of the problems, it should be to replace the problems you have with bigger, better ones. If you have the same problems today that you did last year, you're stuck in a rut, my friend. So what I want you to do is understand both the power and the danger of learning.

Challenges are really fantastic because they are the catalyst to learning. I used to really hate getting that feeling of confusion. Then one time I was listening to Andy Andrews, and he said that the beginning of learning is confusion. That's the first step in learning. So now when I'm confused, I get excited. If there's a situation going on out here that I need to learn about, that's fine, but don't get stuck there. The danger of learning is it gets you to feel better. You avoided some pain, and you start to feel better. Why? Because learning gives you a false sense of progress.

You see some deficit in the shop, and you decide that you need to learn how to do that. You do some learning. And then all of a sudden, fast forward a month, and you still have the same problem. And you think you need to learn some more. No. Learning is great in moderation. We are not here to learn. We are here to become. And the way we become is through doing. Yes. Learn something new, but then apply it. You cannot have transformation without application. Listen to what I'm saying here. You can't have transformation without application. You can learn until the cows come home. You cannot learn your way there. Learning gives you new information. But it's not until you apply that new information that you get transformation. It's not until you give yourself permission to do something new, make a mistake, fall down, get up, brush off, and start over more intelligently that you get transformation. That's the painful part.

There are so many people I know that want to make their lives better. They want to make their businesses better. And what do they want to do? They want to swallow some magic pill, write some magic check, and just make it all go away. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way. You must be able to recognize you have an issue, learn what you can, and then apply what you learned. There are stages to transformation. First, you have a problem. But here's the thing, you get excited. Why do you get excited? You get excited because you've got a problem. And you realize on the other side of that problem or challenge is growth. It's what you want. Everything you want in life is on the other side of that challenge. So, you get excited about that. You see the potential, you get excited, and you start to learn. Then, hopefully, you start to apply. And you're excited about the potential.

But here's what happens. It isn't too long after that excitement when it's pretty much gone. What replaces it? Overwhelm and doubt. This is the hard part. When you're learning new stuff, this is where you need to pull up the old belt, you know, the pants, the waistline, and say, “I got this!” You're going to push through this overwhelming doubt part because it's a necessary step. You go into this thinking, “Oh, it's going to be amazing. I'll just do this. And I'll just do that.” I still laugh at myself. Sandy will come to me and ask for content for a new class or article. I always think it will only take me 15 or 20 minutes. Well, guess what? It takes me forever to do it. When I thought would take me an hour, it takes me seven hours. Why? Because I don't see the pitfalls. I don't see the rabbit holes. I don't see myself searching for exactly the right word that I want to use. At some point through that process, I get overwhelmed, and I start to doubt myself. I think I should be able to do this faster. And then that negative voice starts talking to me.  Then I get over it and finish what I need to do.

You must give yourself permission to go through the overwhelming doubt and realize it is a stage. This is not life pushing back on you. It’s life asking you, “Do you really want here?” Because you will have to work for it. You will have to really apply yourself. You will need to learn that new stuff, and then apply it for real. And then you will fail and apply it again. And fail a little bit further away. And then apply it again. And you will go for a longer period of time without failing. And then before you know it, you get to stage three, mastery. This is where you can do it in your sleep. But let me help you understand. Mastery is a level, not a destination, I am always working on mastering my craft. I want to be more effective, more efficient, more elegant with my message. I want to connect better with someone and give them information that they can apply immediately. That makes a difference.

When I want transformation, it isn't about learning. Learning's just the first part. Actually, it's the second. The first part is recognizing I have a problem. The second part is learning. What can I do about it? What are my options? What are the things I can still do? The next step is achievement. It isn't until we hit mastery that we achieve. I’ll go through this again. It’s five things.

1. The first thing is RECOGNIZING you have an issue.
2. The second is getting excited and LEARNING about it.
3. APPLYING it.
4. Going through OVERWHELMING DOUBT.
5. Then comes MASTERY. This is muscle memory where you don’t have to think about it.  This is when ACHIEVEMENT happens.

So simply I'll ask you, what are you going to do today? Not what are you going to learn, but what are you going to do? I hope this video has really helped out. If it has please share it. We've got a world of people out there that are drowning and information and starving for insight. I believe this video offers that. I hope you do too. Please share this video.

God bless, stay safe. Make some money.