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How We Learn

Observations About The Learn Along…

After my post last night, I got some comments and a bunch of letters that helped me put into perspective what was happening. Thank you, everyone.

To me and Kris, we would have killed to be in something like this to learn licensing cheaply when we started out. But why was our attitude so different than so many now? Is it because we understood the value of licenses and others did not? Maybe.

Or that this area was just too scary? Maybe.

But then the answer dawned on me why we would have jumped at this when young writers and so many were not. University programs, that’s why.

We were used to learning all the time in college, not to use the knowledge the next day, or even the next year, but at some point in the future. So for us, learning is never about what you can do today, it is always about a future.

Let me repeat that. Learning is not about today, it is about the future.

For example: I spent a lot of money and time to take two semesters of contract law in law school. Not once in that entire year did I think that knowledge was going to be used by me in the next year, or even until I was out of law school a ways. And the knowledge in that class was basic contract law, enough so that I could build from there when I needed to.

Did I end up using contract law later in life, even though I never became an attorney? You bet. Comes in handy at the oddest times. And all the time, just as my knowledge of licensing comes in handy all the time now.

That is what we are offering with this Learn Along for the Licensing Expo 2019. We’re not even sure we will get deals from it at the show, or even a year from now. But we do know the information and knowledge will make us a ton of money over time.

Just like that contract law class did for me.

Learning is not about what you can do with the knowledge today. Learning is about the future.

So sorry about last night’s post. I was just surprised at so few signing up because I thought this would be a no-brainer. We made it as cheap as we could and without homework so it wouldn’t get in the way of the Time of Great Forgetting. And we made it so that once you were signed up, the information would remain there to come back to when you needed it.

And I just assumed that everyone would understand that this was knowledge to make more money from your writing down the road.

I know, for a fact, it will already make me more money. Why? Because some of this upfront research has convinced me to change some stuff I am doing on my new web site and to push something I had let slide. All easy and all because I am learning, my tomorrow will be better.

Information if interested in yesterday’s post.

Questions, just write me.

5 Comments

  • Rebecca

    “Learning is not about today, it is about the future.” That thought is exactly why I signed up! I don’t think I can used it today but I sure want to be prepared for the future. 🙂 And having the information always available to me will let me refresh my memory and really be prepared when that future arrives.

  • emmiD

    I’ve been very interested since your “Jump the Gun” post, but I’m so far behind on so many other things that I was thinking of taking the class in the autumn when I only had a few things looming over me. And after a back injury at a softball game, I’ve really not wanted to do anything at all. Will the class be up on Teachable through the autumn?

    • dwsmith

      Nope, it won’t be. I will more than likely shut it off a week or so after the Expo. If you sign up you can go through it at any point in the future, but for new sign-ups, it will be done after the Expo.

  • emmiD

    Okay. I’m in for the Learn Along. Please ignore previous email. What better time to start than when I can’t lean forward to write? ?