Episode Description
You can publish the exact same content on multiple platforms and get completely different reactions from your audience. Why?!
I really don't read that many books!
I have a different method of learning - that’s kinda controversial… and a few people have gotten a little fussy with me about it.
Here’s what went down... (and it’s kinda funny!)
A little while ago, I was talking about a book that I had consumed.
I was like, "Hey, I read this book."
What I meant was that I’d listened to the book.
Then someone reached out and said, "Stephen, did you actually read the book or did you just listen to it?"
I was like, "Who the freak cares?"
So I wanted to address that question... because it raises a few interesting points that can seem, at first glance, kinda opposing … 😉
I want to let you know...
- The REASON I consume books the way I do.
- WHY it matters WHERE you share your content
- The ‘A -Word’ I HATE…
- WHAT matters MORE than WHERE you get your content from
But first, let’s start with WHY I don’t read that much...
HUNTING ANSWERS
I'm NOT a slow reader, but it's NOT abnormal for me to spend two to three months reading a book.
...and maybe you're like me, but I'll read a paragraph and often, I’ll get distracted by thoughts...
I'll sit back and ask:
"How does this plug into my framework? Does it fit here or there?"
The question I'm asking is:
“Is this TRUTH?”
… just because it's in a book doesn't mean that it's true, right?
I’ll go off on these mental tangents… and that can take A LONG TIME...
...so because of that, sometimes, I just want to absorb the main ideas from a book and so I’ll just go with the audio version.
Back in the day, when I first started this game, I read more books cover to cover, but now that I've read enough of them, I focus more on…
- Executing
- My specific questions
... and that's what guides my education.
I'm more hunting answers rather than trying to consume and master all the content.
I want the information faster and I wanna know the key points quicker.
I can listen to books at 2 x - 3x speed, and be like:
"Oh my gosh, key point. How does it relate to the framework I know causes success? BAM.
You know what? I thought that was a cool idea, but I actually don't think it works. It's an attractive idea, but that doesn't mean it's right.’
Okay, let's NOT insert that idea into the framework…”
I think A LOT of people, feel weird about the fact that they're listening to a book, instead of reading it.
I've heard many people apologize by saying, "Well, I didn't read the book, I just listened to it."
*THAT’S STUPID*
...seriously, who cares?
It doesn't matter! I consumed the book, (let's call it that).
STOP GETTING HUNG UP!
If you're like me, and you like listening to books, stop apologizing for that.
It doesn't matter! Who cares, okay?
Yes, I listen to books. I listen to books far more than I read them.
I know some people will be like, "Well, you have to read the book to take in the information! "
But that’s NOT TRUE
In my head, it’s like the movie Beautiful Mind...
I can close my eyes and see my framework and where it plugs into all the frameworks of my favorite funnels.
I can see all the follow-up sequences and all the promo sequences.
It's drawn out in my mind.
One of the reasons I use my whiteboard like crazy is 'cause drawing is how I learn.
Now, let's get historical here…
CONTENT MARKETING BC
Back 2000 years ago, a lot of the time, Dads were big storytellers, and people would listen to their grandparents and their fathers.
Q: And how was information passed?
A: By speech.
I can guarantee that none of the kids were sitting around going, "Dad did you read that in a book ...or did you just hear that from grandpa?"
… you know what I mean?
Just because the method of passing on knowledge has changed doesn't mean that the knowledge is bad.
Thousands of years ago, orators, (people who got up and spoke) were the teachers...
There weren't many books.
It's NOT like they were over at the printing press - they were handwriting that stuff, man.
No one was sitting around saying, "I'm sorry, I don’t believe you unless it’s handwritten with a quill on a scroll!”
Too many times we get caught up on the whole method of information delivery.
Don't apologize for the medium that you learn from the best.
HOW I LEARN…
I listen to audio...
I’d rather download a program and listen to it while I'm going about my day than sit down.
Sometimes, I need to pace around.
However, just to get contradictory here, there is a subconscious power of a platform that you can utilize to boost *COUGH* your ‘authority’...
And that is the second point I wanted to make in this episode.
BOOSTING YOUR ‘A- WORD’ WITH CONTENT MARKETING
One of the biggest questions I get asked is, "Stephen, how do you become an authority?"
I'm like, "Man, I don't freaking know?"
In fact, I was talking to Stacey Martino, an amazing relationship expert, at the Unlock the Secrets Event.
I was like, “... sometimes I don't know whether to burn my skeletons in the closet 'cause I hate 'em or hug 'em because of what they’ve made me?”
I'm NOT talking about secrets and stuff, it’s just the past and some level of crazy experiences that we go through the further we get…
… and not just the entrepreneur path.
Any path will require you to kinda purge yourself and keep getting better.
I was telling Stacey...
<...