The first step in becoming a learner is simpler than you think. 

You don’t have to go to school to become a learner.

You don’t have to have a degree.

You don’t have to pay for the masterclass.

You don’t even have to pick up a book.

Are those things good? Sure. Will they help us learn? Definitely.

But they’re not the first step.

The first step is looking, and not only looking, but seeing.

How easy it is to be in a world where there are so many wonderful and incredible things to look at, but never taking the time to realize what you’re seeing.

Learning starts with seeing.

The difference between looking and seeing is the amount of focus you put on the object in front of you. I can look at my wife, or I can really see my wife. When I look at her, I see what she’s wearing, her hair, what she’s doing, what she’s not doing, her face, her hair. But when I see her I see something different, I see her desires, her joys, her love for our kids, her passions, her sorrows.

Looking and seeing are two very different things.

For us to grow into the learners we want to become, who learn not for the sake of knowledge, but learn for the sake of adding value to others, we must first see the people, or the topic, around us. 

For only in seeing can we truly learn.

So what would it take to truly see someone? To see a topic, rather than just look it up. 

It will take focus. It will take dedication. It will take intention.

It’s easy to look at some content, definition, quote, or blog and then walk away forgetting what you’ve just read. As if the very act of reading is enough. But the purpose of something existing is to impart some sort of message, some value to increase the lives of those who embrace the content. It’s not just for the sake of getting it out there, but it’s to add value to the person who sees it. He who has eyes to see, let him see.

But there are so many distractions.

Yes, we live in a world where distractions are everywhere. Even at 6:52 am there are distractions. There’s a microphone on my desk that is blinking red, luring me to look at it’s constant notification. I do have the power to turn it off, but for some reason it’s on right now.

How many emails are unread on your phone? Do you have the little notification bubble appearing on your home screen? For a long time I did. I knew, every time I opened my phone, how many unread emails I had in my inbox. And even if I wasn’t opening my phone to look at emails, if I saw the little red bubble say 1 or 10 or 50, I had to look and see what amazing deal I had just received for the 5th time that day. There was something within me that said, Fix it. Click it. Read the email. 

But I didn’t open my phone to read emails. I had another purpose in mind. But I got distracted. If email isn’t your siren call, insert whatever is yours. Facebook. LinkedIn. Twitter. MLB. NFL. News. 

Every app wants me to turn on my notifications.

But not every notification is worth reading.

And if I’m growing to be a learner, there are times when I need to turn off my notifications and limit the distractions going on around me.

And so do you.

Take some time today to really see what’s going on around you. Don’t merely look at your kids, really see them. Listen. Take time to observe what’s really going on in the meeting at work. 

There’s always something more than what meets the eye.

I leave you with this today from Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad:

“If you don’t listen to the words a person uses, you’ll never be able to feel their soul. And if you don’t listen to their soul, you’ll never know to whom you are talking.”

Robert Kioysaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad