Information consumption is on the rise. Rather than learning for the sake of doing something, people now “learn” because they think it will automatically make them successful.

NEWS FLASH – Reading lots of books won’t make you successful.

Reading lots of books will definitely help you become successful, if you already have a compelling reason to gain that learning. Without that reason and without a target, your learning will be distractive and directionless.

It is for this reason that Jim Rohn said, “Reasons come first, answers second.”

Which begs the question: What are you actually pursuing? Are you pursuing something compelling enough to clarify what you need to learn and become?

In the book, Skin in the Game, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, “Things designed by people without skin in the game tend to grow in complication (before their final collapse).”

Taleb also said: “True intellect should not appear to be intellectual.”

Yet, we live in a world that prizes head-knowledge over courage and purpose. True learning doesn’t come from acquiring information, but in being forced to handle situations that reshape how and why you live.

When you have a compelling reason, then you can start looking for the answers.

When you have HUGE goals that you’re pursuing, you become highly selective about what you learn. You only learn those things you can actually use and apply.

You have skin in the game. You’re TESTING your knowledge in the real world, not just in your head or in conversation. You’re actually building something.

When was the last time you took MASSIVE action?

When was the last time you shocked your emotional system through exposing your fears, limitations, and weaknesses?

When was the last time you did something that might not work?

When was the last time you confronted some of the biggest fears that are currently holding you back?

At some point, you have to leave the theory behind and step outside of your comfort zone where you don’t know what will happen.

When was the last time you did that, even in a small way?

What would happen if you started facing your greatest fears in a big way?

What if you developed a tolerance for uncertainty?

What if you stopped worrying about what other people thought of you?

What if you got extremely curious about what was possible?

What if you allowed your imagination and massive action to transform you into something far beyond what reason or logic would suggest?

What if…