How to learn things?

An old and in a certain way very influential tale talks about two monks, and I make a few updates to the story here.

The younger one, the pupil, asks the older and wiser man, the master, how he can learn to be like him, in a fast way. Younger and eager to learn… A very good combination.

The wiser man did not respond, instead he put a cup in front of his young disciple and start to fill it with tea. After a while, the cup was full, but the older man did not stop; concerned that maybe his master has lost his marbles, the younger disciple warned him about the fact that the cup was already full. The master however did not stop until the jar was empty.

After an awkward silence, the master smiled and observed three things, which he expressed in a voice that was like a whisper:

1. Those who want to learn need to first of all increase their own capacity; otherwise they won’t be able to absorb all the teachings.
2. The teacher won’t stop teaching just because the learner can’t imbibe it, which may cause some exhaustion in both sides.
3. After learning, the learner has to use the lessons. My dear young man, why aren’t you drinking your tea?

Follow these three points and you will be able to learn things very well. I would like to describe them, by using examples of my own.

The first thing you need to learn something is to increase your capacity. To learn a new language, I try to listen to it first, even though I don’t understand it. That will help my ears to get accustomed to strange and even weird sounds, it will soften my perception of the language and it will help in the long run. That is how I learned English…

But it may be a very tiring process. I remember that as I did not have resources, I was bound to use very cheap methodologies and not so effective, which means my efforts were double: first, to learn it as well as possible, and second to discern whether whatever was being taught was right. Eventually, I just got used to commit mistakes and being corrected, an interesting method…

By the way, I am not talking about the teaching side here, so wait for the post on that.

The last thing was of course the use of the language I was learning. I started by type-writing texts in English that were translated into Portuguese in a tape; by using the text itself and the audio, I started to associate meanings and gradually I could create a good vocabulary.

Later, I went travelling where I could practice the language.

Nowadays, I speak three different languages, and I can understand a bit of a few others, including Hindi. I do hope this method also works for you.

So, prepare your cup, the tea of knowledge is ready!

Methods to face change

Any situation you want to change, you have created it somehow, maybe by literally generating it or just by applying it to your life. For that, you needed a certain type of attitude or mentality, and the ironic thing is that with the same mindset you want to “uncreate” it.

That is what makes changes difficult, because it is more a question of changing the self than changing something outside, which takes time and lots of energy.

But there are changes and changes. Let’s do it simple and categorize them:

• Small. It implicates you have to change something that is easy, it is not complex and it does not require much of energy or any type of investment.
• Simple. A bit more than small, it is still easy and not complex, but you have to invest something like learning skills or a trip somewhere.
• Big. It is difficult and complex, you will have to invest something to work on it.
• Huge. It is very difficult, very complex and a lot has to be invested so that it happens.

A small change seems, well, small. So it should be easy, right? Not necessarily; the problem of small changes is that you don’t give them much importance, as it is often hidden in the theater of your life. For you to be able to solve them, you need the trick of giving them importance, because when you highlight them, you start to face them and find a solution.

Simple changes are probably the easiest ones, as they are bigger than the small changes so they are easier to be noticed, but not too big to be difficult. A good example is to adapt to a new boss; you may either adapt to his or her style or, if you don’t agree, you always have opportunities at other companies. Plan it and implement what is planned.

Big and huge changes are the fight, flight or freeze type. For instance, when economy dynamic changes and your golden job becomes a tinned job, what to do? First of all, reflect on the change and avoid the 3F’s impulse or instinct. If that change is for a short time – and please, consult experts to reach that conclusion and don’t get biased by an ideology – the fight option will be good as far as you have the energy to change the situation by doing it. Otherwise, no energy means patience can be a good teacher and the freeze choice, of just waiting and see will be the best. However, if the change will stay for long time, the flight option is probably the best; look for a new job, RIGHT NOW!

In other words:

• Check the category of the change.
• Apply the best tactic for it, which is...
• To give importance, highlighting it, facing it and finding a solution, in the case of small changes.
• If the change is simple, it is planning and implementation.
• For big and huge changes, it is better to reflect and then decide upon what you have decided.

First world, is that hard?

I was born in Brazil, I have lived in Chile for two years and I am in Colombia for the past 26 years. I also travel a lot and I have stayed long times abroad, particularly in India, but also in England and the U.S.

And I realize that if someone lives in a first-world or third-world country is difficult to understand I don’t live in either of them… I am living in the middle, and since I was a child.

Particularly during the dictatorial military period in Brazil, I didn’t like the idea of belonging to the third world, the reality of the time; it was around then that the term developing countries[1] got popularized and Brazil was quickly classified like that.

Initially it just sound like a polite way to say the same – and it still has that ring in it – but along the years, what I have seen is that by developing in a proper and integral way, a country can reach the first world. That is a firm belief I have that any country could be a first world country, and so giving their population a better life. This is why I am posting this.

I lived in Chile just after Pinochet has left, so it was still underdeveloped. By seeing its growth and the fact that now it is part of the first world club[2]… I don’t want to get into the debate (is it or not?), but I have seen sure signs even when I was living there that may be useful for other countries:

• A respect for taxes. I was really surprised when I bought something in the streets and I got a boleta (invoice), as street business is often informal. Later, I would have a glimpse of this that comes from a good use of tax-payers’ money and a nice system. For instance, a common way of taxes evasion is to enter the country with a product in the bag. Once, I went from Buenos Aires to Santiago with a friend who had several books in her bag; at the time of customs, she went straight to the agent and showed the books and the invoice. As books don’t pay tax, he just looked at it and he allowed us to go. Even when there is the need of paying, it is quite easy and fair. Quick summary: by educating people to value paying taxes and by using them in a proper way, a country develops.
• Training. There is a system that motivates companies to do training as the value can be discounted in their taxes declaration. As I was a trainer myself, that came very handy and I do miss a system like that, living in Colombia. By giving opportunities for others to be trained and learned different skills, a country develops.
• Awareness of opportunity. Chile is the land of opportunity and if a foreigner goes there and dedicates himself or herself, it is possible to climb very high; although I can’t say if it is like that for nationals, it looked as it is. Although it is a relatively small country in terms of population, this gives a big advantage in relation to neighbor countries. By changing the perception instead of lacking to an opportunity, a country has a better chance for development.
• Work, work and work. Chileans work very hard and it has been helping the country at the time of climbing the ladder of first world. But it is not only hard working, as I would include Colombians in that category too; Chileans are often very much success-driven, which creates a nice dynamic in the country in general. Stimulate work, but direct it towards attaining success.
• Little corruption. That is the most impressive part of living in Chile… Little to say about that, really, just check corruption indexes[3], and it comes just after Uruguay in the whole Latin America.  It really stimulates the economy to know people won’t use their power for personal advantage. And maybe that is why people do pay taxes. Very simple: educate people to not get tempted by corruption and the country will develop even more.

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[1] More about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country

[2] Check this updated webpage: https://www.investopedia.com/updates/top-developing-countries/

[3] Transparency is an organization that watches on this. Check their report: https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoebsBRCHARIsAC3JP0LljKEMfPQThn-eICRMPMfw1Ktqf-053RPAQsFHqbEIwQ194VfJZCwaAn1sEALw_wcB

The real reason why you work and why it is magical

My first job was THE WORSE! I was clearly unprepared for the labor market, so I had to get whatever was available. I never mentioned it in my curriculum and I just did it to earn some money. Don’t ask!

But along the years, I’ve noticed that even the most magical and interesting jobs, well, they were not that good, demanding too much from me or making me go through long times of boredom.

It was much later that I started to understand my work as a way to fulfill my own purpose in life. In fact, it provides me with invaluable tools and helps me to refine my own self.

In fact, my realization was that you can choose the way you see your work and it is not much as the work in itself, but the attitude and awareness whilst working. It enabled me to work with a smile for some very interesting project or the worse initiative.

Try this: don’t see WHAT you do, instead focus on HOW you do it… Go deep within, check your thoughts, feelings and emotions; think about the real reason you are there working.

Although sometimes it will give you money, other times just learning, but if you have the right focus, MAGIC will happen and that work will give you a very deep satisfaction.

What are you waiting for? Go and work!

This is a series of posts on MAGIC… I hope you have enjoyed them all.