Jordan Belfort breaks down the four stages of learning, from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence. The only way to reach the final stage is relentless, repetitive practice. Evan Carmichael argues passion is what keeps you practicing through early failure until a skill becomes automatic.
Chapters
Good morning, Believe Nation.
Today's message is: Become unconsciously competent. Over to you, Jordan Belfort.
There are 4 levels of learning. Okay, let me tell you what the levels are. Some of you might know if you've been through any self-development. This is some very basic stuff, but it's important here. The first level is called being unconsciously incompetent. And what that means is this: when you first start doing something, you know so little about it, you basically know nothing. You don't know what you don't know. This is a very scary spot to be in when you're thrown into a situation and you're a complete novice. You say, geez, I'd love to get better at this, but I haven't the slightest idea what I don't know. Everyone follow that concept? This is where most people start off. Okay. The next level is becoming consciously incompetent. That means that you're like, Jesus Christ, I don't know anything. You're like, there's this, there's that, there's that, there's all these strategies. They all sound great. I don't know them. That's the next level. Next level above that is called being consciously competent. Consciously competent means that You're good at something, but you can't really do it with your eyes closed yet. You're good, but it requires all your focus and your mental energy. Like, remember when we were kids growing up, you learned to tie your shoe. In the beginning, you like tie your shoe, like you're putting your fingers across and someone says, excuse me, like, don't interrupt me. You can't tie your shoe and have a conversation at the same time, right? That's when you're consciously competent in something. It requires all your conscious focus. The next level above that is called being unconscious competence. And that means when you're really, really great at something, you can do it without thinking about it. And the only way to get from conscious competence to unconscious competence is through practice. There's no other way. By drilling it into your head again and again and again and again and again until your brain just clicks. And all of a sudden, using the unconscious part of your mind, which is infinitely more powerful than your conscious mind.
Yeah, I remember when I first started learning salsa, I practiced every day, literally every day. When I come home from work or came home from school, I will stand in front of the mirror and practice to make sure my basic is right. And I will go out every night, like literally Monday to Sunday, I go out every night to dance to get better.
I like it. I think this is why passion is so important because when you first start anything, you're going to suck at it. You're going to fail over and over and over and over again. And you need to practice to get better. And the thing that gets you through all the failing and the sucking is the passion for what you're doing. And so whether it's salsa dancing, whether you're learning a new language, whether you're trying to be an entrepreneur, you know, you don't have the skills at the start. You may have the energy, but you don't have the skills. And you get the skills through practicing over and over and over and getting better. Even thinking about just making these videos. We made a video yesterday on the boat and there's a bunch of people around. And here there's a bunch of people walking around in front of us and watching us and just getting used to be able to do that. I remember the first time I did a video in public, I looked around and made sure nobody was there, even though I was outside, you know. And now since we've had practice, it's a lot easier. And Nina's not nervous anymore. It's actually, I was nervous for Nina yesterday thinking she would be nervous, I'm like, "Nina, there's all these people around." "No, no, I'm okay, whatever, let's go do it." It's just some practice because she's been on a number of the videos. I've done this over and over and over and over again and I love it. And so make sure you love what you do, have that strong passion, and then just practice, practice, practice, and know that every time you just suck a little bit less until you start getting actually good at what you're doing. So the question of the day today is—
What was the thing that you tried to get better at.
What are you trying to get better at right now? I like it. So what are you trying to get better at right now? Leave it in the comments below and we'll join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe, and we'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso. I wake up every morning, espresso keep me going.
