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Monday, July 14, 2008

Monday Momentum

This weekend I was at an exceptional conference with the E-Women Network. I went in hoping to meet new potential customers or recruits. I didn't bargain on learning all that I did. It reminded me of a lesson I learned back when I was in college and was working as a counselor at a camp in East Texas. (Yes, my accent began to develop at that point!)

We all had to go through Lifesaving lessons and I'll never forget what my boss taught us. (Doubtless many of you have heard this before.) He said there are 4 levels of education:
  1. Being unconsciously incompetent - not knowing anything and not even realizing that you don't know it.
  2. Being consciously incompetent - still not knowing anything, but at least realizing how incompetent you are.
  3. Being consciously competent - starting to understand, but really having to think about each step along the way.
  4. Being unconsciously competent - knowing what you need to know and not having to think about it anymore.

Now for lifesaving this is an easy thing to define, but in life (and BUSINESS) it isn't always so obvious. That was why this weekend was such an outstanding time. I got an "aha" moment at a breakout session when I found just how much I have to learn about business. At least, now, I realize what I don't know and THAT I don't know it, so I can start learning it!

So here is the challenge for you. Spend some time talking to someone who does work in your field. It would be best if she is successful at what she does, a director perhaps. If that isn't possible, find someone highly successful in her own field and spend some chat time. Let her talk and make sure you listen!

Two things will happen. The first is that you are bound to find a little gem of information when you listen intently to everything she has to say. But this isn't all one-sided! The second benefit is hers when she verbalizes her plans or explains her processes. Each time she does it, she will either become more confident or will see ways in which she can tweak her own success. Any teacher will tell you that the best learning occurs when the student is able to explain what she has learned, and that's true no matter how old you are.

Here is a great quote I took home from this weekend.

"I would rather be looked over than over-looked!"
-Mae West

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