Yesterday I made a list of the micro-skills of mastery, skills that if mastered will create massive improvements in all areas of our lives.
Tonight I want to talk about learning. My aim here is to start building a master learning playbook to teach myself (and anyone like me) how to master the art of learning. Why learn how to learn? Because learning is a universal skill that affects all aspects of our lives. By becoming a more effective learner, you will be able to develop any skill, trait or habit you desire.
Questions I have:
Q: How can we teach ourselves to learn? (Learning how to learn — or meta-learning if you want to get fancy pants-y)
Q: What are the books, blogs, courses, tools and other resources we can add to our learning playbook?
Q: Who are Masters of Learning that we can learn from? How makes learning look easy?
What resources do they recommend?
What questions do they ask?
What habits do they have?
Who do they learn from?
Here’s what I’ve found so far:
Books baby, booooooks:
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin
Learning How to Learn by Joseph D. Novak and D. Bob Gowin
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown and Henry L. Roediger II
The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast! by Josh Kaufman
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss (A learning book disguised as a cookbook)
How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley
The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch
Teaching Smart People How to Learn (Harvard Business Review Classics by Chris Argyris
The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. by Daniel Coyle
Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys To Transforming the Way We Work and Live by Tony Schwartz
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge
Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright
Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations by Joseph D. Novak
How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey
So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
Mind Mapping: Improve Memory, Concentration, Communication, Organization, Creativity, and Time Management by Kam Knight
15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
I’ve started reading Be Excellent at Anything, and have read The Art of Learning and I’ll be diving into these in the coming months so expect full reviews here on the Renaissance Life.
Did I miss any books? Let me know.
Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner
