Look, Listen, Learn- Advice I’d give my 20 year old self
Something amazing happens when you finally realize the power of learning. It humbles you and empowers you at the same time.
Maybe it’s because of the pandemic and the many changes that happened in our lives that forced us to re-evaluate what’s important. Or maybe it’s self-awareness that hits a bit late in life. Whatever the cause, I’m grateful for the opportunity to charge forward on a journey of knowledge seeking and growth.
I recall 2 years ago speaking on an IT panel of Women, hosted by Divurgent, on the topic of Women in IT and how the numbers were getting lower and not higher. I found that odd myself, as I thought the opposite was happening but realized the statistics were actually quite different. The irony has been that more than 50% of college students are women, yet they don’t seem to be flocking into IT roles. Since I personally didn’t intentionally seek a career in IT, being an accidental tourist into IT and leadership doesn’t give me the best reference point for how other women may have purposefully chartered their own course into this industry. I learned a valuable lesson- never assume your journey is anyone else’s.
At this conference, I also learned a lot about other women's’ struggles along the way, and their trials and tribulations resonated. At the end, we each gave advice to the audience. It was advice that we would give to our 20 year old self. Mine was to “look, listen, and learn.”
First- Look. This means having eyes wide open, having awareness of everything around you and looking at the world with curious eyes. I stumbled upon my first IT role because of my innate curiosity. I was a sponge. Back then it was about the mainframe and the whole concept of terminal emulation, dos commands, network setup, etc. My eyes were open, inquisitive, and they begged for answers. The curiosity is what opened the door for those around me to take interest in teaching me, investing time in helping me understand how things worked, and even giving me mini tasks. Taking the look a step further, you look for more. You look for ways to advance your knowledge, and you look for people to help you.
Second- Listen. Having open ears to hear people around you, to hear what they’re saying and what they’re not. Some of the best lessons I’ve had were from people who were willing to tell me what I didn’t want to hear. Brene Brown is quoted for saying, “Clear is kind, unclear is unkind.” Well, listening when others who care take the time to tell you is pivotal to growth. Failing to see past your blind spot because you’re simply not listening doesn’t help you. I may not have always heard every lesson clearly, but I always made the effort to listen. Sometimes you’re also listening to those who aren’t necessarily good role models- but you’re hearing what that sounds like, and what not to emulate.
Third, Learn. Learn, learn, learn. I was blessed to have grown up as a bit of a book worm when I was in my early adolescence, reading with a book light under the covers well into the midnight hours so my parents wouldn’t see the light under my bedroom door. It helped me in many ways that I am thankful for now as an adult. I bestowed the same love for reading and learning on my two children (starting with reading them Dr Seuss books incessantly, until all 3 of us memorized whole volumes of these!) But beyond reading, it’s learning from others and from the behaviors of others. Over a decade ago, I fumbled across the self-help section in Barnes and Nobles in NY city and fell in love with many professional development books and authors, and haven’t quite lost that bug since. Many authors such as Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey, John C Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Daniel Pink, Simon Sinek, Brene Brown, Mel Robbins, and several other dozen geniuses opened my eyes, my mind and my heart to many lessons on leadership, human psychology, and personal development. There’s nothing like learning from those giants who’ve influenced millions- whether snuggled under a cover or even listening to an Audible book or podcast while on a walk or drive.
Finally, I’m grateful for having access to a vast network of events and conferences to help broaden my learning in ways I hadn’t imagined. Whether it’s hearing Stephen M.R Covey unpack his “Trust and Inspire” leadership concept on stage or listening to a live panel featuring such rich thought leadership such as Steve Forbes and Mark Mills on economic/financial predictions- it’s all part of the learning. You don’t realize the ways that such diverse speakers and topics enrich your thinking, and eventually, your action.
Learning is the one thing I find that you can do now and will never be done doing. It never ends. There is no cap on how much and how frequently you should learn, it’s completely self-prescribed. Francis Bacon is quoted for saying, “Knowledge itself is Power.” My advice, to those young and old, be forever hungry for knowledge. Be a life-time learner. This is perhaps the only type of hunger that’s safe to continuously try to satisfy!
