Killing the Gurus: Why More Information Leads to Fewer Results (And What Do to About It)
"Doing more research" is a lie
What if I told you that doing more research may be the reason you’re struggling to monetize your expertise online?
Sounds a little bit bold? Cool.
If you’ve been doing a bunch of research, you’ll probably relate to the fact that every new thing you learn opens a new rabbit hole.
If that’s you, then today’s letter will show you how to escape that black information hole to finally start on the right foot.
Information greed
The Internet seems like a superpower.
Almost every problem you want to solve has certainly already been figured out by someone else. And with the World Wide Web, the odds of finding a solution online are damn high.
You start with a simple question. You hit enter. And a gazillion of results pop up in front of you.
You binge-consume what Guru number one has to say. Which leads to Guru number two. And soon leads you to Guru number three. And so on…
Faster than you realize, you end up with a bunch of contractionary information and are lost.
The result: You’re overwhelmed and overthinking. You’re stuck in analysis paralysis.
You end up in quicksand that prevents you from moving forward.
Information ain’t created equal
The Internet is full of content. And most of it is garbage.
It’s like fast food: enticing at first glance, but you’ll end up craving it an hour after eating that damn burger.
Your never-ending newsfeeds always have something ready for you to consume. And attention merchants won’t ditch that business model any day soon.
Yes, we live in an information-abundance age. But not all information is created equal.
Here’s what Daniel Levitin, a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist says about it:
“Although it is easier to find information these days, it is easier than ever before to find misinformation, pseudo-facts, unsupported and fringe opinions, and the like.”
If you want real information, get over the bright thumbnails and the clickbait headlines.
Stop digging blindly
The right information is like gold.
Did you know that only 0.000004% of the earth’s crust contains gold?
This means that if you want to start digging, you’ll better have some clues about where to start digging first.
The same goes for information.
Yet, too many people dig blindly or let algorithms predict fake gold deposits based on their watch history.
That’s good if you want to be entertained. But that’s not how you learn effectively.
Identifying your information sources is as,(if not more) important than consuming them.
You don’t learn by consuming
Not all learning is created equal.
You could read about a subject, but unless you actually start practicing, you won’t know all the ins and outs.
Maria de Montessori famously said:
“What the hand does, the mind remembers.”
On the flip side, you could do something without really knowing why it worked.
99% of people who drive cars (including me) don’t know exactly how all the thousands of freakin' car parts work together.
Yet, ignorant mechanics are able to manage to go from point A to point B. The reason is that you only need to know the 20% that gets you the results: Turn the key, and learn how to use the pedals and the gear. That’s pretty much it.
Exactly the same thing as running your business as a creator.
There are a gazillion rabbit holes. 99% of them are useless.
Learning just for the sake of learning won’t get you results.
Instead, you need to spout what’s worth learning. But this requires deep understanding and knowledge. By default, a rookie doesn’t know what’s important.
To spot the 8020, and sift through the 80%, you need to develop a deep understanding of the topic you want to learn. Or find a mentor who can point out the 20% that move the needle.
Back to the (boring) basics
I’ve been in this internet game for almost 15 years now.
And I’ve been on that information treadmill for too long. Learning is fun. But once you reach a certain level, re-learning things and starting from scratch, every time ain’t fun anymore.
I started to realize that the pros always focus on mastering the basics. This approach changed my life. That’s why I teach them, too.
The drawback is that most of those basics may not be as enticing, fast, or appealing as shiny objects. But the advantage is that they work and will continue to work for a long time.
Information consumption is one of the most important skills you need to master to get results.
This is why it’s at the core of my information management framework:
I deeply teach this model in my Second Brain For Content Creators course.
In fact, the second module is all about consumption: Understanding what’s worth consuming and what’s not. So that you can take your thinking and content creation to the next level.
Learn less, learn better.
More information on the juicy link right here…
Matt Giaro