How To Learn Any New Skill Fast. Jeremy Fielding 105

"Develop the skill, don't be an expert" This one hit home for me. I tend to get wrapped up in the idea that i HAVE to be an expert at anything that i do, and this often leads to starting line anxiety.

So after being a mechanic for 18 years I made a huge decision to go to college. At 37 I started college. My end goal is mechanical engineering. What you said about asking others how they do something is spot on, they will normally show you how they do it. Over the summer I built a cnc pen plotter with my son. I plan on building a cnc router soon, much bigger than the plotter. Your videos are great, keep them coming.

I completely understand what you're talking about. When I started learning 3d animation I was learning at home. I struggled trying to learn. by the end of a year I had watched around 1,000 tutorials for the program. I didn't start to see any progress until about 3 years later. After 13 years I'm a professional CG artist now. I can 3d model, texture, sculpt, composite, VFX, animate, make molds, 3d print, create inventions from my own mind and more. Now trying to learn C+ - C++ for creating machines that haven't been made yet for a company I work for. 😅 I was looking at my job and I was thinking to myself " what can I do to make my job a little more easy. So I designed a machine that can do 3/4 of the job at 3x the speed and still keep the job of two people who work in the area. Then a tool I use every day had a part that fell off and I didn't like how it was fixed so I took a caliper and measured the dimensions then went home and made an attachment for the tool then 3d printed it. It's been going for about 5-6 months without a problem and it's way better than the part that was on it and the rivet trigger is almost a hair trigger now so I can rivet faster. 😅 And right now I'm working on an old machine that cuts wire I've been working on for almost a year to two years and researched how to make it work then model in 3d space. It's a working prototype that I'm getting ready to build sometime. 😋 This is the hard part when your doing all the modeling in 3d, coding, designing and building yourself, but you get a sense of accomplishment.😅 Sorry for writing for so long it's a bad habit. 😅

For those who would like to come back to a specific point in the video: 1. You must be motivated. - 1:03 2. Knowledge is not skill. - 1:42 3. You only need a basic knowledge to get started. - 3:14 4. Ignore the “nice to know” stuff and focus on application stuff. - 3:48 5. Identify your barriers and move them. - 4:09 6. Managing the cost. - 4:13 7. Mistakes will happen. 5:03 8. Buy used when possible. 5:35 9. Buy only what [tools] you need as you go. - 6:21 10. Managing fears that stop you from trying. - 6:32 11. You will suck at this for a while. - 7:12 12. Failures create powerful learning moments. - 8:11 13. Find the time to practice and make it routine - 8:39 14. Avoid plans that claim results in “just 5 minutes a day”. - 9:36 15. Find the shortest path to “hands on”. - 10:43 16. You choose the level of difficulty. - 11:46 17. Pick a project closely related to why you want the skill. - 12:22 18. Find tutorials on the essentials. - 13:16 19. Make specific notes of what result you want but don’t know how to achieve. - 13:41 20. Maximize the types of sensory input (hearing, seeing, touch etc…). - 14:16 21. Teach yourself with pre-made course material. - 16:07 22. Audit a college course on your target subject. - 16:22 23. Add more variation in the resources you use. - 18:27 24. Learn from multiple teachers, coaches etc. - 21:39 25. Recruit friends and family to help you find resources. - 22:33 26. Try to teach someone else the skill. - 23:28

To increase the areas in which I can define as being learned, I will often apply the "See, do, teach" method, among other techniques. When learning something new, see someone do it, then do it yourself, and finally teach another what you've learned. The third part, teaching someone, dutifully confirms what you know; as you relay information to another, you're forced to take comprehensive inventory. This will singe the newly acquired skill into your arsenal. This technique works surprisingly well. Enjoy!

One thing I'd add to that list is commitment. Finding the motivation to start can be difficult, but having the commitment to continue, especially when the results aren't immediately forthcoming, can make all the difference.

I like how you said, "Learn the skill, don't be an expert." It is similar, more simply put, to what I tell a new employee. I tell them, "Slow down, take your time, focus on learning this skill, and not being perfect or fast. Speed and perfection only come with experience and time."

Jeremy, this isn't related so much to how I learned skills fast, but like your example of asking the Electrician to explain the electrical cabinet to you is an absolutely great way to succeed (in almost anything, I think). As a (now retired) Mechanical Engineer working at an Aerospace facility (up to ~5,000 employees at times over the years), I made a good reputation as a young Engineer by actually listening to the Artisans & Technicians because many of them were often the true Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on whatever they did. I didn't "look down" on them because they might have had less education and no college degree -- I treated them with the Golden Rule and treated them like I wanted to be treated. I also did not make the mistake of "overdressing" which made some Artisans/Technicians feel "put down" by the "snobs" (<-- I censored this one! ;) who wore white shirts in the Shops or something close to "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes. I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty in the Shops, which made me welcome, unlike some of the "snobs" who were ignored as much as possible or even kicked out of some of the Shops. Once I was "welcome," they were usually willing to talk to me like a normal person or another Artisan/Technician and I gained a lot more information/knowledge about what was really going on. I'd often make a hand sketch/drawing right there while talking to them, usually an isometric sketch, to show what I was hearing from them, sometimes adding improvements as I went, so that they could make changes or more improvements right then & there. Then I'd go back to my office and either draw an improved hand sketch/drawing (or later sometimes a CAD drawing) and take copies back to the Artisan/Technician that needed a mechanical solution to whatever their problem was. If they agreed with what I had, I'd often then take it by the Tool & Die Shop or whichever Fabrication Shop would end up manufacturing the tool/fixture/jig/solution for the Customer (i.e., the Artisan/Technician) and discuss it with the Shop(s) that would perform the work to get their input on the drawings/sketches. After that, I'd either make a new sketch/drawing (if needed), or use the one I had, and turn it in to be scheduled for manufacture. I obtained a tool bag full of tools (rare for an Engineer) and would even sometimes carry it through some Shops just to joke/tease with them, saying that I (an "Engineer") was going to fix or repair something, and often get a laugh at their responses (as they ducked and hid while teasing & joking with me) -- i.e., being on good enough terms with everyone to be able to do so without complaints. Sometimes I actually did adjust or repair something and would then tell the artisans/Technicians/Shop Supervisors what & where I did something, so they'd understand why & what I did (often leaving them a sketch of it). This is an overly long way of saying that one way to learn some skills is to ask questions of the person whose job it actually is to do something, then really listen to them. Nearly always, they'll be good resources and know what they're talking about. Ask more (a reasonable number) questions until you really understand their problem that you are there to solve. Etc., etc.

You are awesome Brother. Love watching your vids. I started collecting old and broken electronics and saving all the good parts. I even ordered me a nice Hakko soldering iron station so I can teach myself how to repair and build electrical equipment. I owe every bit of it to you. You have inspired me to do this I don’t think I have ever been this inspired to learn something. Thank you for that. I’d love to be able to talk to you and learn a few more things. You have a good way of explaining and teaching. Thank you

One of my biggest frustrations as a senior electrical engineer has always been needing to learn a small portion of an overall larger subject, and getting information overload...needing to find a resource on that small topic, but having to wade through a mountain of info before finally finding what I need. It takes time, and quite often there is quite a lot of wasted time. This is where finding a mentor is helpful, who has a lot of experience with that topic.

I’ve been learning primitive skills. Starting fire with sticks, shelter building, wild foods etc. As soon as I start a new topic I try learning the topic along side my 4 and 7 years olds. As they ask their questions I try! to answer them. Thank you for all the great content.

All people need this lesson. Probably best before schooling

Thank you, Jeremy. These are life lessons that can be learned... and forgotten. Especially as we get older. I've found that the older I get, the easier it is to slip into a comfortable rut and stop learning.

I've been learning a lot of new skills. You may never read this since it's an older video but I admire how you managed to effectively learn so many things and apply them even if you don't understand every crevice of a subject. I just finished a coding bootcamp and recently discovered my passion is to build and program robots. One day I want to build a mech suit. You're an inspiration sir.

When I listen to you I think of this quote. "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool". You are a wise man.

"Remember, your goal is not to have mastery over this. You just wanna shine enough light on the path ahead of you, so that you can keep walking forward." 19:08 I think am going to be using this quote a lot. Greatly appreciated!

I found value at a very young age in taking something that worked, breaking it, observing and identifying what it was supposed to do, and repairing the “damage” to see it working again. My parents were supportive when on any given Christmas morning, I might have been gifted a new toy that by that afternoon I had completely destroyed. I literally would grab a hammer and start bashing on it to open it up. I was motivated by my curiosity to see what was inside and to see how it did what it did. It was awesome! While other parents might have “discouraged” this behavior, I was fortunate that mine didn’t, because the day came when I learned what a screw was, that there was a thing called a screwdriver, and that I could open up ANYTHING and still see it working! That was probably the most epic day of my childhood, if not my life. Breaking what works is a skill. It feeds my curiosity and learning, even to this day. Dare I say, it has opened up many opportunities for growth throughout my life and career. Thank you my friend. What you share are the best parts of who I aspire to be.

I constantly add to my role model list, but at age 40, I have narrowed down my role models. Johnny Kim (former Navy Seal, currently with NASA) and you. Both of you possess the drive to overcome obstacles, and find ways to impact others. Thank you. These two characteristoscs are 2 of the many that I try to teach my son (he's 3.)

I’ll add, if you start into something stay with the methods of the field when you begin. My younger brother was taking first semester Chemistry, he came up with his own way to solve the beginning problems, but he didn’t learn the method they were trying to teach him. And, he struggled in the middle of the class until he went back and learned the method they were trusting to teach him at the beginning of the class.

7:25. THIS!!! Be humble and accept the SUCK! It's part of the journey of learning. If you are tenacious, you will go from suck to not suck.