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Well, welcome to the Robin Sharma Success system. This video is all about the four barriers to learning.
I want to congratulate you investing in this process. Over 21 days, you're going to learn exactly how to
transform the way you think, the way you perform, the way you feel, the way you occur in the world.
I often think of what Peter Drucker once told a consulting client. They said, I love the ideas. Peter
Drucker looked back at the client and said, please don't tell me what you liked about my advice. Tell me
what you'll do differently on Monday morning. So I hope you get a wealth of tactics, ideas, principles,
processes as you go through this system.
The ideas have worked for many of my one-on-one coaching clients and created some tremendous,
tremendous breakthroughs in their physical life, personal life, financial life, and their overall life as a
whole. So act on the ideas. Remember, ideation without execution amounts to a delusion. An idea is not
really very valuable-- what makes an idea priceless is the flawless execution around the idea.
This video, really, is about the four barriers to learning. These are about the four things, or the four
reasons, why you will not use the content in this process to create a world-class life. It's great to know
these because with better awareness of your four barriers to learning, you can make better choices. And
as you make better choices, you're going to see better results.
First barrier to learning-- I call it the phenomenon of discounting. Please write it down, or wrap your
brain cells around it, because it's very, very powerful. The phenomenon of discounting-- and all that
means is this-- learners, and human beings have an acute tendency to discount the value of an idea that
doesn't fit with their current way of thinking and being.
It means if I share an idea on health, on taking your business life to next level, on leading without a title,
on making more money, on building a better family life-- if it's an idea that is disruptive to your current
way of thinking, that challenges the way you currently think, perform, or live-- automatically, so in other
words, often we don't even notice, we discount the value of the idea. We say, oh that would never work.
We actually turn down our listening-- we don't really take it in from an auditory level.
Or we actually turn down our understanding. We actually say, oh, well I've heard that before. We don't
actually understand the nature of the idea. Here's why-- because at a deeper level, if an idea is disruptive
or new to us it means we would have to change. It means we would have to leave the safe harbor of the
known, that circle of comfort that we spend our work and personal lives in.
Leave that safe harbor of the known, and go out into the blue ocean of the unknown. And that scares
people. That disrupts the way we are. It brings up discomfort-- it actually brings up an emotion called
fear, because we go out into the unknown. But it's not possible to grow and progress and advance in
every area of our life, unless we're willing to leave our comfort zone.
So pay attention to that first barrier to learning, the phenomenon of discounting. Again, we actually turn
down our listening, and we turn down our understanding. And often it happens at a subconscious level.
It's almost like it protects your defense mechanism so we don't have to change. And it keeps us small.
And the more you can become aware of it and catch it, the more you can witness it and say, got it. I see
what's happening. I am not my fear. I am not my discounting. I really want to embrace this success
system, and take my life to a whole new level of wow.
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I really want to embrace the ideas Robin's sharing with me, as we go through the process to play at my
peak. So when I get to the last hour of my last day, I say, I was one of the great ones. And I did
something special in my life.
The second barrier to learning-- I call it presence, or low levels of presence. Write that down, please--
low levels of presence. May I suggest to you, your two greatest assets are your mental focus and your
physical energy. But we live in a world full of distractions. I call this the age of dramatic distraction.
We get seduced by voice mail messages, checking your email messages, all these competing distractions
and trivialities that in the end amount to nothing. So what happens is we get so caught up with all the
technology, all the email, all the disruptions, all the distractions, all the change, that we don't have any
presence. We experienced dissipation of our mental focus and our physical energy.
And in other words when we are with me, for example, going through the system, or with a customer, or
with your loved ones, or even with yourself, we're often 5% present. One of the greatest gifts you can
give yourself as you go through this success system-- which has changed the lives, these ideas have
changed the lives of so many people in so many countries around the world.
This system will work and create transformation at so many different levels. But if you're not present to
the ideas because your attention and your energy is scattered, you will not be able to get the full extent of
the ideas. So be present.
The third barrier to learning-- intellectually closed. I remember I was giving a presentation in Latin
America. I was in Caracas. I spoke to a CEO, one of Latin America's top CEOs. He said Robin, I'm a
huge fan of your books. I love your material.
I said, are you coming to the afternoon when I'm going to be speaking? He said no, I've heard it all
before. That's the danger of success. And I know you're successful. But the danger of success is, it's easy
to fall in love with your ways of thinking and your ways of being.
It's easy to say, well, I've been successful because I've done these certain things, thought these certain
thoughts, had these certain best practices, so why should I change? But that's a very dangerous position
to be in, because if you keep on doing things the way you've always done them, you're going to get the
same results. You have invested in this success process to get new results. better results-- more profit,
more happiness, more energy, better health, more loving relationships, more adventure, more fun in your
life.
So here's the key-- the trap of being successful is you don't grow. You don't open yourself up to new
ideas. So that third barrier to learning, intellectually closed, is very dangerous. Wynton Marsalis, the jazz
great, said it so well. He said only the humble improve. So as you go through the process, be open to
every idea.
I'm not saying you have to agree to every idea, at least try every idea. But certainly be open. Don't be
intellectually closed. Don't close your arms and say, I know that or, I've heard that, or that would never
work. Be open to the ideas.
In the martial arts, they call it the beginner's mind. When I think of a Mozart, or a David Beckham, when
I think of the great chess masters, when I think of a Roger Federer-- those people have a beginner's
mind. No matter how successful they are, they always want the edge. They always want the new idea.
They have a ferocious hunger to learn more, to get better, and that's what makes them great.
And then finally, the fourth barrier to learning-- fear of failure. As human beings we don't like getting
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knocked down. In Japan, they have a brilliant line. They say, get knocked down seven times, get up
eight. Failure is only a failure if you view it as a failure.
The great scientists, the great athletes, the great inventors, the great businesspeople, whether it's a Buffett
or a Jobs, or Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, or if it's a Mahatma Gandhi or a Nelson Mandela-- those
people refuse to lose. I know it sounds like a platitude, but it's so important to tattoo it on your brain.
That failure is part of becoming world-class. Failure is the price of ambition. Failure is only a failure if
you say, oh I've failed, and I'm going to give up.
You can't innovate, you can't get to your next level of wow, you can't become one of the great ones
unless you outfail your competition. Another way to look at it is, if you don't fail at least once a week,
you're not dreaming big enough. You're not pushing the envelope. You're not really committed to
excellence. Failure is part of the process.
Just see it as not failure, but data that will allow you to learn and get even better in every key dimension
of your life. So those are the four barriers to learning. Please consider them as you go through this
material.
Again, thank you for investing in this 21 day success system. It will deliver some exceptional results
you. Roll up your sleeves, have fun doing it. Stay at it every day, because like life, it's all about how
much you give.
The more you give to this system, the more you will receive. It's all about absolute personal
responsibility for creating the result that you want. And remember, responsibility is really all about your
response ability. Be very responsive as you go through this process. You're going to get some
spectacular results and that is my greatest wish for you.