128: Ultralearning with Scott Young

Imagine landing in a country and not allowing yourself to speak your native language even once (for many Pivot Podcast listeners that’s English), even with your roommates or fellow travelers. You’d be diving into the deep end, but you’d integrate FAR more quickly and effectively than if you took the “pop out of the bubble” approach, of only speaking the second language when you’re comfortable, thus never truly gaining traction. As Scott Young, author of Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, describes it — the bubble method is the equivalent of getting cold water splashed into your face every day and never having a chance to adapt. That’s the difference between most approaches to learning and ultralearning, which he defines as stretching outside of the limits where you feel comfortable through strategic, intense, self-directed programs. In this episode, Scott walks us through several of his 9 principles that underlie ultralearning: metalearning (Draw a map), focus (sharpen your knife), directness (go straight ahead), drill (attack your weakest point), retrieval (test to learn), feedback (don’t dodge the punches), retention (don’t fill a leaky bucket), intuition (dig deep before building up), experimentation (explore outside your comfort zone).