Go ahead: read the books, watch the videos, and take the courses. 

But at the end of all that, you need to take action. And the best way to do so is to have a project. 

I don’t mean a 3-panel trifold board school project that you dread so much you put it off until the night before it’s due. 

I mean a project that puts into action the stuff you’ve just learned. Something that fires you up. And lets you use your new skills in a way that will let you experiment while also helping others.

Maybe that’s:

• Writing and submitting an article to practice your research skills
• Building a website to practice your design abilities
• Creating a YouTube video “lecture” to teach someone what you just learned
• Playing a solo for friends and family (or dare I say, other, more critical musicians?)

When I was working and studying as a musician myself, I learned this was an unspoken rule of improvement. 

Everything you learned had one goal attached: perform what you learned in front of someone else.

That pressure to perform led to vast improvements in my playing abilities, especially my weekly recurring jazz trio gig. I had to be laser-focused on putting newfound abilities to use on a regular basis. 

My unspoken mantra became: “If I can’t use this tonight, I haven’t really learned it yet.” 

Until you can use what you’ve “learned” in the real world, nothing has happened. 

Human beings are artisans and craftspeople: your brain is wired to make things and do something with what you learn. Not just have it marinate in your mind after reading a book or watching a video. 

Making, performing, creating, teaching. These acts put our knowledge to use… and make us feel useful. Like the masters of a craft that we all have the ability to be. 

So, you need projects. 

They’re the key to learning new things. But they’re also the key to fulfilling work and a meaningful life. 

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below: