I’ll give you a proven framework to quickly learn new skills.
Knowingly or unknowingly, every top performer goes through these steps. And now you can too.
We’ll also cover how they can come up with innovative ideas or pull off those seemingly magical performances.
Now, this framework is based on extensive research and numerous books I’ve read throughout the years, but its foundation comes from the book “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin.
It is a must-read if you want to go deeper into skill development and performance.
Alright, let’s begin…
Step #1 Adopt The Growth Mindset
Have you ever wondered why flying by plane is so safe? I mean, there are millions of flights every year, yet fatalities are incredibly rare. That’s because, for decades, airplanes have had two black boxes.
After every crash or close call, investigators recover these boxes and analyze exactly what went wrong and why. Then they publish their findings for everyone to see, and engineers around the world will make the necessary changes.
There’s no secrecy. No cover-ups like you often see in hospitals. Just systemic learning.
Imagine applying that same mindset when you try to learn something new.
At the beginning, we’re going to make a lot of mistakes. And usually, the first reaction is to get frustrated or upset. This happens because we are scared of failure or looking foolish in front of others.
But the elite look at those mistakes as valuable feedback… as their black box recordings. And they make the necessary adjustments.
So here’s how you build the growth mindset and level up your skill set, quickly.
Every time you screw up, (and you will) pause and ask yourself: What exactly went wrong? Was it a technical or psychological mistake? (We’ll talk more about it later.)
The next time, you’ll be more attentive and less likely to repeat that mistake.
In addition, you need to be aware of two important things:
First, you need to cultivate presence. That means paying full attention to the specific task at hand, not checking your phone or worrying about dinner.
Second, you need someone who can correct you in real time. And if their teaching style is harsh, don’t take it personally.
You see, there are a lot of experts but very few teachers. When I say teacher, I mean people who are skilled in a certain field and can also transfer their knowledge to you.
So if you cannot find a teacher, you can settle for an expert.
He/She can explain the mistakes you’re making right now and show you how to correct them.
They can also help you identify the core skills of that field. But you have to be understanding when they inevitably raise their voice or lose patience.
Let’s move on to:
Step #2: Refine Your Skills
Bruce Lee once said, “I don’t fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
That’s the heart of deliberate practice. And it’s what separates effective, rapid skill development from mindless repetition.
For example, if you’re building digital skills, it’s very tempting to take the buffet approach. You try a little of coding, graphic design, social media strategies, copywriting, etc.
That sounds fun, right?
Well, it can be.
But it’s not effective. It will lead to feeling very confused, and you’ll give up.
So what should we do?
We’ll take another example. Let’s say you want to learn a new language.
You begin by breaking it down into core skills or components, which might be Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Grammar, Speaking, Recall, and Writing.
Again, you want to avoid the buffet approach. Don’t practice a little bit of everything.
You see, one moment you’re repeating phrases (which trains pronunciation), then you’re writing down new words (vocabulary), then you’re reviewing grammar rules. All in the same study session.
The problem with that approach is that it doesn’t leave any room for depth.
So I’d recommend a different approach… You isolate one skill per session.
If you’re working on pronunciation, forget about vocabulary or grammar for now. Just focus on training your ear and your ability to produce the right sounds.
After enough repetition and feedback, the skill gets refined. In this case, you’ll be able to pronounce even the trickiest words naturally, without having to think about the rules behind them. In other words, it becomes automatic.
And once you’ve gone through this process with the other skills, that’s when you’ve internalized all the essential skills.
Then you’ll be able to do something really cool. You’ll…
Step #3 Slow Down Time
A few years ago, I was watching the final of Barcelona vs Athletic Madrid.
Now, Lionel Messi was great as usual. But then he did something that felt like out of this world.
Interestingly, later there was a video from ESPN that analyzed that goal.
So basically, he picks up the ball at the halfway line, dribbles past 4 defenders, and reaches the penalty area in just 11.4 seconds.
Then he finds a very narrow angle where apparently the margin of error is only 0.75 degrees. And he scores.
Now, at this point in his career, Messi has fully internalized every core skill of football, like ball control, body mechanics, spatial awareness, timing, etc.
He’s not consciously thinking about these movements because that would be too slow.
But he has broken down each skill into a feeling… He doesn’t have to think about moving the body a certain way or hitting the ball at a certain angle… It just feels right.
You know, the unconscious mind is handling all those calculations in the background.
What happens then is that the conscious mind is free… free to focus on the subtle details of the game, which is constantly changing, right?
It’s as if, in those moments, the game slows down for him and he can notice and exploit those narrow opportunities.
Another interesting example is from The Voice.
Often, judges decide within seconds whether to hit the button. They don’t need to hear the entire performance to be convinced to pick that singer.
They’re responding to an instinctive feeling built from years of honing their creative skills.
What’s wild is that those quick judgments are often correct. That’s why it’s super important to commit to mastering every specific skill behind your craft.
Next, we have another important aspect.
Step #4 Developing Your Personal Style
Let’s say you and I take the same online course, read the same books, practice the same techniques, until we’ve built the same career-ready skills.
But the results will still look and feel different.
The reason is that technical mastery is only part of the equation.
For example, imagine two individuals who’ve achieved mastery in their field, let’s say Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay. They mastered the same core cooking skills.
And yet, they can prepare the same meal, but it will taste different.
The reason is that at some point, your career becomes a way for you to express yourself.
As you build those core skills, your personal development kicks in. Your instincts, your experiences, even your quirks start shaping your work. So through your learning process, a distinct style starts to emerge.
Now, how do you actually develop that style?
Well, there isn’t a strict formula.
You simply follow your curiosity, your tastes… You explore what you like and see where it leads.
However, here’s a great tip: Start by studying the opposites.
Sometimes the best creative insights in one area (let’s say painting) come from studying something totally different, like anatomy.
Because our unconscious mind might put pieces together. It might make connections you didn’t even know existed.
For example, Jackson Pollock was trained to draw like a camera before developing his abstract style.
Brian Cranston was a comedy actor before pulling off the iconic role of Walter White.
Same thing with Bob Odenkirk, Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey, and many other actors.
So, explore fields that are outside your usual work but that you find genuinely interesting.
If you’re an engineer, you might explore storytelling.
If you’re a programmer, you can take a painting class.
If you’re a business consultant, you can try martial arts.
Keep in mind that your goal is not to become great at everything. It’s to feed your unconscious and, most importantly, to have more fun. You want to let that weird, wild side come out more often, and that’s how you can find your unique voice.
Step #5 Winning the Mental Battlefield
When you’re training or competing, you’ll inevitably make mistakes. And they usually fall into two categories: technical or psychological.
A technical error happens when you don’t know how to do something properly, or you mess up the steps. For example, you bake a cake but forget to add baking powder, so it comes out flat.
A psychological error is different. You know what to do. You’ve done it a hundred times. But in the moment, anxiety, fear, or frustration throws you off.
And the biggest reason we make such mistakes is that we cling to the past.
Let’s say you’re playing a football match and your team is ahead. Then your opponent figures out a way to outsmart you, and suddenly, they’re dominating the game.
Instead of adapting to this new situation, you cling to the emotional comfort zone of how things were 10 minutes ago. You lose the ball. You argue with your teammates. And you basically go on a downward spiral.
Now, to prevent this from happening, you accept that the situation has changed for the worse. You must also accept that you’re feeling anxious and frustrated.
However, you remind yourself that you’re still in the game. You still have time to turn it around.
So you don’t cling to the past, but you focus on what’s the next move.
That’s why it’s important to have a growth mindset and a good teacher.
But I want to focus on two specific strategies that will train your mind for high-pressure situations.
First, you want to invest in loss. You actively seek out situations where you’re more likely to fail, but that can help you uncover your deepest flaws. In this case, your toughest opponents can be your greatest teachers because they’ll find weaknesses you didn’t know you had.
Then, at the end of the day, when you’re calmer, you need to reflect on your performance.
The idea is to recognize your vulnerabilities and work on them.
The second strategy is to use stress–recovery cycles.
You go through bursts of intense activity followed by brief periods of rest.
For example, you can run as hard as you can for one minute, then walk for 2 minutes, then run again.
Or maybe you do chores at full speed for 20 minutes, then you briefly sit still and breathe slowly before starting again.
At work, you might have a stressful call or meeting, and in that case, you don’t want to rush into the next one. But you just breathe slowly and look out the window for 3 minutes.
You want to include these stress-recovery cycles into your day as often as possible. Because it conditions your nervous system to switch quickly between arousal (high focus, high stress) and recovery.
When you train that switch daily, it becomes automatic.
So when you’re in the middle of a chaotic situation, you’ll be able to quickly recover from a mistake, and of course, you’re less likely to make psychological errors.
And the beauty of being in a chaotic situation is that most people fall apart. They’ll make a lot of errors, and you’ll have a clear advantage.
Common Questions About Learning a New Skill
How do I know which skill is worth learning next?
A lot of people get stuck on this question. It’s not out of laziness, but because they don’t want to waste time on the wrong thing.
So ask yourself two simple questions:
What excites me enough that I’d do it for free?
What can give me the best chances of succeeding in the career path that I desire?
The key is to look for an overlap. The space where passion meets profit, that’s where you’ll find your next essential skill.
Can I really change careers just by learning online?
Yes, people are doing it every day. But it depends on how committed you are.
It’s not simply about choosing an online course. It’s about finding and staying in the required learning path.
You can use online learning platforms, preferably ones that offer a way to communicate with the instructor or other students. That way, you can talk to them and get honest feedback. If possible, find online courses where you can get a well-known certification.
Combine that with a few projects you can do (for a low price or for free) to build a portfolio, and now you’re job-ready.
How do I stay motivated when I feel I’m getting nowhere?
This is the hardest part of any learning journey.
But when you feel very tired, ask yourself, “Why are you doing this? What’s the ultimate goal?
That will give you clarity, and you’ll push forward. Most importantly, don’t work like a madman. Take a break once in a while. Do something that relaxes you and has nothing to do with work. You know, engage with new things.
How do I know if I’m actually improving?
First of all, you want to be fully focused on the task. And second, you must measure the speed or quality of output.
Let’s say you’re learning a new language. At first, it might take you 7 attempts to say a certain tricky word or a long sentence correctly. Then, after a few weeks of practice, you notice that you can read an entire page with fewer mistakes. Then you’re able to read it flawlessly. That’s clear progress.
OR let’s say you’re learning how to write. It took you 5 hours to write 1000 words, now you can write it in 2 hours. You also notice that it flows seamlessly. Again, that’s progress.
So you want to measure these things because when you engage in deliberate practice, it can be easy to overlook your progress.
What are underrated skills that give a huge career edge?
If you want a clear advantage over others, don’t just focus on technical skills.
You also want to master the soft skills.
I’m talking about:
- Leadership skills
- Communication skills
- Learning how to learn
- Emotional regulation under pressure
- Critical thinking
Look, it doesn’t matter what field you’re in; when you can manage your emotions and deal with people, then you’ll quickly achieve your career goal.
What should job seekers focus on when developing new skills?
When it comes to learning, there are thousands of choices out there… platforms, online courses, generic articles, specific advice from forums.
It does push you to fall into the analysis paralysis trap.
But you must focus on job-ready skills.
Focus on what specific abilities a manager would like to see in you.
This might mean:
- Mastering specific tools like HubSpot, Excel, Google Ads, Figma, Google Workspace, etc.
- The ability to communicate clearly
- The ability to work in teams or manage small projects
- A portfolio that displays seamlessly all of your capabilities
How do I set clear learning goals for long-term career advancement?
Top performers set real, measurable goals.
For example, “I will add 3 projects to my portfolio by August.” Or “I’ll earn this digital marketing certificate within 60 days.”
Of course, you’re doing things that contribute to your career advancement.
What if you’re not sure what skills to learn next?
Then here’s a pro tip: Start by scanning job descriptions for roles one level above your current position. What tools or certifications are they listing that you do not have?
That gap is your professional development roadmap.
So you can use the 5-step framework to master ANY tool or complete a certification way before schedule.
