{"id":8959,"date":"2020-05-12T21:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T01:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=8959"},"modified":"2022-04-12T22:12:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T02:12:41","slug":"how-to-learn-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-faster\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Learn Faster: 6 Tips From Billionaires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I\u2019m not all that smart. I forget a lot of things. I didn\u2019t get perfect scores on tests without trying, like some of my friends did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is one thing I know how to do\u2014read and learn<\/strong>. Over 20+ years of learning, I\u2019ve figured out how to learn better and faster <\/strong>than most people I know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I collected these reading tips from people smarter and more accomplished than me\u2014like Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Mark Cuban<\/strong> (we\u2019ll cover each of their strategies below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

And reading well makes a difference. I credit reading for most of the good things in my life\u2014getting into Harvard for college and graduating summa cum laude<\/em> (top 5%); attending the MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School and MIT (14 acceptances each year, for a 2% acceptance rate); my success in building multiple profitable businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, reading has helped me outside of work\u2014to build a wonderful marriage, become a better friend, and just be happier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m in good company. Most of the world\u2019s highest achievers read obsessively…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billionaires Read Obsessively<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett\u2019s billionaire partner at Berkshire Hathaway, says, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn\u2019t read all the time. None. Zero. You\u2019d be amazed at how much Warren reads \u2014 and at how much I read.”<\/strong><\/p>

\u2014Charlie Munger<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mark Cuban<\/strong> began his billionaire career this way: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI read every book and magazine I could. I would tell myself one good idea would pay for the book and could make the difference between me making it or not.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

\u2014Mark Cuban
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The key is to actually do it. Says Mark Cuban, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe same information was available to anyone who wanted it. Turns out most people didn\u2019t want it. Most people won\u2019t put in the time to get a knowledge advantage.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

\u2014Mark Cuban
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It\u2019s Not Just Effort\u2014Work Smarter, Not Harder<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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But effort is just part of the equation. You can\u2019t just put in time mindlessly. You might spend hundreds of hours reading, but have nothing to show for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you read a self-improvement book and get super pumped about all the awesome changes you\u2019re going to try. You start off the next day really jazzed and change that one thing about your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then each day passes, and your motivation disappears. Your memory starts fading. You forget what you read, and why you cared so much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a week, you can\u2019t for the life of you remember what it was about<\/strong>, other than a vague 1-sentence summary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry\u2014this is incredibly<\/em> common. It\u2019s the result of not learning as effectively as you can. What you spent all this time reading didn\u2019t stick, so it has zero chance of improving your behavior. (It\u2019s also sometimes the result of a bad, illogical, unconvincing author\u2014we\u2019ll get to that later.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, some people try to learn more by doing the above 100 times. They spend all their time reading (ever seen someone brag about how many books they read?), but they keep forgetting what they read. What does 100 times zero equal? Zero. Spending time like this is like pouring water into a leaky funnel\u2014none of it ends up where you want it to and your results are bad.
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Instead, you need to <\/strong>learn how to learn<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. Learning the right way will accelerate your learning by 200% or more.
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Think about it this way\u2014for all the thousands of hours you\u2019re going to spend learning in your lifetime, isn\u2019t it worth taking a few hours to learn how to learn? You might get hundreds of hours back for a huge return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully this all makes sense to you. Here are the Top 6 Strategies for Reading and Learning that I\u2019ve collected over 20 years of learning. They usually come from people far smarter and more accomplished than me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disclaimer:<\/strong> I founded this company, Shortform<\/a>, as my own personal learning tool. Shortform is a learning app that summarizes the world\u2019s best content<\/a>, including non-fiction books and articles. You obviously don\u2019t need Shortform if you want to learn effectively\u2014but if you want to try learning faster, give Shortform a try<\/a>. Thousands of business executives, CEOs, and lifelong learners use Shortform to learn more in less time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Step 1: Learn How Your Brain Learns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To learn effectively, you need to treat knowledge like a tree. Understand the big idea, and only then<\/em> understand the details\u2014do not learn the other way around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This idea is most famously attributed to Elon Musk<\/a> (who taught himself rocket science by reading):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves\/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

\u2014Elon Musk
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Let\u2019s clarify what this means, covering the trunk, branches, and leaves in order. 
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To learn something new, you need to find the basic BIG idea and make sure you understand it<\/strong>. Get rid of all the details, examples, and anecdotes. What is the BIG idea? This is the big, solid trunk of the tree<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once you have the trunk firmly planted, then<\/em> you can focus on adding to it. The basic big idea you started with is usually an oversimplification\u2014there are nuances and secondary ideas that flesh out the big idea. These are branches <\/strong>that attach to the trunk. They build on the big idea; but without the trunk in place, the branches have nothing to add onto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, there are details that aren\u2019t critical to the main concepts, but they add to your understanding and help you remember. Examples include supporting data, anecdotes, and other evidence. These are the leaves. They attach to the branches, which attach to the trunk. Without the trunk, the leaves have nothing to attach to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trunk, branches, leaves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019ve never thought about learning this way before, it makes intuitive sense. This is why once you learn a fundamental skill, it\u2019s easier to build on it with more complicated skills. 
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Say you\u2019re learning how to cook\u2014you need to first learn how to hold a knife and do a basic chop of a carrot. Then, and only then, can you learn how to do a julienne cut, chop garlic, and finely dice tomatoes. Trunk, branches, leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge Tree in Reading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But the knowledge tree isn\u2019t as obvious when you think about reading and learning abstract things. Let\u2019s walk through a simple example from the well-known book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trunk: Grit is the combination of passion and perseverance. Passion means sticking with a goal over the long-term. Perseverance means overcoming setbacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n