Nothing is Unlearnable
One of the themes that we write about frequently, which was so well articulated by Franck Benhamou last week and by Jacqueline this week, is the debunking of the self-defeating thought that we can’t learn new skills after a certain age. As evidence, I offer myself. Until 3 years ago, my primary skills were photography, how to run a small business, how to run a small team, and maybe some latent engineering knowledge from college. I had never used PowerPoint, had never heard of Google Docs, never used a calendar invite, never written an article, had never conducted an interview or been interviewed, had no knowledge of strategic planning, never heard of qualitative or quantitative analysis, and had never been involved in an equity money raise. Three years later, AGEIST is a growing media company, we have investors, and I live my life in all those things that were unknown to me 3 years ago. I am now a paid speaker and we at AGEIST consult with major brands using our considerable authority on our subject. I still do photography — most of the images on site are mine. There was considerable learning on my part, and with considerable help, I was able to do all this and do it well. My point is that learning can seem daunting, but given enough time, and enough focus, nothing is unlearnable. We can’t control how smart we are, or fast, or what privileges we may or may not have. What we can control is how we apply ourselves.
