Learning As A Superpower

SPEAKER_00 0:04

To me, learning is the superpower. And I call it it's important for us, at least one of my philosophies are. If you're a learner, you're in the game. You're in the game. Doesn't mean you win, but you're in the game, and you get I call it you get to hang out with the smart kids because you're a learner. If you're not learning, the smart kids are gonna be like, I don't know. So learning's learning is a superpower, and we all can do it. We can even if we're broke, we get a library for free.

Show Welcome And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Hi friends, this is Read and Write with Natasha Podcast. My name is Natasha Tines, and I'm an author and a journalist. In this channel, I talk about the writing life, review books, and interview authors. Hope you enjoy the journey. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Read and Write with Natasha. Today we have Douglas Schmidt, who's a speaker and the author of the book The Power of Self-Leadership: The Path to Unleas Your Talents, Strengths, and Superpowers. So the power of self-leadership provides tools and mindset shifts that needed to thrive. It's not a book, it's not only a book, it's a roadmap to becoming the best version of yourself. All right. So, Doc, thank you for joining me today. I'm looking forward to talk about your book and your ideas.

Defining Self-Leadership

SPEAKER_01 1:40

So, what is self-leadership?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Basically, self-leadership, there's a couple of different parameters of self-leadership. First of all, understanding yourself, understanding your passions, your motivations, your emotions. That's one thing. The second thing is to under understand what your talent, strengths, and superpowers are.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

And basically the premise of the book is if I can't lead myself, if I can't manage my emotions, if I don't understand my talent strengths, and superpowers, if if I can't develop what I call smart habits, I can't expect anybody else to. So self-leadership, it's not a selfish thing, it just starts with me. I need to start with me before I'm looking to change anybody else or or leader manage anybody else. So that's basically the premise of the book. It starts with me. And I break it down into Roy reframe your journey into you're the hero on your journey. What are your talents, strengths, superpowers? What obstacles are in your way? How are you going to overcome them? Who's who your role models, who your mentors, how are you manageing your emotions, how are you managing situations that might be contentious or not necessarily in your favor. So that's basically the premise

Why He Wrote The Book

SPEAKER_00 2:52

of my book.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

And why did you decide to write the book?

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Well, there's a couple of different things. I decided to write the book for a variety of reasons. I was very fortunate I had really great role models that I could role model self-leadership from. That's one reason. Number two, I'm a reader.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

So I read a lot of self-extract matter experts on communication, networking, alliances, self-discovery, leadership books. And I looked at my own journey, the lessons I learned from my own journey, both the mis the mistakes I made and the successes I made. And one of the reasons I I wrote the book is I felt no one was listening to me. I was kind of like extraneous. I'd be intuitive, and don't you get it? So I wrote the book so it's out of my head. Okay. And I can write a framework for people. And it made me better understand and communicate rather than something coming out of my head. Well, here's a framework, here's a book, here's a tangible asset. You can start becoming a self-leader and understanding what your talent strength and superpowers are.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

So did people start listening to you now after you wrote the book?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

We'll see. Because it's just, I just got my proof. Uh the editing's fun too. That's another learning experience. I just got the proof, so I have about 50 people I'm going to send the book to and get their feedback and their uh suggestions and comments. And also, too, I just signed up to have a uh weekly uh TV show. So we'll see. We'll see what people.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

So the TV show we'll see what people think.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

I so far I've gotten I've gotten positive feedback. Uh but the next step is take that feedback

Saying Yes To A TV Show

SPEAKER_00 4:25

and make it so people can digest it and start their own journey.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Um so you said the TV show, you got a TV show?

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Yeah, and what yeah, what happened is a good friend of mine has a weekly TV show on the internet. And it's interesting too. I'm reluctant. I'm actually camera shy, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Although I'm an extrovert. So I was interviewing uh two weeks ago on a Wednesday, Wednesday morning, uh so we've done the interview, and he goes, uh, okay, so when are you gonna start your show? I'm there, what do you mean? Yeah, your show. And then, no. He goes, Well, we're gonna start your show. Then he brought in the producer in of this and he goes, Okay, when are you gonna start your show? So it's fortunate in that one of the things I have as self-leadership is that even though I was reluctant, I didn't want to do it. I have great role models and friends say, hey, look, this is your next step here in your in your personal professional growth. So I'm gonna start a TV show. Looks like in April.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Well, what are you what are you gonna talk about? Like, are you gonna interview guests or how what's the format?

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, I have well, it's interview, it'll be a half-hour form interview, just like this format here. I have I have a lot of different people. I have Colonel United States Marine Corps, who's in history books for leadership.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Great leader. Uh like I said so, history says so. My friend's a great drummer. He's worked with uh he was Stevie Wonders.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Philip Bailey, Earth Wind and Fire.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

What did you need this friend?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yes, he's a he's a great drummer.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

And also about a growth and grid mindset. That's one of the jobs of my book is that how do you develop the habits? So you're developing a growth and grid mindset. We're gonna get into his head a little bit. I have another friend of mine who's an Army arranger, professional triathlete, and a trainer, a triathlet trainer, and I worked out with him. So well, actually, he worked that he worked me out. His name's Todd Parker. So he's gonna do he's gonna do a segment. I'm another corporate executive who's been executive leader all over the world. It's gonna talk about how you have to have to have social capital and social intelligence to survive whatever environment you're in. So I have different people already uh lined up. So it's it's exciting, but it's also anxiety producing, too. But as my friend said, hey, start swimming. You're you're in the pool. Start those.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

That's fun. I mean, maybe you can invite me too someday.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

So,

Habits And The Procrastination Brain

SPEAKER_01 6:50

all right. So you you mentioned a lot about habits, and you know, I read a lot of books about about habits like atomic habits and and other I I believe really it's like it's those series of small habits that determine your success. So I want to hear your opinion about how habits, how you develop them. If you can tell us a bit more about habits.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Well, here's the thing about habits, it's really interesting because I was we all have habits, but I wanted to change some habits. One of the things I learned from habits are I read a book called uh Learning How to Learn by uh Barbara Oakley. And she explained it in Sorry, what's what's the book? Yeah, learning how Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

She's lucky math in high school. She has a PhD in engineering.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

And she worked with a noroscientist, Terry Sinelski out of Princeton, and they studied the neuroscience of learning. Yeah, actually, they'll actually show you a brain sign your brain when you learn how it changes. And one of the discoveries they found was that our brains are wired to procrastinate.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Oh, interesting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

For a variety of reasons, because when we're learning it, it basically learning is a challenge or anything we don't want to do that's boring, we don't want to do, there's a part of our brain that lights up. It's called the insular cortex. It lights up and goes, I don't like this. I don't want to clean my room. I don't want to study. I don't I don't want to do this. I don't want to write a book. All they said, it lights up. It's an uncomfortable feeling in our brain. So we know that there's a science to that. So we understand the science that it's not necessarily a character trait, it's way rewired. So what they found too was they they use a technique called the Pomodoro technique. And what they found was the initial inertia was I don't want to do it, but once they found, once you start doing the activity, those uncomfortable feelings start to dissipate.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

So it overcomes, it overcomes that that uncomfortable feeling. And then what happens was when we start developing these habits, and give me an example. Now, when I was writing a book, I'd go to the library and I had I'd be in cubicles, where I didn't have a lot of external distractions. I didn't have TV, I didn't have I didn't have my cell phones, anything. It was just it was just writing and a computer and a tablet. So the things with habits is we can understand how to start a framework. So we can start, I call them smart habits. And then once you start doing these these habits, that initial resistance starts to dissipate because oh, this this is a habit. Oh, I do this every day. Like for example, I get up every day at five o'clock in the morning. I get a cup of coffee, get my workout clothes and field work out.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

So that's every you work out every single day.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Every day at five o'clock.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Wow. So for for me, is this mindset is how did you develop this mindset? Because for like for many people, telling them the idea of waking up at 5 a.m. to work out, it's it's daunting, but it takes a certain mindset to to do this. So how did you develop this mindset?

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Well, first of all, it's not for everybody has to develop their own mindset to do it. Well, whatever one thing is my doctor said I need to lose some weight. So to figure that out. How to lose some weight. I'm an early person. I generally get up early.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Okay. What time do you go to bed?

SPEAKER_00 10:12

I go to bed around nine or ten o'clock. I'm not a late person. So I get to bed early too, because I need enough sleep.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

So the way I developed is the the act I like I ride a bike. I like bike riding. That's my physic that's a physical activity. It's not it's not painful. I enjoy doing it. So one of the things with habits we have I like I like riding a bike. So every morning I'd get up, have a cup of coffee, put my bike on my car, and go to this trail and ride a bike for an hour every morning. So what happens was it just became habitual. I don't I'm not spending a lot of conscious energy to go, let me let me figure this out. It's it's just a habit that I developed. And the the biggest question for me was when I wake up, even if I don't feel like doing it, putting on my workout looks. It's that little tiny decision that starts developing the momentum.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

So we talked a lot about, like you said, developing a habit. And so what happens with some people is they start like the new, they say to themselves, okay, I'm gonna work out, you know, at the beginning of the year, you go to the gym, and the gym is packed, right? In January. Then in March, in April, it's empty because people drop off the lab. And I'm guilty of that. I mean, many times I said I'm gonna do this, and I do it for a few weeks, and then I don't follow through.

Small Decisions That Build Momentum

SPEAKER_01 11:40

So, what's happening here?

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Uh, I would do a couple different things. There's a couple different things as far as habits. There's external barriers. So I'd write down the external barriers. Like so, working out could be the weather or whatever. So I'd write those barriers down. Also, a lot of times, too, the big some I know the biggest challenge for me is what are the internal barriers? What am I saying to myself? And what are those thoughts and emotions that I'm saying? What what are my thoughts? What's going on? And and here's another thing, too. A lot of times, too, with developing habits, we use now versus later thinking. It's many times it's difficult when we're developing these habits that we're not sure what the end goal will be. We're not sure what the end result's gonna be.

SPEAKER_02 12:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

So that's part of the challenge too, is that even though I'm not sure, I still need to develop these habits and develop momentum. And number two, a coup a couple things to working out. You might not like that, like the activity. There's some activities I don't want to do. So I would say for for exercise, I would say for activities you you enjoy doing. Okay. Like if you're trying to do like 500-pound bench presses, it's that's not fun. So what activities are can we enjoy that that are related to my habits?

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Okay. So any other techniques you advise or you suggest for us to stick to habits? For example, like there is the techniques of habit stacking, right? Right. So you and then, you know, there's like do you have specific techniques? Like, or other people like they prepare their workout clothes the night before, or you know, stuff like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Right, I'm right, right. I have my stuff, like I have my stuff hanging all ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

I'm working stuff ready to go. Here's another thing, too. I like that. I was talking to a friend of mine, Mark, about this. I try and make my decisions binary.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Do I want to work out or not work out? Do I want to put on these clothes or not put on these clothes? Do I want to do I want to wake up? Do I not want to wake up? I don't want to spend a lot of mental energy making this a complicated decision. That's one thing. I try and make them binary.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Like, for example, writing this book, their days I didn't feel like writing a book, but once I got into the cubicle, the library, uh, this is my workspace. So I'm here to I'm here to write this book.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

I see.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

And that sort of changed my my mental state. And here's another thing too. I like you talking about atomic habits with clear, the two-minute rule. If I can do it in two minutes, that's okay. Because a lot of times what happens, if I can do it in two minutes, that develops momentum to do another two minutes.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

So it's yeah, so it's a question of momentum and or like you say, stacking, develop habits that are related to each other.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Yeah, yeah. So I think one of the books that kind of uh made a huge buzz about this is Atomic Habits by James Clear. And but I believe there are other books before that. And I'm curious, since you're a you're a writer and a reader, what kind of books do you recommend, besides your own book, uh you recommend for people who want to stick with habits?

SPEAKER_00 14:45

One of the books one of the books, I think one of the books that really changed my life was Learning How to Learn by Oakley, O-A-K-L-E-Y. Okay, okay because what what I learned from these great leaders, they're all learners. Learning was their superpower. Every leader I've been around, everyone's a learner, whether it's a drummer, in the Marines leadership there, or writers. Everyone's a learner.

Leaders As Lifelong Learners

SPEAKER_00 15:09

So that's a book I recommend because what that does is understanding that learning is a process. It's not an event. So learning is important. So for example, when I first started writing this book, I use this particular platform. Oh, it was the wrong platform. I had to change the platform. But I learned from that.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

So it's that learning process that is important to understand that learning takes time, it takes patience. I'm not going to be a great writer overnight. I'm not going to be in great shape overnight. But it's that process. And I would say understanding what my goals are and being on that journey. And times at times a journey, it's going to be frustrating. You know, as a writer, you gotta go, I'm stuck. I need it, I need it.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

I'll take a walk.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

I can't write anymore. I need to walk away. I need a few days because I'm just tapped, yeah. Yeah, I'm tapped and I need to walk away. And then if you look at the science of that, there's a what's called diffuse learning. Our brains are making unconscious connections unconsciously. So that's one thing too. Another thing too is is role models. Who who am I who am I hanging out with? Who am I associating with? You know, am I going to the bar? Yeah. Am I going to the gym? So, like the gym, one of the things the gym is sometimes the hardest thing for people to do is just go to the just go to the gym. That's a big step for some people. So it got back to the little decisions, and if I could just do a little bit, just start a little bit, that can help me develop movement.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

So let's go learning how to learn. That's yeah, I'm gonna check it out. So it's interesting what you said that great leaders are learners.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

And because I've never heard that. Like I heard great leaders are like writers, or great readers are big readers, or great leaders are, you know, they take care of their physical activity or they're organized or whatever. But focusing on learning, I think that's for me, first time I I hear it says in this way. And can you give an example of a great leader who's also a great learner?

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Well, a general, I'll give you an example. Well, my I'll give you two examples. General James Madison, United States Marine Corps, former Secretary of Defense.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

His personal library, 6,000 books.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

More than this?

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Yeah, he has a lot of books.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

6,000 books? Wow.

SPEAKER_00 17:34

6,000 books. The first question. Now, this guy's a to me, he's a w he's in history books for a reason. He was my friend's mentor. My friend's Colonel Marine Corps. The first question Mattis asked my friend. Well, my my friend is Colonel Marine Corps, Ben Mattis, what books are you reading? Me? No, I'm saying he mattis asked my general mattis asked my friend who's Colonel Marine Corps, what books are you reading? What do you learn?

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Is that what he asks you every time he sees you?

SPEAKER_00 18:04

No, well, I'll give you one example. My friend was Colonel Marine Corps, used to have to do books. When he came back from Afghanistan, I was in his office. He gave me books to read. He gave me homework.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Oh wow. How did you meet all of these fascinating people that you keep mentioning?

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Well, my my superpower, I have two superpowers. I'm a connector and I'm a learner. So I met my You're an actor? No, I'm a no. I'm a connector.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Connector. Ah, sorry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

I'm a connector. I have a high social intelligence. I'm a connector and I'm an learner. So I figured out the way I met them, my one friend got deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, and I did some really nice things for him and his family when he got deployed. And three months later, he sent me a thank you letter from Afghanistan thanking me for helping his family out and take care of his family. I read the letter, I said, he's a world-class leader. I just knew it. There's one line in the letter, I knew it, that told me this guy's a world-class leader. So when he came back to Afghanistan, when he was in I was in his office, he and I'll never forget this. He opened up this book, The Power Communication by Helio Fred Garcia. It was dog-eared, had writing all over. So I get I put in real quick. This guy is a learner because it was he reads. So and then he gave me books, he gave me books to read. So that's how I learned, and then he introduced me to other people that were all learners and also in history books or or had great leadership characteristics. And I just started studying them. They're all learners. My like my friend's a great drummer. Worked with Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross. He learned all the different types of music he had learned how to play to work with these various artists. So he's always learning, too. Interesting. To me, learning's the superpower. And I call it, it's important for us, at least one of my philosophies are if you're a learner, you're in the game. You're in the game. Doesn't mean you win, but you're in the game, and you get I call it, you get to hang out with the smart kids. Because you're a learner. If you're not learning, the smart kids are gonna be like, I don't know. So learning's learning is a superpower, and we all can do it. We can even if we're broke, we get a library for free.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

How do you encourage people to be learners? Because from my, let's say, limited experience in life compared to yours, is some people don't want to learn. Like some people don't want to read books. They they get stuck into this. Oh, I don't need to they live day to day. And the idea of picking up like a nonfiction book or the self-help book is very, I mean, from maybe I'm hanging out with the wrong people, but from from like very few people I know who read as many, like, let's say, self-help books that I read or you know, nonfiction books. And how do you convince people to do that?

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Well, it depends on them. It's a choice. Uh well, here's the thing, so you don't have to read books. You could be a mechanic, an auto mechanic, you can go to classes. So it doesn't have to be books, it could be it could be uh videos, could be taking classes. There's different modalities of learning. I would say this it depends on what you want to do. If you if you're gonna become a professional, I don't care if you're an auto mechanic, a lawyer, bus driver, whatever, to get at the top of your profession, you have to learn it. And if you don't, you're not gonna hang out. Like here, I'll give an example. My friends work with Stevie Wonder. He's a great drummer. He's an it he's a great drummer. If he wasn't a learner that understand the music, Stevie Wonder's not gonna hire you. They're just

How To Help People Learn

SPEAKER_00 21:55

not. Diana Wallace is not gonna hire you because you don't they they call Music, but they don't have the jobs.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Yeah. So but by learning, is it is it book learning or is it like defined learning for me?

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Learning is it doesn't have to be books. Now, for me, my my my personal premise is are books, books and online courses and classes. Somebody else might be, they could be an auto mechanic is actually working on cars, what's called procedural learning or training. So learning is increasing your capabilities and skills for whatever you're doing, whatever activity you're doing. Could be being a parent. What am I learning? How make how am I become a better parent? I'm a school teacher. How to become a better school teacher. So I would say this if you're learning, and I taught you're in the game. You're in the game. You know, writing, there's always something to learn with writing. So if you're a learner, you can talk to other other authors and go, oh, I understand what you're talking about. But if I'm not learning and not I can't relate to what you're saying, that's a hard relationship to to sustain. That makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I want to pivot a bit and talk about your publishing journey. So your book is coming out next month in March.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Well, we have I just got the proof. I just got the proof.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

So I had a I I had three revisions. So I have to do three. I think, I think, I think I didn't realize how challenging editing is. So I think it's going to be this will be the last edit. I hope. Yeah. I don't know if you missed the I missed this.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

So Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

So I think hopefully in a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

So did you self-publish or hybrid publisher? How how how did the journey go?

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Well, what I did is I made a decision to write the book. And then I got to the point where I was I wasn't stuck,

Self-Publishing With A Coach

SPEAKER_00 23:50

but I knew I needed a s I needed a coach, I needed assistance. I could have done it myself, but I didn't really feel comfortable doing that.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

So I met with a I met with a publishing, a self-publishing coach guy named Steve Harrison.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

So he helped work with Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Men of Mars, Women for Venus. Okay. So I hired him to help navigate this whole journey in self-publishing. So for me, it was a worthwhile, but I I hired a coach to do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Okay. So the coach helped you in terms of the editing or in terms of the process?

SPEAKER_00 24:26

The whole process, because it's a journey.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

It's a journey. They helped me with proofreading, editing, graphic design, sales strategies. They're helping me now navigate Amazon. So it was really a soup the nuts thing. Again, it was for me as well worth it to do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Yeah. So they took care of the design of the of the publishing, putting it up on KDP and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Right. They gave me, my designer gave me four different book covers.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

And then I asked people, friends of mine, had which which book cover do you like the best? So the first one the one she designed, I didn't necessarily like it the best. But my audience said we like this the best.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

So you listen to this.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

So I let my audience say, okay, got it. And then I got I finally got a uh a proof copy and I've gotten really good feedback.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

So okay. In terms of how you apply the habits to writing habits. Right. So if you know, for people for writers who are watching, listening to this, they come to you. It's like, I want to develop a writing habit. What would you tell them?

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Oh, it's let's say what are your goals?

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Let's say I want to finish a book in less than six months, the first draft at least.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

I would say this. I would say find a place that you feel comfortable writing in. If there's not a lot of distractions that you can be the most productive in. That'd be number one. I would say I spent about two hours a day writing a book, and then after about two hours, I'm pretty much I'm spent. Not spent, but I'm I did as much as I couldn't. And

Writing Habits And Helpful Tools

SPEAKER_00 26:10

I I assume mentally I just need to take a break from it, I need to do something else.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Number three is have role models and mentors. Get some feedback. Hey, what do you think of this? Makes sense. I think that's important. Also, too, there's some great now. People don't like this, some great tools. I'd recommend I use Chat GPT to get some ideas, and I use Grammarly Premium for editing for grammars. I'm not I'm not a it's not a graphic designer. I don't know all the uh syntax and all the where this combo should be as far as writing. So I use uh Grammarly Premium to edit the document and approval my writing was.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

Okay. So if what are your like last thoughts or comments for anyone who wants to become a learner for life?

SPEAKER_00 27:00

The first I would get this book, Learning How to Learn by Oakley.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

O E K L. I'd get that book. That that changed my life because here I am. I'm at my friends are they're great leaders, they're all learners. So I had to I had to scale very quickly to understand what they were doing. And then what I did is I understood the science of what they're doing too. So that became, they didn't know that necessarily. So that's what I brought in. I said, here's here's a science of that. They're like, what? Yeah, here's this here's a science of that. So that's what I brought into the equation.

SPEAKER_02 27:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

So so I'd say learning how to learn by Oakley. I that book just changed my life. And it's on uh book form, and also it's on Coursera.org. It's a free course.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Okay. And for readers, uh, for listeners or viewers, how can they reach you your website? How can they get your book?

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Yeah, you can reach me on my site at Douglaslschmidt.com, or you can send me an email at Doug Schmidt SCH M I D T 1955 at gmail.com. So I'm glad to help anybody that's that's on this journey.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Great. I mean, it's um I'm definitely gonna check out the book you recommended and also your book. And best of luck with uh with your the publication that's coming soon. And if there is anything I can help, I'm happy to help. And for uh anyone who's listening or watching, thank you for joining us for another episode of Read

Contact Info And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_01 28:32

and Write with Natasha. And until we meet again, and thank you, Doc.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Good, thank you so much. I enjoyed the show. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Thank you for tuning in to Read and Write with Natasha. I'm your host, Natasha Times. If today's episode inspired you in any way, please take the time to review the podcast. Remember to subscribe and share this podcast with fellow book lovers. Until next time.