Nov 1, 2019
What if you could create a project to quickly learn the skills to transition to a new role, project, or even profession? What if you could learn a new language, simulate a university degree program, or become good at something that seems impossible to you right now? Well then you’ll enjoy this episode with Scott Young, author of the Wall Street Journal Best Seller, ULTRALEARNING: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career.
Ultralearning isn’t easy, just the opposite, not only is it hard, it’s frustrating and requires stretching outside the limits of where you feel comfortable. However, the things you can accomplish make it worth the effort.
Scott Young is a writer, programmer, traveler, and for more than a decade has run a business focused on productivity. Scott is an avid learner and he has created some fascinating experiments, such as:
- “The MIT Challenge” where he attempted to learn MIT’s 4-year computer science curriculum without taking classes,
- “The Year Without English,” where he attempted to learn four languages in one year,
- “The 30 Day Portrait Drawing Challenge” to see how much improvement he could make in drawing faces, and most recently, and fun,
- “Let’s Learn Quantum Mechanics.”
So in this episode we discuss these challenges and other intellectual feats and what drives Scott, and of course a deep dive into his new book, which has some amazing folks saying some impressive things:
James Clear of Atomic Habits fame, who also wrote the Foreword to your book, said “Ultralearning is a fascinating and inspiring read. Scott has compiled a goldmine of actionable strategies for learning anything faster.”
Chris Guillebeau said: “This book is an invaluable tool to help you master complicated skills in a short period of time. Read Ultralearning and level up your life!”
Cal Newport said “Ultralearning is like a superpower in our competitive economy. Read this book! It will change your life.”
Derek Sivers said “A truly great book about learning. Riveting, useful, practical, and applicable to anyone ready to learn something at their own pace. Ultralearning shows you exactly how to learn better than you thought possible.”
Scott discusses some of the great case studies in the book along with his own personal challenges, including those of Eric Barone, Tristan de Montebello, and Nigel Richards. His last chapter includes the wonderful story of Judit Polgar and Gary Kasparov.
Scott lives his life in full, and helps others to do so as well with his book and his website’s blog and resources, which are linked in our show notes.