These days, teens know more about sex than we did in the past. With porn, they can easily learn all the positions, moves, and techniques. They know everything you can do. We (pre-online porn), on the other hand, learned more by doing and experimenting in real life.
Question for you: who's better in bed which way of learning is best?
I'm not starting a sex-ed newsletter, don't worry 😆 I heard this example on a podcast with Simon Squibb and Simon Sinek and thought it was a brilliant way to illustrate two approaches to doing things and learning:
Acquiring knowledge
Doing and learning from experience
The Information Overload Trap
We live in a world where information and knowledge are now widely available for free. You can take online courses from prestigious universities on Coursera, YouTube is full of gems where you can learn about anything you can think of, we have access to more books than we could ever read, and these days AI assistants make access to information even easier!
So we should all be able to do anything we want, right?
There are no excuses anymore. No more "I don't know how."
We can now start anything and succeed because everything we need is available.
Right?
🙄 If only it was that easy!
However, this is what it looks like in practice: you buy all the books, start half of them, finish a few. You take notes along the way. You watch podcasts, buy Udemy courses for later. You should be ready. But despite all this learning, you're still stuck, struggling to make progress and turn knowledge into action. You know what you should do, but somehow can't manage to get started. That's the classic struggle.
My Reality Check
Let me share my own experience on this topic and what I think is the best course of action.
Like most people, I first started by acquiring knowledge via the traditional education system. Once I graduated and entered the workforce, I realized something: I didn't know shit.
All those hours in the classroom taught me some important principles and ways of thinking, but I wasn't prepared "to do the work" at all.
During my first few years as an employee, I felt like I didn't belong there. I didn't have much to bring to the table (I was a software engineer back then).
After a few years, I joined an early-stage startup, sort of by coincidence. The company was working in a domain I knew nothing about. The founders gave me a chance: they noticed my curiosity and desire to do well, and I guess they saw potential in me.
I listened to every conversation they had. I attended meetings, calls with clients, trainings. And most importantly, I participated. I joined the conversations, I tried things.
I learned through experiences because, in a way, I had no choice... and it worked. I was thriving in this environment. And I had a blast in the process.
From there, I started my own education on the side. I read business or personal development books, watched more educational content on YouTube, took more courses, and even hired coaches.
The Entrepreneur Reality Check
When I first started dabbling with entrepreneurship around 2018, I thought I would crush it. I had acquired valuable experience in my job, I was learning... I had what it takes.
❌ Wrong.
My first attempts all failed miserably and went nowhere. I made no money (if you want the details of what I tried, check out my Entrepreneur Chronicles series).
My attempts failed, however, they are not failures. I learned so much from all those experiences. Skills. Mistakes not to reproduce. Things that worked.
They ended in failure, but the process was full of successes.
It took me a few tries, but once I realized that and shifted my mindset, I wasn't scared of trying and failing anymore. And I think this is part of my success today.
Fear of failure can be paralyzing. It stops so many people from going after what they want.
The Jump-First Approach
I kept trying things, even when I had no knowledge on the topics (such as starting PracticeWithMe.Online or getting involved with Warrior Flow TV). I found this "let's start and figure it out" approach interesting because you acquire knowledge and experience on the go.
We made progress this way. However, it also meant that things moved slowly, and the rate of failed experiments was quite high. For example, with Warrior Flow TV, the launch was successful, but despite many attempts and marketing strategies to grow the platform, we just couldn't get enough new customers through the door.
I learned a lot from this phase... but again, those projects ended up stagnating and eventually dying off.
The Sweet Spot: Knowledge + Experience
Things finally clicked when combining both approaches.
I started educating myself, then applying those concepts immediately.
The perfect example happened when I read The 4-Hour Work Week in 2020. As I was reading, I immediately applied one of the recommended exercises called "fear setting", mapping out worst-case scenarios and realizing they weren't as scary as I thought. That simple exercise gave me the courage to eventually quit my job and embrace an entirely new lifestyle.
Acquiring knowledge from books, videos, courses, or coaches, then jumping into action mode, iterating, doing, and learning from experience has been the recipe that finally brought success.
This materialized through my online yoga school (which generated over $220K in revenue across 3 years while I traveled to around 15 countries) and my current coaching and consulting business.
Reading books can only take you so far. Yes, you can show off at the dinner table, spitting out all the jargon you want... but until you actually get started, you will never know what actually works.
There is always a gap between theory and reality.
Diving head first into things can get you somewhere. But you usually end up taking a lot of wrong turns along the way.
Instead of choosing one method OR the other... embrace both.
Try, iterate, but also take advantage of the knowledge available from people who already walked this path. This will save you time, energy, and money.
Stop Picking Sides
I've noticed there are generally three types of people when it comes to learning and taking action:
👨🏫 The Scholar: Consumes endless content, takes detailed notes, but rarely moves into action. Always preparing to be ready.
🧙♂️ The Adventurer: Jumps in without much preparation, learns everything the hard way through trial and error.
👷♂️ The Builder: Combines learning with immediate application, using knowledge as fuel for action rather than a substitute for it.
Most of us have been both Scholar and Adventurer at different points. The goal is becoming a Builder.
We don't do AND enough. Our society always wants us to pick a side: red OR blue, black OR white, left OR right, science OR religion, etc.
The answer is very often somewhere in the middle, in the grey (or purple) zone.
You won't build anything by staying stuck in the library all day reading books. Just like watching porn all day won't make you a good lover.
At some point, you need to get out there and start. Get going. Fail. Try again. The outcome might not always be what you expected, but the growth you will experience by going through the process will change you.
Which type are you right now? I'd love to hear from you.
And if you're struggling to move from Scholar or Adventurer to Builder, that's exactly the transformation I help people make. This balance between learning and doing is what I now help my clients achieve. Because I've been on both sides: the over-researcher and the reckless doer.
What I find fascinating about my work now is that I essentially get paid to learn. Whenever a problem arises with a client, it becomes an opportunity for me to research, learn, then formulate a solution for their specific situation. I never feel stagnant.
My clients consistently report increased focus, energy, and momentum, plus the clarity and confidence to have more meaningful conversations with potential clients and actually move their goals forward. If this resonates with you, let's talk.