Learn Like a Dolphin

Aug 19

"Learning is a skill I practice like a dolphin," says Adam El Rafey. “I dive into a topic, look around, and jump into another one. I pick a new topic each week and explore it, like a dolphin.”

Learn like a Dolphin is #10 in the 11 Tips from 11-Year-Old Change Advocate Adam El Rafey eBook. It’s a great vision for when learning gets overwhelming. Adam’s tip can help anyone faced with big career decisions, college selection, or business decisions. There’s an infinite sea of knowledge out there. You just need a simple process to explore it.

Did you know oil wells aren’t drilled straight? Fracking involving drilling down, then sideways. Young author David Perell has his own learning metaphor—idea fracking, which is like lateral drilling for ideas. You find a topic, drill down, and turn left wherever it leads.

For example, I’ve been learning to surf. I took a lesson. Then I found the incredible Barefoot Surf Tutorials course. I turned left into bodyboarding and found a wealth of knowledge in Jay Reale at eBodyboarding.com. Then I stumbled across the incredible documentary, 100 Foot Wave on HBO. All that learning and inspiration took just a month of idea fracking.

I love both learning metaphors, although Adam’s is a bit more eco-friendly :)

Idea fracking and learn like a dolphin are two of my favorite productivity lessons of the year. Like the ocean, there’s an infinite world of great ideas to explore.