How We Actually Become Experts.

Patiently put in the time to become an expert in whatever you're doing. It is the most potent way to keep your job or stay in business.

All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.

Loosely speaking, compound interest is the idea that your money can build upon itself. It's the concept that you can invest money and earn a return. At first, the incremental increase in earnings is seemingly small. But over time, the returns build and build, until the amounts you are receiving are gigantic.

Investor Warren Buffet credits his wealth to this concept, "no matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time." Industrialist Aliko Dangote's net worth took two decades to reach $1 billion and just over a decade to add another $24 billion (c.2014.) When it comes to compound interest, the patient dog eats the fattest bone.

This concept operates beyond financial investing. Relationships are an example of compound interest. When doing a deal with someone you dealt with for 20 years, you cease to read the legal contracts. The mutual trust built makes it easy to do business.

Expertise is the compounding of learning. We become experts by studying, reflecting, practice, and teaching others. Elon Musk when asked how he learned to build rockets responded, “I read books.” When we study, bit by bit we build up a complete mental picture of an idea (schema.)

"Put in the time to become an expert in whatever you're doing. It will give you an advantage because most people don't do this," Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor. Follow these steps to accelerate your learning journey.

(1) Study about one thing at a time and give it 100% of your attention.

(2) Reflect on what you learn. Take breaks from study and meditate on how to apply your new knowledge. Breaking and mediation allow your brain to transfer learning to your long term memory.

(3) Do it yourself it to build psychomotor memory. Practice makes perfect.

(4) Teach others. Trying to explain compels you to simplify it and shows what you still need to learn.

(5) Repeat (1) to (4) starting from what you didn't understand.

It takes patience to repeat the learning process. Whether it is wealth, relationship, or knowledge you can’t compound return without patience.

Here are two tips that help you stick to the learning process:

1) Set a reminder. Expose yourself to stimuli that trigger your desired behaviour as often as possible. Use an app to get a reminder, for example, the notion app.

2) Reward yourself when you engage in the new learning habit. For example, noting the most interesting thing you learned each day in a journal.

If you get into a routine of doing this, it becomes a habit. Atomic Habits author James Clear puts it best, "if you have good habits, time becomes your ally. All you need is patience."

In functional organisations power flows from expertise, not position. It is the most potent form of authority. Patiently put in the time to become an expert in whatever you're doing. It's your competitive advantage because most people won't.