The 27 Principles to Teaching Yourself Anything (aka

The Self-Guided Education Manifesto P!"

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tt!"##$i%eyour$egend&net#se$f'guided'education'manifesto'teac'yourse$f'anyting#
() a%e ne%er $et my scoo$ing interfere *it my education&+ ,-ar. /*ain
%ote& /is !ost is intentiona$$y $ong& )t0s meant to be our com!ass for $earning te s.i$$s tat matter in te *or$d
and tro*ing teory out te *indo*& Read it& Sa%e it& Boo.mar. it& Come bac. to it& 1rint it and !ost it on your
*a$$ for you and te *or$d to see and e2!erience&
3t te end of tis !ost )0%e e%en !ro%ided t*o free 1D4 do*n$oads to furter guide you to*ards $earning *at
matters 5one is a $ist of o%er 60 of te best on$ine resources for creating your o*n !assion'fi$$ed curricu$um7&
Cec. tem out be$o*& )f you0re in emai$, be sure to c$ic. ere to read tis on$ine to get te free content&
88888
Enter the 'nofficial Self-Guided Education Manifesto(
9ast *ee.0s artic$e on /e Birt of Se$f':uided ;ducation caugt $i.e *i$dfire& /is to!ic as a$*ays been a
!assion of mine but ) ad no idea o* muc it *ou$d resonate *it te rest of te 9i%e <our 9egend community&
=%er 4,>00 of you read it, sared it or commented on it in a matter of a fe* days&
?en tat a!!ens, ) .no* a to!ic deser%es some res!ect&
-any of $ast *ee.0s comments b$e* my mind& 3s it turns out 5and tis sou$d not sur!rise me muc7, many of
you a%e a$ready made ama@ing !rogress constructing your o*n e2!eriences and success stories *it Se$f':uided
;ducation& ) *as ins!ired to say te $east& -y rea$i@ation *as sim!$e"
)i*ing )egends create their o#n education+
/e trut of te matter is e%ery 9i%ing 9egend 5*eter tey dro!!ed out of ig scoo$ or got a cou!$e 1D0s7
too. teir education and teir $earning into teir o*n ands& ) don0t care *at !rofession you0re in or as!ire to,
it0s on a$$ of us to start $earning te s.i$$s, too$s and !ractica$ .no*$edge tat matters&
4or years )0%e been *anting to create a se!arate business on tis to!ic but gi%en te a*esome momentum *e0%e
drummed u! ere, ) say *e run *it itA
)f *e are going to rea$$y ta.e tis !ersona$i@ed education ting serious$y, *e must a%e a guide to e$! us on our
*ay& Bust as e%ery great com!any as o!erating !rinci!$es and e%ery great !erson as %a$ues tey be$ie%e in, *e
need our o*n $igtouse&
So ) s!ent te $ast fe* days com!i$ing te most fundamenta$ $essons and !rinci!$es ) cou$d find on Se$f':uided
;ducation& /ey are by no means inc$usi%e and ) .no* *e *i$$ add to tem o%er time, but tey are indeed a start&
4or no*, tese are te sum of bot my e2!eriences and tat of te 9i%ing 9egends )0%e s!ent time *it o%er te
years& -any of your comments from $ast *ee. and beyond e$!ed ma.e tis manifesto *at it is& /an. you&
So *itout furter adoA
The 27 Principles to Teach Yourself Anything (aka The Self-Guided
Education Manifesto$
,+ Theory is optional+ Practical application is -andatory+ Constant$y as. yourse$f *eter or not tis ne*
.no*$edge *i$$ ma.e you more usefu$ C bot for e$!ing oters and for !ursing your o*n dreams& 1ractica$
a!!$ication ru$es te *or$d& /at0s *at0s going to get you a job& )t0s *at *i$$ get you a !romotion& )t0s *at *i$$
get your idea off te ground& ?at *i$$ get you funded& )t0s *at *i$$ ma.e you money& )t0s *at *i$$ actua$$y
e$! !eo!$e& 4ee$ free to $earn te teory too if tat0s your ting 5at times it can be fun7, but ne%er at te e2!ense
of $earning *at0s actua$$y usab$e&
2+ Sho#ing up is .ust the /eginning+ )t0s no $onger enoug to so* u! to c$ass, do te ome*or. and ta.e te
te tests& /at0s tab$e sta.es& /is is as true for forma$ education as it is for $ife& <ou must be *i$$ing to ta.e *at
you $earn and test, e2!eriment and a!!$y it to tings tat matter to you so you can see *at actua$$y *or.s, *at0s
*ort*i$e and *at0s a *aste& Do one e$se can do tat for you&
0+ Put yourself in situations #here learning is re1uired to sur*i*e and thri*e+ )f your job, obby or !assion
doesn0t reEuire you to constant$y $earn ten someting0s *rong& -a.e it a must and you can0t e$! but gro*&
Sitting around !ounding a .eyboard and ta.ing orders doesn0t reEuire many ne* ideas& Canging te *or$d does&
/a.e te rigt ris.s and create te !ro!er en%ironment& 8/an.s to 3nne Samoi$o% for ins!iring tis one&
2+ )earn #ho you are+ Fno* your strengts, !assions, *ea.nesses, ta$ents, gifts, %a$ues, e2!eriences, successes,
fai$ures& Dig inside yourse$f and test it a$$& )0%e s!ent te $ast ten years going to scoo$ on myse$f and )0m on$y just
beginning& /is is a constant& )t0s e2act$y *y ) created te 9i%e =ff <our 1assion eCourse& Becoming a se$f'
e2!ert sou$d be a reEuired minor 5if not major7 for e%ery uni%ersity student&
3+ )earn #hat you lo*e+ /is is te ne2t ste! in .no*ing yourse$f& Constant$y !ay attention to te tings tat
e2cite you& Dotice *ic !eo!$e *o ins!ire and moti%ate you to be a better !erson& Catc yourse$f dreaming
about te business you *is you *ou$d a%e started& 4ind te tas.s and jobs tat you get abso$ute$y $ost in& ?atc
c$ose$y&
4+ )earn #hat you hate+ /e () ate to do+ $ist can be just as !o*erfu$ as te () $o%e to do+ $ist& Dotice te tings
tat ma.e your air stand u! on end& Fno* *ic acti%ities and !ersona$ities ma.e you *ant to %omit& 3%oid
tese $i.e te !$ague& Society does not benefit from you s!ending more time doing tings you ate or getting
better at tings you suc. at& /at is not *at im!ro%ement is about& )t0s about ta.ing te best of you and ma.ing it
better& /e *or$d *i$$ be better for it&
(G0H of my education *as outside of te c$assroom&+ '1au$ Bun, 9<9 reader
7+ !on5t take anything for granted+ :o out and test it a$$& )0m ta$.ing e%eryting& /is es!ecia$$y goes for tose
$essons, suggestions and (socia$ norms+ tat seem com!$ete$y ridicu$ous& )f someting te$$s you tere must be a
better *ay, tere $i.e$y is& :o out and find it& Bust because it *as done one *ay for 60 years, does not mean it as
to be done te same *ay tomorro*& )n fact, te $onger someting as been !racticed, te more it sou$d !robab$y
be Euestioned&
6+ 7ecord e*erything+ ?at you $o%e& ?at you ate& ?at you0re good at& ?at you suc. at& ?at ins!ires
you& ?at de!resses you& ;%ery emotion and $esson, !ositi%e and negati%e, *rite it do*n and understand o* it0s
forming your story and o* you can use it to better $earn and a!!$y going for*ard&
8+ 9e careful #ho you learn fro-+ -y !ersona$ ru$e is" once three trusted and admired people recommend
something, I do it& /e on$y !rob$em *it our ne* *or$d of se$f'guided education is tat tere is more abso$ute
cra! a%ai$ab$e to $earn tan e%er before& /ere are tsunamis of boo.s being !ub$ised, b$ogs being created and
courses being offered today& By defau$t tis means te seer number of mediocre or do*nrigt bad content
a%ai$ab$e is going troug te roof& <our time and your mind are !recious& 4ind a *ay to fi$ter *at you consume&
,:+ Analy;e e*ery in*est-ent+ /is and te abo%e go and in and& =ur time is !rice$ess and our money comes
in at a c$ose second& 4or e%ery do$$ar and e%ery our you0re in%esting, be sure you0re getting a return& /at cou$d
be in te !eo!$e you meet, te businesses you bui$d, te s.i$$s you acEuire, or anyting tat you attribute genuine
%a$ue to& <ou decide&
)f more !eo!$e scrutini@ed teir in%estment in education $i.e tey do te siny, e2!ensi%e trin.ets tey buy, ) bet
*e0d a%e a $ot fe*er fo$.s *a$.ing around $oo.ing for jobs *it teory'fi$$ed di!$omas and a mountain of debt&
)n order for someting to be an in%estment, it must a%e a return& Fee! your standards ig&
,,+ Teach others+ /ere is no better indication of true .no*$edge tan *en you can genuine$y e$! and teac
someone e$se te materia$& :i%e, gi%e, gi%e& /e ig is unrea$& <esterday morning ) inter%ie*ed Simon Sine.
5autor of Start With Why7 for 9i%e <our 9egend 5it *i$$ be $i%e in mid BanuaryI7& Je ammered ome te
fundamenta$ trut tat *e are ere to ser%e and e$! oters& Doting ma.es us fee$ better& Cec. out Simon0s
recent ta$. )f <ou Don0t Knderstand 1eo!$e, <our Don0t Knderstand Business, for an added .ic. in te ass&
<ou .no* tings tat oters *ant to .no*& )dentify tat and find a *ay to offer it& Kse a b$og, te *eb, a
community grou!, your fami$y, anyting& /rade .no*$edge& )f you can teac someting to someone e$se, cances
are tey can teac someting to you too&
,2+ 9uild things+ /is starts from day one& )f you are reading about o* to *rite, ten start *riting& )f you0re
being taugt o* to inter%ie*, tey go find some job o!enings& 1eo!$e dramatica$$y o%erestimate o* muc time
tem must s!end $earning before tey start doing& /e ans*er is e2act$y L;R=& /e moment you start $earning is
te moment you must start bui$ding and testing&
,0+ 9reak things+ Don0t e2!ect e%eryting you bui$d to *or.& )n fact, most of it *on0t& /at0s *ere te best
$earning a!!ens any*ay in te scre*'u!s and te fai$ures and in *at you do as a resu$t& /e ?rigt Broters
*ere rumored to a%e brougt fi%e sets of !arts to e%ery attem!ted test f$igt because tat0s o* many times
tey0d fai$ before su!!er& Bames Dyson *ent troug >,127 !rototy!es before e in%ented te first %acuum tat
didn0t $ose suction& /e !eo!$e *o brea. te most tings tend to e2!erience te most success&
,2+ Make -oney+ -ost !eo!$e don0t ma.e money from tings tat are fun because tey eiter tin. it sou$d
ta.e muc $onger or tey ne%er as. in te first !$ace& ?at if you !ut a !rice on your e2!eriments from day oneM )
bet tere0s someone *o *i$$ !ay you& 3nd it0s not unti$ you a%e a !aying and satisfied 5or unsatisfied7
customer, tat you rea$$y start to $earn if your ideas are *ort a dime& Does it e$! !eo!$e and *i$$ tey !ay you
for itM /at0s te u$timate decider of *eter your ideas and education a%e merit&
,3+ Efficient is not the sa-e as Effecti*e+ Bust because you can and address 1,000 en%e$o!es in an our, doesn0t
mean you sou$dn0t just use a tem!$ate and !rint tem out in fi%e minutes& 3nd just because you can !rint 1,000
en%e$o!es in fi%e minutes doesn0t mean you sou$dn0t scra! te snai$ mai$ a$togeter and ta.e to <ou/ube, b$ogs
or te *eb *ere you can get some rea$ $e%erage 5a$toug )0m a uge fan of te tougtfu$ and'*ritten note on
te rigt occasions7&
4or some reason *e0%e become obsessed *it efficiency& But tat0s te %ery ting tat migt be .i$$ing us& 9eing
Efficient is doing things right+ 9eing Effecti*e is doing the right things+/ere0s a massi%e difference&
,4+ Most education happens outside of the classroo-+ Ksefu$ !roducts don0t get bui$t inside your four *a$$s&
9earning doesn0t a!!en inside a 1>'!ound te2tboo.& /e rubber meets te road *en *e decide to ste! out of
*at0s comfortab$e and actua$$y start interacting *it te rea$ *or$d& /at0s *ere te data, te im!ro%ement and
te magic a!!ens&
()f you *ant to *rite your o*n $ife, ) suggest you start by :oog$ing a course on someting interesting to you&+
';ddy 3@ar, 9<9 reader
,7+ E<plore+ -y best education to date *as te years ) s!ent studying at te 9ondon Scoo$ of ;conomics 5in a
ands'on $earning en%ironment7 and running a sma$$ business in Se%i$$a, S!ain& /at canged my understanding
of te *or$d in a *ay tat ) ne%er cou$d a%e dreamed of& )t made a$$ te difference& ?or$d tra%e$ ougt to be a
reEuirement for e%eryone& Dro! a year of scoo$ if you a%e to to sa%e money& )t0s tat im!ortant& ;2!$ore
e%eryting& <ourse$f& =ters& )deas& /e *or$d&
,6+ =onnections are E>E7YT?@%G+ /e !eo!$e you meet inf$uence *at you $earn, *at you be$ie%e and *o
you are& Constant$y e%a$uate *at re$ationsi!s best ser%e your goa$s !rofessiona$$y and !ersona$$y& Fee! te best
and fire te rest& ;%eryting magica$ in te *or$d e2ists because of te !eo!$e *o came togeter to ma.e it
!ossib$e& /e *or$d begins and ends *it your re$ationsi!s& /is is actua$$y te ne2t course and boo. )0%e
a$ready started *or.ing on for a$$ you 5tentati%e$y tit$ed How to Connect With Anyone more on tat soon7&
,8+ !on5t assu-e anything+ <ou may $earn your most !o*erfu$ $essons in te most !ecu$iar of !$aces& ;2!ect
tis& Searc tem out& Ja%e fun *it it&
2:+ Ahat if e*eryone had it /ack#ardsB ;%ery so often, sit do*n and as. yourse$f" ?at if e%eryting )0%e
been to$d is com!$ete$y bac.*ardsM ?at if te !undits are *rongM ?at *ou$d tat $oo. $i.eM )n%ert e%eryting&
)f you tin. you need a year of e2!erience to do someting, tin. about *at *ou$d a!!en if you started
attem!ting it *it on$y a day under your be$t& )0m not saying you do tat, but at $east tin. about it& See *at
comes u!& =., ten maybe gi%e it a sot& 3fter a$$, *at0s te *orst tat cou$d a!!enA
2,+ Try e*ery -ediu-+ Read boo.s and artic$es, $isten to ta!es and seminars, *atc %ideos and !resentations
5/;D /a$.s are a great !$ace to start7, *rite do*n ideas and stories& /ere are so many *ays for us to $earn& 4ind
tose mediums tat resonate most& 4ocus your $earning tere, but ten ta.e in te oters to turn tings on teir
ead from time to time&
22+ Get in argu-ents+ 1era!s (discussions+ is a better *ord& ?it friends, *it smart !eo!$e, *it e2!erts, *it
e%eryone& 4ind !eo!$e *o *i$$ test your ideas& 1eo!$e *o *i$$ Euestion your be$iefs and e$! you see tings
from ang$es you may a%e been b$ind to on your o*n& )t0s ama@ing o* certain *e can be of tings rigt u! unti$
someone !ro%ides a more com!e$$ing ans*er& Be confident enoug to stand u! for *at you be$ie%e, but be o!en
enoug to .no* *en you0re *rong&
20+ "ind people #ho think you5re cra;y+ Don0t just surround yourse$f *it !eo!$e *o be$ie%e e2act$y *at you
be$ie%e& )f you do, you0$$ ne%er .no* if your ideas are tru$y objecti%e& :ood friends, mentors and mode$s are often
good at ser%ing te ro$e of de%i$0s ad%ocate& <ou *ant tese !eo!$e around& /ey ma.e you better&
22+ Seek out different #ays of doing things+ /e on$ine *or$d ma.es tis end$ess& /ere are a mi$$ion *ays to
ma.e a $i%ing, cange te *or$d and e$! !eo!$e& Dotice a$$ te *ays !eo!$e a%e been successfu$& 4ind te too$s
tat suit you best& De%our tem& 8See te end of tis !ost for a free 1D4 do*n$oad of o%er 60 of te best on$ine
$earning too$s )0%e found&
23+ E*erything is a lesson+ ;%ery !erson& ;%ery e2!erience& ;%ery ardsi!& 3$$ of it is your teacer&
24+ %othing is certain+ Be*are of tose *o are o%er$y sure of temse$%es& /ere0s often oter *ays& Don0t be
nai%e&
3nd fina$$yA
27+ @t ne*er ends+
There is al#ays -ore to learn+ /ere0s a$*ays more to disco%er& /e $earning ne%er ends& De%er& ) don0t care
*at your age or stage is& )f you0re not $earning, you0re dying, $itera$$y& /e coice sou$d be !retty c$ear&
De%e$o! a !assion for $earning $i.e you *ou$d for anyting e$se you $o%e& 9earn te tings tat interest you and
a!!$y tem in *ays tat ma.e you and oters a!!y and you0$$ become addicted in no time& /e on$y o!tion is to
ma.e $earning an obsession&
3nd tere you a%e it C just a fe* !rinci!$es to get us started&
*By the way this list is not complete. Nor will it ever be. I I missed anything you thin! is core to our maniesto,
please leave it in the comments below. Add anything you see it.
Ae are entering a ne# #orld of education+
=ne *ere *e decide *at enters our brain& ?e decided *at matters most& ?e get to bui$d our curricu$um& ?e
get to ta.e contro$ and be res!onsib$e for $earning te tings tat *i$$ ma.e te biggest difference in our $i%es&
?y ta.e te reins, you as.M
Because *en *e focus on $earning te tings tat actua$$y matter, *e ma.e te *or$d better&
?e$come to te Se$f':uided ;ducation mo%ement&
?e0re just getting started and one ting0s for sureA )t0s going to be a !arty&
)0m g$ad you0re *it me&
,C
%eed help /uilding your o#n educationB C ?ere are 2 free do#nloads
) created t*o free subscriber'on$y too$s to e$! you create your o*n curricu$um"
,+ A P!" list of o*er 0: of the top online sites and resources for learning a/solutely anythingD on your o#n
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) !ut togeter a document *it a$$ te best *ebsites and on$ine too$s )0%e found for $earning just about anyting
under te sun& 9et tis be te starting !oint for creating our o*n !assion'fi$$ed curricu$a&
2+ A sharply-designed and for-atted P!" *ersion of the a/o*e -anifesto+
3 s$igt$y se2ier %ersion of te abo%e manifesto, for you to !rint out and !ut u! some*ere *ere it *i$$ ins!ire
you and tose around you to ta.e contro$ of $earning te tings tat matter&
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'han!s to Corbett (arr o )*pert )nough or the inspiration on the maniesto image.