Learnings From The Secrets Of A Buccaneer

Learnings from THE SECRETS OF A BUCCANEER-SCHOLAR

1. Unstoppable Curiosity.

2. A Buccaneer takes responsibility for his own thinking and learning, constructs himself.

3. Self education versus Institutional education.

4. Most people I talk to are waiting for a teacher or wishing they had the time or money to get this or that credential, when they could be taking their fate into their own hands.

5. Learning is about ongoing personal transformation, not just fact accumulation. You see yourself as thinker-learner-teacher.

6. Are you smart enough to start? Starting is what matters. You will be smarted by the finish.

7. SACKED SCOWS Scouting Obsessively - discover the sources and tool you need Authentic Problems - engage the mind Cognitive Savvy - work with the rhythms of the mind Knowledge attracts Knowledge - the more I know the easier I learn Experimentation - makes learning vivid and direct Disposable Time - lets me try new things Stories - are how I make sense of things  Contrasting Ideas - lead to better ideas  Skepticism  Critical thinking  Lateral thinking Systems thinking Other Minds - exercise my thinking and applaud my exploits Words and Pictures - make a home for my thoughts Systems Thinking - helps me tame complexity

8. Curiosity is the urge to learn something even though it doesn't seem to be necessary to know it at the time.

9. Experimentation in the broadest sense requires two things: Inquiry and Observation.

10. This is Bach's story about the buccaneers. I can accept it for the moment, but that doesn't mean I believe it.

11. Build reputation by doing good work - publish articles, write a blog, give interviews, put videos, speak at conferences etc.

12. The world is connections, reflections, fractals and self-similarity.

13. Compete on uniqueness.

14. Most of my learning is a side effect.

15. To learn from whatever happens, no matter how horrible that experience maybe, is a kind of revenge on bad fortune that is always available to us.

16. Learn on Purpose and Learn on Accident.

17. If you want to do something, then just start doing it.

18. At a distance, many fun things to learn look scary.

19. Confusion is not a black mark. It is a bookmark. It tells me where I still have work to do.

20. Cyclic Learning

First Pass Review what I know Pause and do something else Next Pass Pause again 21. If I try to understand, but fail, that's progress.

22. Obsess and Forget heuristic - obsess, forget, repeat.

23. Plunge in and Quit heuristic - Start with zero expectations, Tackle the hardest part, if it doesn’t feel right, stop. Remember you made no expectations.

24. Procrastinate and Push heuristic.

25. Society is organized to reward people who behave conventionally. Life is less convenient for those who chart their own course.

26. Few people out there want exactly what I'm offering, but a few is all I need.

27. Intelligence is just a tool. Love is the point.

28. I craved respect, in other words love. Not excitement, freedom or money.

29. How to handle people who were smarter than me - respect them for what they are; help them get what they need. By doing that, I became a part of their story.

30. Buccaneering is independence from authority, not independence from humanity.

31. Expectations are what I know I can do. Aspirations are what I hope I can do.

32. A good teacher or a good manager helps manage expectations of their students and workers to keep them motivated. We Buccaneers must learn to do this for ourselves.

33. Accepting Criticism I try to be the first to cast stones at myself I know that criticism of me isn't necessarily my problem I cultivate critics I trust Taking criticism well makes me feel tough. 34. Celebrate Failures Failure is funny - douse it with humor which is an emotional fire extinguisher It's vivid data - learn from whatever happens Failure sweetens success Failure is a teaching story I can tell 35. Buccaneers work and thrive in the economy of ideas.

36. To build my brand name, I must stand for something, even if many people won't get it or don't like it.

37. Advice to new buccaneers - Post examples of your work online. Participate in online forums and networking sites. Write a blog. For everything you post, remember that your enemies as well as your friends will read it. Just keep improving and expanding your portfolio. If it’s good work, your reputation will quickly grow. If it's bad work or good work that is too far ahead of its time, you will be ignored. Both of those problems are fixable.

38. Take Pride in what you are.

39. Some are overqualified - that means they didn't want to pay him what he was worth.

40. Even a little work will burn me out, unless I feel that my work makes life better for somebody, somewhere.

41. Fire in the soul to Learn. Learn everything. Learn it now.

42. Most people, most of the time, don't try very hard.

43. A Buccaneer studies in the hope of unlocking Great Secrets! Wonder! Mastery! A buccaneer lives for the excitement of deciphering the mysteries of human experience.

44. Success is not about what you know, it’s about what you discover and what you create.

45. Competitive Advantages of Buccaneering Self education habit Eagerness to question traditional ideas Diversity of the studies Ambition 46. Lack of self confidence is the first barrier to get over.

47. Expert Game for Knowledge Workers IF.................. If you are able to get important things done If you are seen learning things on your own If you are seen trying to do things even if you aren't sure how If you share freely the things that you know If you don't hide your ignorance, but also don't rest on it If you honor what other people know If you usually know how to find out what you don't yet know If you know how to ask for help If you offer to help people on their own terms

THEN..................

then no one cares whether you succeed by learning or by already knowing. then no one minds if you mess up occasionally, because you learn from it. then no one minds much if you don't know any given thing at any given time. then you are treated as if you are smart and useful, even though you have much to learn.

48. IDEA What are examples of this idea? How might this idea help me? Are there other ideas like this one? Where do I go to study this idea in detail? How can I practice this idea, right now?

49. TO TEST: To test, we must move with confidence through a complex and confusing world To test is to cast light into the darkness, dispel illusions, and drive away ignorance To test is to evaluate the risk To test is to help our clients make better decisions through having a better understanding of the world 50. A tester is someone who knows that things could be different - different than they seem, different tomorrow than they are today, different over there than they are here.

51. Anything I learn is a gateway to everything else I will ever know.

52. Questions are lovely things. They are dynamic. They are rich in implications. Questions lead to more questions. They bring thoughts to life. I love the flexibility of a syllabus formed from questions and it worked well for studying history.

53. Buccaneering is audacious. Even the friendliest buccaneers frighten the authorities.

54. Jerry Weinberg said - If I study hard for thirty years, maybe I can be like him.

55. Integrity means living consistently with how you present yourself to others.

56. To be a part of a buccaneering community is to be challenged, debated, and irritated by your most loyal friends.

57. Each tester needs to show personal initiative, independent judgment and critical thinking.

58. Success for a Buccaneer means being joyfully engaged in the lifelong project of making a better self.

59. A critical part of learning new skill: learning distinctions.... distinctions invisible to untrained eye.