Life Hack 8 – Lifelong Learning

To live is to learn.

Hi, I am Mark, and this is Amazing Gaming Productions.

Today’s life hack blog is on lifelong learning.

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Once you understand what you are afraid of, you can overcome many things by learning new things.

If you have questions like, how do I polish my story – how many times should I edit? How do I write a dynamic character arc? How do I make my world believable?

These all lead us to a realization; we need to learn every day!

But what is best, blogs or videos, and from what sources?

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The Difference Between Gossip and Knowledge

The first thing I need people to realize is not to get caught up in the latest Internet Controversy.

Someone always wants to turn the next game, book, comic, news story, or movie into something that fits their ideology, whether it has “great representation”, or how to make your book “progressive” or “conservative”.

If you see more and more bias in learning, it’s almost useless. It’s just propaganda – be like us. As creatives, our job is not to fit in but to be outcasts having universal empathy/sympathy.

Find blogs, videos, and tutorials that don’t push an agenda – that gives you the freedom to explore what you want without gossip.

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How do we learn – and what is best?

1. You retain about 5% of what you listen too.
2. You retain about 10% of what you read.
3. You retain about 20% of what you listen to and read.
4. You retain about 30% of what you take notes on.
5. You will also retain about 30% of the things you demonstrate.
6. You will retain about 50% of the things you discuss with others.
7. You will retain about 75% of the things you practice.
8. You will retain about 90% of the things you teach others.

So, what does this have anything about blogs vs videos?

Frankly, if you are watching a YouTube video to learn, it is the worst way possible. Yes, you heard me right. If you passively watch, you will only pick up about 5% of what was said. Unless you take some notes as you watch.

Regarding theory stuff, it is better to read blogs – you will retain more. There is another benefit, you can re-read a blog much faster than watching a video, and you do not have to listen to “paid advertisements” either.

I took a year of reading blogs on writing, world-building, and other topics before I started to create Tales from Trinity City and Webtastic Stories.

And now, I teach others, writing blogs. But to help people, I am still thinking about audio-visual ideas to help others learn writing, world-building, and time management.

If you can find informative tutorials, like the ones made by Blender Guru, cherish these videos. When someone gives you a chance to follow along and learn something new, you will retain 75% of what that person is sharing as you follow along.

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Lifelong learning will help you achieve a meaningful life.

The more you learn, the grander the world becomes.

It allows you to see new solutions to older problems and create things you could not do prior.

Take time to learn because it is vital.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to use the comment section below.

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And have a great day, guys.