WHY YOU NEED TO FILL OUT THIS BOOKLET!

Theory is useless compared to action.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
This booklet is what will separate you from
1. At a time when you are constantly being asked to
everyone else.
retrain and reinvent yourself to adapt to new tech-
nologies and changing industries, this book shows
The science is unequivocal: Learning science you how to uncover and develop talents you didn’t
has shown that retention increases dramat- realize you had—no matter your age or background.
ically when new information is immediately
recalled (verbally or via writing), as well as 2. You need to focus intently to be able to solve
problems—yet that focus can also block you from
when it is practically applied to your life.
accessing the fresh approach you may need. This
book teaches you how to open that gateway.

NOW WHAT? 3. You are more likely to develop a passion for what
you are good at. The mistake is thinking if you ar-
Watch the video online or on your USB Flash en’t good at something, you do not have and can
never develop a passion for it. This book teaches
Drive. you to revisit those areas that you’ve misconceived
as weaknesses.
Pause the video as needed to fill out the
booklet.

Don’t worry about finishing all at once. Stop.

Start. Come back. It’s all up to you.

Apply the techniques discussed in the book-

let to your life.

Notice the results. Then double down on

what especially works for you.

NOTE

You do NOT need to read A Mind for

Numbers to learn and apply its key
points. You should read it, but you
don’t have to.
 BIG IDEA #1 SECOND SKILLING

BALANCE APPLICATION

Traditionally, career development has been informed In Mindshift, Oakley visits Singapore where the
by a T-shaped trajectory. An employee acquires one economy has experienced many peaks and troughs.
predominate expertise. This deep expertise is bal- Singapore has an unusual tripartite approach where
anced by a variety of other, lesser “horizontal” skills government, unions and business employers work
such as social or computer skills. Now, employees together to enhance the workforce. Therefore, the
are expected to have a π-shaped approach: two ar- government works with those who are forty and
eas of deep knowledge, balanced by a modicum of above to enhance their skillsets—providing coun-
insight in other areas. seling-related certifications which may not help in
an employee’s current work, but prepares them
“Second-skilling” is necessary for ca- in the case of their job’s obsolescence. Every Sin-
gaporean who’s above 25 receives five hundred
reer resiliency—giving you options Singapore dollars in a virtual credit account to
and flexibility.” offset training expenses.

Second-skilling has two dimensions. A second skill

can grow from work-related needs, or from passion.
An optimal second skill can arise from both. Consid-
er what skills will allow you to move into or across
or up for career advancement.

“You often have more talent and ability within you than
you think. Second-skilling isn’t necessarily about a job—
it’s also about respecting your multifaceted ability to be
good at different things.”
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 SKILLS = DOLLAR BILLS

EXAMPLES

Image 1. Scott Adams of Dilbert fame describes the Image 2. There are other shapes beyond the “T”
“talent stack” approach to understanding career and “π” approaches that can be used to help envi-
success. It’s easy to forget that there is much more sion careers. A “mushroom” approach means having
to a successful career than expertise in one specific broad competencies, all supported by a broad stem
area. of expertise.

4
 SKILLS = DOLLAR BILLS

QUESTION EXERCISE

What’s your current specialization? List skill subsets that could bring you a cut above
your peers or would make you invaluable if you
I currently have a degree in accounting and attend con- chose to pivot to another career path.
tinued professional education courses to stay ahead of
new regulations. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

QUESTION QUESTION

How could improving your skillset make you even What might you do broaden your learning toolkit?
more compatible?

5
 BIG IDEA #2 SELECTIVE IGNORANCE

CLARITY WILL COME SAY NO

Selective ignorance can be a vital tool to improving Oftentimes, new employees want to learn every-
productivity. By rejecting anything that stands as an thing about the company, which ends up getting
obstacle to the plan in place—clarity presents itself. them drafted into projects they had no interest in
participating in. Cultivating selective ignorance will
Dr. Oakley speaks with Terri Sejnowski who pivot- allow you to say “no” more often.
ed from theoretical physics to neuroscience. When
it came time to join Harvard for his postdoc, he
feared his strong technical background would pi-
geonhole him into the modeling and technical pro-
gramming side of his studies. Therefore, he vowed
not to touch computers for the three years of his
postdoctoral studies—doing nothing but living and
breathing neurobiology.

“You only have so much cognitive energy. Be selective

about what you choose to become an expert in—you
don’t want to be typecast as an expert in areas you do
not want to spend time on.”
6
 IGNORANCE IS BLISS

QUESTION QUESTION

To make time to adopt a skillset, list the five worst Could these time sucks be delegated or eliminated
offenders of absorbing your time unnecessarily. entirely?

I’m often drafted into troubleshooting IT issues because

I’m tech savvy. I’d prefer to leave that to the profession-
als.

I’m normally responsible for getting the kids ready and

then taking them to school. If my partner freed up one of
those jobs so that I could take an online course.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7
 BIG IDEA #3 REFRAMING

CHANGE THE MEANING DAILY PLANS

Consciously finding a way to change the meaning of Dr. Oakley collected a fascinating metaphor for
what is experienced reduces the flood of stress-re- motivation... It’s like bathing—it doesn’t last. One
lated neurotransmitters released by the fear sector can’t wash once and be clean for the rest of her
of the brain. This provides a pathway for the mind life. No matter how often or how long one spends
to uncover deeper truths, even if it’s through what in the bath—she will eventually have to bathe again.
appears to be mental sleight of hand. Likewise, no matter how strong the motivation, the
world can be a negative place.
Reframing is such a powerful approach that it lies
at the heart of cognitive behavioral therapies used Therefore, learn how to motivate yourself every day,
to treat depression, anxiety, and other psychological just like washing.
challenges.
Choose to believe that everything happens for a rea-
son. Review not just what you want to do, but why
you want to do it every day.

“Whatever you think you are, you are actually bigger than
that.You can find a way to go beyond.”

8
 REFRAME YOUR PERCEPTION

LANGUAGE EXERCISE THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

- Replace “I am not...” with “I will become” Recall a major challenge in your life that you can
reframe as an opportunity. Jot down what concrete
steps you could take that might allow you to make it
an advantage, either now or in the future.

- Replace “I’m not good at...” with “I am learning how

to...”

- Replace “I could never learn how to...” with “I’m

excited about the challenge of learning how to...”

QUESTION

Do you have a weakness you can change into a

strength?

9
 BIG IDEA #4 FOCUSED VS. DIFFUSED MODE

ATTENTION WANDERS POMODORO TECHNIQUE

Research has shown that there are two fundamen- The Pomodoro technique is a deceptively simple,
tally different operating modes: “focused” and “dif- yet extremely powerful focusing technique devel-
fuse.” Focused mode pops into gear as soon as at- oped by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. Pomodoro
tention is turned to something. Diffuse mode, on the is Italian for “tomato,” and the timers Cirillo rec-
other hand, pops up when one isn’t thinking about ommended were often shaped like tomatoes. To do
anything—like when you’re standing in the shower the Pomodoro, all one needs to do is turn off all
or looking out a window. potentially distracting beeps or buzzers from smart-
phones or computers, set a timer for 25 minutes,
Learning involves two steps. First, focusing attention and focus until the timer runs out. Then allow your
and activating the conscious part of the learning pro- brain to rest for 5 minutes—take a walk, surf the
cess.Then, taking focus off the learning curve at hand. web—anything to comfortably allow yourself to
This step allows the brain to creatively consolidate be distracted. Repeat.
what’s being absorbed.
Take breaks. Blink to trigger a change in mode. Set
aside daily time when your mind is encouraged to
relax and wander freely. Employ the Pomodoro
method.

“Problem solving in any discipline often involves an exchange be-

tween the two fundamentally different modes. One mode will
process the information it receives and then send the result back
to the other mode. This volleying of information back and forth
as the brain works its way toward a conscious solution appears
essential for understanding and solving all but trivial problems
and concepts.”
10
 FOCUS ON POSSIBILITIES

QUESTION ACTIVITY

How can you systematize deep work (focused See whether you can form a new triangle that points
mode) with mental breaks (diffused mode) to opti- down by moving only three coins. When you relax
mize your learning efficiency? your mind, releasing your attention and focusing on
nothing, the solution can easily come to you.

11
 BIG IDEA #5 CHUNKING

RINSE AND REPEAT REMEMBER!

Becoming an expert in something new, whatever the Simply doing lots of easy exercises instead of sys-
subject, means building small chunks of knowledge tematically stepping back to understand, practice,
using day-by-day practice and repetition. and repeat is like playing air guitar to learn how to
play a real guitar.
By picking a few key phrases, algorithms or conjuga-
tions to learn by heart, they will serve as a founda- Institute deliberate daily practice. Chunking requires
tion for later material. Gradually, these small chunks self-discipline and commitment to constant reitera-
can be knit together into mastery. tions.

A common example of chunking is learning how to

read and play music. Consider the guitar. Each week a
teacher puts forth a set number of chords to memo-
rize. Every day, the student devotes thirty minutes to
practice finger placements in the chord formations.
The following week, the student learns an additional
chord progression and practices switching back and
forth until it becomes second nature.

“Moments of insight, which arise from new synaptic con-

nections, can fade away—the connections withering—if
they are not repeated soon after the original connections
are formed.”
12
 CHUNK CHANGE

QUESTION QUESTION

What topic/industry should you be able to quickly What is a good tiny chunk for you to practice with
recall information about, in order to move forward over several days?
in your career and life?

As a museum tour guide, I need to know not only the

ins and outs of the collection, but also the history of the
museum itself. When was it constructed? Who were the
noteworthy donors? What were the first acquisitions?

QUESTION

What is a daily cue that could be used to practice

the routine of chunking?

13
 BIG IDEA #6 PROCRASTINATION

PAIN CENTERS DO THE HEALTHY VERSION

When a big task is in front of you, the pain centers of Practice healthy forms of procrastination such as
the brain light up. Only when actually in the midst of drafting a to-do list so you can pause and reflect
doing the task do the lights recede. Procrastination before jumping in and accomplishing something. Be
is a single, monumentally important “keystone” habit. patient with sustainable changes—drastic alterations
Procrastination tends to ratchet up stress levels. in your work habits tend to wear away. Use the Po-
Once stress goes too high, the ability to think clearly modoro technique.
will disappear.

Imagine if you started getting in shape a week be-

fore your wedding day. Kudos to you, but will a week
make a huge difference on those timeless photos?
I think not! Your muscles will be achy and swollen.
You’ll be cranky from lack of food.You’ll fall off track
by the time the cake is served. In just the same
way, you can’t overcome a substantial challenge or
out earn the competition if you just cram at the
last minute.

“People who make a habit of getting their work done in

binges are much less productive overall than those who
generally do their work in reasonable, limited stints.”

14
 WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

QUESTION BRAINSTORM

Of the discussed techniques for getting over pro- Think of a challenge that you have been
crastination, which will you adopt and why? putting off. What kind of thoughts would help you
actually do it?

EXERCISE

Write down three “microtasks” that you can do

within a few minutes to ease the burden of a larger
task that has you overwhelmed.

If you sit down to work and find yourself frittering

away your time – what will you do to get yourself
back on task?

15
 BIG IDEA #7 ILLUSION OF COMPETENCE

READ VS UNDERSTAND THE ALGEBRA CLASS

Humans often erroneously believe that they are Consider a basic algebra class. Oftentimes, a text-
learning simply by reading material that is on the book outlines a daily concept—there’d be a prob-
page in front of them. lem, a step-by-step work through and then the solu-
tion. The student reads it, maybe studies the steps
Wanting to learn the material, and spending a lot of and then says, “Yes, I can do this.” And yet, when the
time with it, doesn’t guarantee you’ll learn it. time comes to do a problem set—the solution isn’t
immediately clear. They must revisit the explanation.
Internalize. Pause. Understand. Recall. Repeat.

Work with flash cards. Engage with the material by

writing in the margins. Highlight sparingly.

“Pick a mathematical or scientific concept from your

notes or from a page in the book. Read it over, then look
away and see what you can recall—working toward un-
derstanding what you are recalling at the same time.Then
glance back, reread the concept, and try it again.”
16
 BE CAPABLE OF COMPETENCE

QUESTION QUESTION

What is an occasion in which you thought you What strategy can you use to help avoid falling for
knew everything about a subject only to realize this illusion in the future?
you knew nothing?

17
 BIG IDEA #8 TESTING & TEACHING

SIMPLIFY DO EASY

Even if what you are studying is very advanced, sim- Start with the most difficult problem, but when you
plifying so you can explain to others who do not get stuck, move on to an easier question. Test tak-
share your educational background can be surpris- ing is like being a highly efficient chef. While you’re
ingly helpful in building your understanding. Self-test- waiting for a steak to fry, you can swiftly slice the
ing prompts the same wonderful way of concentrat- tomato garnish, then turn to season the soup, and
ing the mind. then stir the sizzling onions. The hard-start-jump-to-
easy technique may make more efficient use of your
Retelling whatever you are learning about not only brain by allowing different parts of the brain to work
helps fuel and share your own enthusiasm, but simultaneously on different thoughts.
also clarifies and cements the ideas in your mind,
so you’ll remember them better in the weeks and Draft questions immediately after reading material
months to come. so that you can revisit later. Ask yourself after re-
counting, “Does this really make sense?”

“If you compare how much you learn by spending one

hour studying versus one hour taking a test on that same
material, you will retain and learn far more as a result of
the hour you spent taking a test.”
18
 TESTING LEADS TO FAILURE,
FAILURE LEADS TO UNDERSTANDING

QUESTION QUESTION

Who will be your students when learning/teaching a Why would you want to shift your attention mo-
new concept or skill? mentarily before rechecking your answers on a prac-
tice test?

19
 BIG IDEA #9 PROCESS VS PRODUCT

FLOW OF TIME

If you find yourself avoiding certain tasks because

they make you uncomfortable, there is a great way
to reframe things: Learn to focus on process, not
product. Process means the flow of time and the
habits associated with it. Product is an outcome.

Prevent procrastination by concentrating your at-

tention on building processes---habits---that coinci-
dentally allow you to do the unpleasant tasks that
need to be done.

Avoid focusing on the product. Focus on the small

chunks of time you need over days or weeks, to
solve the homework problems or prepare for tests.

“The essential idea here is that the zombie, habitual part

of your brain likes processes, because it can march mind-
lessly along. It’s far easier to enlist a friendly zombie habit
to help with a process than to help with a product.”
20
 METHOD / MADNESS

QUESTION QUESTION

Why do you think the zombie-like, habitual part of What can you do to encourage a process orienta-
your brain might prefer process to product? tion even two years from now?

EXERCISE

Make a Product / Process Map.

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 BIG IDEA #10 GO TIME

GET STARTED! INSIGHT

The clear and compelling evidence put forward here By understanding your brain’s default settings­
—
should give you the confidence to try techniques the natural way it learns and thinks—and taking
without the doubt and resistance that often sabotag- advantage of this knowledge, you, too can become
es our best efforts. The ultimate evidence will come an expert.
when you evaluate your performance and attitude
once you deploy these strategies. Lady luck favors the one who tries.

Get started! A little insight into learning how to learn best doesn’t
hurt, either.

“This kind of long term stick-to-it-iveness is what can

help get us past the inevitable naysayers or unfortunate
vicissitudes of life that can temporarily make our goals
and dreams seem too far to grasp.”
22
 NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

IMAGINE QUESTION

Imagine yourself killing it... What did it look like? How does it feel?

I saw myself being interviewed by the local news—high-

lighted not only for the novelty of my new business but
the positive change that has resonated throughout the
community since it opened.

QUESTION

What did you do to breeze past obstacles?

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MY OWN NOTES

24
MY OWN NOTES

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