Superlearner story: Ron, the other side of success

The students that finished the speedreading training are coming back for the next tier of skills. What are they looking for and how can we help?

The other side of success

Today I had an interesting meeting with my friend. Actually, he was one of my first students. He still does not have enough hours in his day. As a lawyer, from time to time he increases his hourly charge, but this only brings more clients. Since we started 10 years ago (!) he tripled his efficiency and more than tripled his hourly charge. He said that years ago it took him hours to “read” the people in negotiations and build a winning strategy, but now he can do it in seconds. Oh, and now he is the owner of a firm and the big boss of a dozen other lawyers.

He looked tired, was troubled, and somewhat nostalgic about our sessions. He was looking for something better anywhere: from meditation to quantum physics. When I asked him directly, he smiled and said “Earlier I had regular issues. Now I have rich men’s problems. I do not even know whom to ask”.

Ron mentioned our common friend, possibly as analogy. This friend loves jeep trips. So Ron asked him if he lives “la dolce vita”. The friend answered, “Not everything that glitters is gold.”

Workable solutions

Following the ACT paradigm (see the teamwork masterclass) I asked Ron if his situation is meaningful and workable. He was very relieved by the question.  (Here I switch to present because the main factors remain)Yes, he is very far from peaceful or happy, but he helps people, loves his job, and is passionate about his cases.

The very permission not to look for happiness or success, but to focus on easily attainable values was a relief for Ron. Now he could finally diffuse his emotional involvement, both at home and at work.

Productivity trap

Ron was one of the very few people whom I personally coached. Usually, Anna does this job better than me. At that time I was researching productivity, which was also Ron’s focus, so we decided that I should do the coaching.

If you read the productivity masterclass, the tricks are pretty simple.

We do the most challenging activities when in the “flow” state. For Ron this was a court litigation strategy design.

The simple tasks are batched and automated. Ron became an expert in company asset liquidation.

The extra time is used for long-term investments. Ron developed a deep personal connection with his clients.

Apparently, this was crucial for his professional success. It was however a trap. Ron learned to read very fast, remember everything, implement creative strategies… These are the basic tricks we teach. As a result, Ron appeared totally irreplaceable for every client he had. So he got more demand than he could handle. The more productive he became, the faster the demand grew.

Mentoring

Being one of the top authorities in his field, Ron felt that he did not get feedback. The people who were sufficiently qualified to criticize his performance were hard to find and address. I suggested trying mentoring (teaching masterclass) both as a mentor of a young prodigy and as a protegee of a retired supreme court judge.

The real question here was very simple. It is clear that mentoring should help. However, it is a huge long-term investment. So where does one find time to become more productive?

This is a complex question, which usually results in timing. With COVID19 so many company assets are liquidated, that Ron’s business is booming. Also, he has three very young kids. I guess that some time in the future will be more appropriate timing/opportunity for the change.

It is OK to wait patiently for the opportunity. Be it a mentor, a protegee, or simply a new habit. Timing can be critical for the ultimate success.

Meaning

What makes life more meaningful? Quite often we need hobbies to get a perspective. Ron reduced his sleep well beyond the recommended minimum and used the night hours to learn the things he enjoyed: be it meditation or quantum physics.

This is a very common situation. It is not generally advised. We advise our students to get enough sleep and use at least one day during the weekend for smart hobbies. The smart hobbies can be as simple as watching good movies and TV series or as complex as horseriding and guitar playing. Preferably these activities are done with our friends and loved ones. This is the way to recuperate.

Usually, highly successful people learn to relax only after the age of 40. Ron is still slightly younger than 40, and Ron is younger than I. I expect he will implement this change when he hits some midlife crisis.

Writing

Ron opted to use writing as his venting process. Writing business documents and marketing materials is very different from writing legal documents. This sort of writing is not a therapy, yet it provides plenty of creative choices and is an opportunity to work in another field.

With Ron, we practiced speedwriting using templates. So he used the same methodology in the new areas with some success. Nobody knows where it will lead, but I think now Ron looks happier.

Productivity is a complex process

We start our teaching with memory and speedreading, but this is not where we end. Productivity, investment, and speedwriting follow soon after.  The psychological tools of diffusion and anchoring, teaching and teamwork, are go-to proposition for emotional needs. And then there is an entire world of smart hobbies and having fun. Without a healthy lifestyle, productivity is very expensive.

I will finish with a strange metaphor. Walruses are very successful animals, and a male walrus, master of the beach is a king of his domain. He is very prolific and has offsprings from multiple females. Every walrus wants to become a king, and the kings fight for their beaches. Constant fights scar the huge kings. Most of them live 20 years before they conquer a beach, and as kings, they survive just one year. There were documented stories of kings ruling the beach for three or four years. These kings were both larger and less aggressive than their peers, so they conserved energy. They chose less obvious properties and relied on display rather than brute force… Not so bad for a king…