LEARN Archives - Choices MatterChoices Matter

25 Sep

Choose to Learn & BE TEACHABLE….

Suzanne Grimaud Blog, CHOOSE TO......., LEARN, Relate & Connect 0 0

If you find yourself saying, “I cannot do that because I do not know how,” I would like to encourage you to turn that around and say, “I can do that and I will go learn how.” THEN… grab a book, do an online search, or ask an expert. As I said earlier this week, choose to learn a new thing. Today, I would like to add to that idea and say, “BE TEACHABLE.” We often think because we have done something or have some knowledge or experience in a thing, that we have arrived. If you have not noticed yet, especially as it pertains to technology and business practices, things are constantly changing. As I mentioned to you, I taught Microsoft applications to High School students a few years ago, and that included PowerPoint. But SINCE I wrote to you three days ago, I have begun an online coaching class for coaches, speakers, bloggers and writers. It is a coaching program called Ignite™ by Master Coach Aprille, and the first module included some things I already knew. I thought to myself, “I will have this done and can move to module 2 right away. I already know how to do this. I’ve taught it.” Well, what I did not know was that I was going to be asked to complete a task I have not done or taught. I am so excited because I am learning a new thing as I am encouraging you to learn. I am learning how to do a KeyNote presentation which is like PowerPoint but with more options. It’s available to Apple Mac users. TODAY, I have learned to add with audio (the new thing), save it as a video and upload it to YouTube so I can use it to train with. This is the equipment I used to record the voice over with. I am pleased with the presentation, but to be honest, I had a lot of trouble learning this. So, good news, once I figured it out, I did my presentation video on: HOW TO PREPARE A KEYNOTE PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO AND SAVE AS A VIDEO. With all the work and effort it took me, you have GOT to watch it. There is a “blooper” in the middle of it between me and my son. Enjoy the laugh! We did! To be teachable, you have to have the mindset that you don’t know everything and that you have the ability to learn, adjust your attitude, embrace a new thought, a new idea, and you must apply your newly learned skills. One of the best ways I have kept my mind and skill set growing is to focus on personal growth. In my business industry, leaders talk about this all the time. I used to think they were crazy saying that their success was tied to the amount and quality of personal growth they were applying to their life. We want to think there is a secret or a skill set that some people have found that give them an edge. What I have come to learn is that we all have the ability to tap into the secret for our own journey of success but it will look slightly different from one person to another. We should not try to be someone else, but instead, be all that we can be and who we were made to be and realize this “me” is not about me at all but is for “you.” We are to share and pass on knowledge and understanding so we can help and inspire others on their journeys. However, if you are not stretching yourself, developing skills and learning new things, you will have nothing to pour into those that join you on your path. I knew when I taught the students that there was a good chance they might know more than me. I sought to learn and teach things they would never have known about and I taught them how to use their new skills in the marketplace and in situations that might afford them a slight edge having known the skill. But here I am, the teacher, 5 years later, the student. I must learn. I must develop new skills. I must open my mind to greater understanding and knowledge. And I must apply what I have learned and pour into others so they may avoid mistakes I have made, learn skills quicker through what I have learned, and understand they have the ability through their “teachability” to learn a new thing because I dared to share. I have also learned that I don’t have to figure out some things on my own. If there are teachers or coaches willing to share with me, even if I must pay for it, the value of their experience and expertise may be the best way I can learn. Be wise with your time, your resources and your choices. Seek to understand and learn. And as you learn and gain knowledge and apply these things, you should see fruit of your labor. Look at this proverb. It supports this idea. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Prov 24:3-4 In every situation, we must ask ourselves what is the one thing I can do today to learn a new thing. Or perhaps you have already learned but you are not applying. Turn your situation around by changing your mindset and show you were teachable. Grab a book, hire a coach, or find an accountability partner to help you on your journey. That’s what I have done. Which one? All three. As I learn, I will share. One thing I know to be true: I will do what I can do, I will be who I was made to be and I will trust my God to do what he wills through me. I believe I am to grow in wisdom and knowledge and grace and continue to choose to learn new things. Won’t you join the movement and choose to learn? It’s your choice and no matter what you think or feel…. Your choices matter! And that brings up another thought….but I CHOOSE to save it for another post.

22 Sep

Choose to LEARN

Suzanne Grimaud Blog, CHOOSE TO......., LEARN, Relate & Connect 0 0

I don’t know exactly what has compelled me to be self-taught in many things. But… I have a sneaky suspicion it is because it was modeled for me. My dad, Brance, has always told me I could do anything I wanted to. And it was not just words, but I learned this to be true by watching his example. My mom, Barbara, was the same way. She went to Heaven when I was 14 years old and I remember always thinking, if she could dream it up… she could do it. She made clothes without patterns for my sisters and I as young children and if she tasted something she wanted to duplicate; she would figure it out and make it her own. It’s a good thing she taught me some of those recipes, because she wasn’t great at writing them down. We made up names for them like, “THAT JELL-O” because cousins would always ask for “that Jell-O you make”. I have recorded some of those recipes for my family, though. And I have recorded some of my own creations for my kids as well. I remember a story my dad tells of when he and mom were first married and someone wanted him to do a handyman’s job. He had no idea how to do it but he needed the job, so he said he could do it, and then he went to the library and got a book, and did the job. There was no web, smart phone, Google, apps, or groups back then but it did not stop my dad. I learned that if you wanted to do something, you just needed to learn it, and then you could do ANYTHING. You just needed to believe you could and then do it. I’m grateful we have technology today because I love to learn how to make things work for me with tech tools. I don’t always understand HOW they work, but I like to figure out how to make them work for me…especially when it comes to communication. I have volunteered, I have worked for others and I have worked for myself. I have taught workshops and classes, and often the things I put on the syllabus for me to TEACH…. I have not yet learned. But I knew I could learn it and then teach it as long as I knew how to communicate the knowledge well. A few years ago, we decided to homeschool our daughters through the middle school years. It was a great experience for our family. We were members of a co-op where all the moms (or dads) were teachers or assistants. I followed in my dad’s footsteps and volunteered to teach a class that would require me to learn a lot as I volunteered to teach High School students technology with the use of technology, much of which I did not already know myself. I learned so much that year and it was in that class I learned how to blog. But it is now that I’m finally implementing what I taught others to do with this blog site: MyChoicesMatter. I absolutely LOVE working with the Google Drive and Google Plus Tools available simply by opening a free account. I love how it integrates with Microsoft and how it mirrors the functions. I love that I can collect data by making a form that creates a link and when people fill in the form, I get an Excel spreadsheet already complete with their answers. I love to SORT the data and I love to do fun things with it. It is safe to say I am an Excel Junkie! And I STILL don’t know everything about it or utilize all I have learned. And when I find tools that automate my work and make my organization easier, I get excited!! It’s funny but it makes me so happy when things work the way they are supposed to. As an example, after I finish writing this post, and edit it, I’ll schedule it to run when I want it to, and the moment it goes out, another tool will make it post on 3 of my social media platforms. One of those platforms integrates to yet another one. And THAT makes me smile and giggle and get excited because I figured it out. I had to ask some questions of people who knew the answers, but I knew who to ask. The bottom line is if you want to do something you don’t know how to do, if you want to do it bad enough, you will learn how to do it. I have a document I created when I taught Excel to the Home School students a few years ago. It’s a basic command guide and you might like it. Would you like to receive it? Just click this and fill out my Google form to request it. I’ll get an Excel doc with your answers and I’ll send it to you! There is no reason not to learn it. Your kids are learning it in school and one day, your new skills may come in handy. Many things can also be learned on YouTube. I have a channel there as well, which I still find to be fun. I have even loaded up a dog climbing a ladder to my roof. Check it out! Animal planet saw it and contacted me a few years ago. That’s as far as it went but it’s still on my channel for you to see it. Hope you enjoy it. It doesn’t matter your age or your background. You can do what you want to do if you will just not make an excuse and CHOOSE to LEARN!! And better yet… share what you learn. Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” Sounds like great advice to me. Won’t you join the movement and choose to learn? It’s your choice and no matter what you think or feel…. Your choices matter! And that brings up another thought….but I CHOOSE to save it for another post.