Forget Everything You Know
Letting go of what you think you know is the first step to real growth.
Have you ever felt stuck—even though you're learning all the time?
That was me a couple of years ago when I started selling insurance. I thought I knew everything. I read books, listened to podcasts, and watched videos. But in the end, none of it helped.
No clients.
No prospects.
No real experience.
I was frustrated, burned out, and exhausted. I worked hard. I overthought every move. And I kept wondering: Why isn’t anything working?
Worse, I had a mentor who tried to help—but I wouldn’t listen. I kept thinking, This isn’t my way.
How I (Thought I) Was Learning
I was obsessed with knowledge. I wanted to prove I was smart. When my mentor gave me advice, I smiled and nodded. But I wasn’t aware of it. In my head, I told myself, I already know this.
I was more focused on appearing knowledgeable than actually learning.
But eventually, the results spoke for themselves.
No clients.
No income.
No progress.
I had to be honest with myself: something wasn’t working. I kept looking for new tips, new hacks, new techniques.
Deep down, my mindset was broken.
The Turning Point
One day, I stopped trying to know more. I started trying to know less.
I told myself:
You know nothing. Start from scratch.
Instead of showing off what I knew, I shut up and listened. I asked questions. I took notes. I acted as if every conversation with my mentor was gold.
And suddenly… things clicked.
The strategies made sense.
The conversations flowed.
The results showed up.
I stopped trying to be “right,” and started learning with humility. That’s when I improved 10x faster than before.
The Beginner’s Mind
This mindset shift didn’t just help me in insurance. It helped in everything—business, writing, sales, and life.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
You learn more when you stop pretending to know everything.
Being a beginner opens the door to real growth.
Arrogance shuts your mind. Humility opens it.
The next time you're reading a book, listening to a podcast, or watching a video, don’t just nod along and say, “I already know this.”
Pause.
Listen.
Take notes.
Reflect.
Let go of the need to appear smart.
Be willing to become *smarter*.
How to Know Less So You Can Learn More: A Guide for the Humble Explorer
1. Start with Humility
Keep your mind open and your ego humble.
This is the doorway to learning more than you ever imagined possible.Say “I don’t know.”
It’s not a weakness. It's the foundation of wisdom. This simple admission creates space for real learning to begin.
2. Become a Student of Life
Don’t strive to be the expert.
Enter the world as a student. Listen deeply, ask sincere questions, and welcome perspectives that challenge your own.Learn from everyone.
A child, a stranger, even a moment in nature. All can be teachers if you're open.
3. Abandon Hierarchies
No one is above or below you.
True learning requires equality. From the janitor to the CEO, the skeptic to the mystic. Every voice holds value.
4. Chase Curiosity Relentlessly
Never limit how much you can learn.
Knowledge has no finish line. Follow your curiosity like a compass.
Ask powerful questions.
“What else is true?”
“What am I missing?”
These open up entirely new ways of seeing.
5. Tune Into the World
Be aware of your surroundings.
The conversations, the trends, the silences all contain insight.Let your awareness act like an antenna.
When you're truly paying attention, the world teaches in subtle, powerful ways.
6. Learn Something Every Day
See every moment as a lesson.
Books, conversations, and even mistakes; especially mistakes are rich with knowledge.Let frustration guide you.
Where others stop at confusion, dig in. That’s often where real learning begins.
7. Stay Fascinated
Never assume you’ve arrived.
There’s always another layer to uncover, another idea to test, another story to hear.Resist the urge to pin the world down.
Let it stay alive, dynamic, and full of wonder.
8. Choose Growth Over Status
Don’t strive to be the smartest in the room.
Instead, be the one most willing to grow. You should strive to be in rooms where you are the dumbest.Be surprised more often than you’re right.
Certainty is static; surprise leads to expansion.
9. Let Humility Be Your Superpower
Admit when you're wrong.
It opens the door for others to share, and for you to evolve.Stay in a state of becoming.
Growth is not a goal it’s a way of being.
10. Reflect and Rebuild
Question what you think you know.
Ask: “Do I believe this because it’s true, or because it’s familiar?”Be willing to start over.
Tear down what’s outdated and rebuild from first principles. The result is a deeper, more grounded understanding.
Humility Takes You Further Than Arrogance Ever Will.
The truth is, you always have a choice:
You can be the expert who stops growing, or the student who never stops evolving. Knowing less on purpose might just be your shortcut to knowing more than ever.
Because a mindset of a beginner is the mindset of mastery.
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Thank you for reading.
May your eyes be bright and full of everlasting laughter.
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