1) Blogging: One of the benefits I’ve found with blogging is that I am learning more about what I am blogging about. It wasn’t intentional but by working on a post, I find myself asking more questions, doing more research that relates to a specific goal. It “forces” me to be more complete in my thinking and application.

2) Home Reno’s: Watching the well edited home reno’s will not make you an expert craftsman. Trust me on this one. Nothing is ever as easy as it appears on TV. All the little things that happen, that you didn’t forsee adds to a more complete and appreciative understanding.

3) University: I had an ability to “memorize” stream of information, which I could regurgetate on an exam. But what’s really stuck with me, is when I actually personalized the information to achieve an objective. Sometimes it was a tangible product like a computer program that we had to write that optimized sort routines (yeah that does sound pretty geeky), or whether it were psychology models that gave me a way to interpret what I observed. To this day, I still use several of the motivation & leadership models I learned many many years ago…

Doing provides a more meaningful and personal connection. This personal connection stays with us well after the product disappears. To quote Neil Peart, “The point of journey is not to arrive.” However, in a desire to be more “efficient” we often try to jump to the destination. The lack of context leads to simplistic understanding and ultimately shallow results.