How to Teach Yourself a Skill

Before We Start

Let me be honest here. Learning a new skill is not hard.

All it takes to learn something new is the desire to be consistent in practicing and studying it.

If you are unable to be consistent, then don’t waste your time. Close this article and go do something else.

However, if you are disciplined enough to be consistent, there’s nothing you can’t learn.

That’s all I wanted to say. Let’s get back to the article now.

How to Choose a Skill to Learn

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Discover what drives you: Before you choose a skill, it’s important to recognize what’s driving you. Are you motivated by intrinsic factors, such as a genuine interest, passion, or admiration for the skill? Or are you driven by extrinsic factors, such as the potential to make money or gain recognition?
- Intrinsic Motivation: Learning a skill out of passion or interest generally leads to a more sustainable journey. With intrinsic motivation, discipline comes naturally, making it easier to stay committed and consistent even when the learning process becomes challenging (especially in the beginner stages). If you’re genuinely excited about mastering a skill, you’re more likely to push through obstacles and enjoy the process, because the simple act of learning the skill becomes the reward itself.
- Extrinsic Motivation: If you’re driven by external rewards—like financial gain or career advancement—this can be a powerful motivator, especially in the short term. However, it’s important to recognize that extrinsic motivation may wane over time, especially if immediate rewards aren’t forthcoming. The good news is that, sometimes, what started as an extrinsically motivated endeavor can turn into something you genuinely enjoy, or it might even lead you to another skill that you’re truly passionate about. Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to pivot if this is the case.

Market Demand

This is more relevant to the extrinsically motivated, but still nice to keep in mind for those full of passion:

Research the Market: Investigate whether the skill you’re considering is in demand. Look at trends in the job market, freelancing platforms, and industry reports to identify gaps you can fill or problems you can solve. Also, don’t forget that learning a new skill will always require some of your time, so picking one that can start bringing money to your pockets ASAP is crucial.
Future-Proof Yourself: In fields where skills evolve rapidly, such as technology or digital marketing, future-proofing becomes essential. If you’re motivated by extrinsic factors, this consideration should play a significant role in your decision-making. For my intrinsically motivated folk, however, future-proofing might be less of a concern, as the joy of mastering the skill is in itself the reward and any potential obsolescence is irrelevant.

We’ll go over both of these aspects in more detail later. For now, let’s keep it simple.

Complementary Skills

Building on What You Know: If you already have a set of skills or expertise in a particular area, choosing a complementary skill can create synergies that enhance your overall value. For instance, a graphic designer learning UX/UI design or a writer learning SEO will find that their new skill enhances their existing capabilities, making them more competitive in their field.

This is something I did during my freelancing career.

I was a translator—which is a type of writer— who then learned some basic design skills coupled with HTML and CSS.

This allowed me to fill the very specific niche of e-mail translations as I could create completely new and fully localized e-mails from scratch for my clients to use.

This was a game-changer for me.

Learning Curve

Evaluate the Learning Curve: Some skills take longer to learn and require more effort than others. It’s important to be realistic about how much time and energy you can invest. If you’re looking for a quicker win, you might choose a skill with a more gradual learning curve that allows you to reach a monetizable level sooner. This is also relevant for those running on pure passion, as all of this learning can get in the way of what actually brings money to your table.

Why Monetizing Your Skill Early is Key

Practice Makes Perfect

Learning by Doing: By focusing on monetizing your new skills ASAP, you naturally set yourself up to learn by doing. Every job or project you take on becomes a learning experience that accelerates your growth. There’ll be many instances where a gig will hand you a problem you never thought about before, and by solving it I guarantee you’ll improve significantly. The more you apply your skills in real-world situations, the more you’ll refine them, becoming more proficient, confident, and adaptable.
Learn What You Need: You should always adopt a “learn what you need to get the job done” mentality. This approach forces you to prioritize the most critical aspects of the skill, ensuring that you spend time on what truly matters. Rather than getting bogged down by unnecessary details, you focus on acquiring the knowledge and techniques directly related to the task at hand. This not only accelerates your learning but also makes your skill development highly practical and job-oriented.

Building Confidence

Confidence Through Practice: Monetizing your skill early forces you to get some practice in real-world scenarios, and this WILL make you confident. This hands-on experience helps you to refine your skills, giving you the opportunity to see how well your abilities stack up against actual challenges, rather than just theoretical exercises.
Get rid of the Imposter: The term “Imposter Syndrome” has become a common phrase nowadays. However, I can’t help but see it as a euphemism for what your subconscious mind recognizes as a lack of skill. If you focus on consistently improving yourself, you’ll naturally get rid of this feeling. Understand that everyone starts somewhere, and skill-building is a journey where each step forward, no matter how small, contributes to your long-term mastery. If you feel uncertain, it might be an indicator that you need more practice or knowledge, which isn’t something bad in itself.

Financial Incentive

Sustaining Long-Term Effort: The journey of learning a new skill can be long and demanding. Early monetization helps offset some of the costs associated with this journey, particularly for those who require specific materials or tools. For instance, if you’re learning a trade like woodworking or welding, you’ll need to invest in supplies regularly. Earning money early can cover these expenses and sustain your motivation to keep improving your craft.
Scaling Potential: As you continue to hone your skills and build a portfolio, you can gradually increase your rates or take on more challenging projects. This creates a pathway for income growth that mirrors your skill growth, allowing you to scale your earnings as your expertise deepens.

Flexibility and Financial Freedom

Testing Market Demand: Early monetization offers a chance to test the market demand for your skill. This helps you avoid investing too much time or resources into a skill that may not be as lucrative as expected. If the initial demand is low, you have the flexibility to pivot, refine your approach, or even choose a different skill that may offer better opportunities.
Setting up Multiple Income Streams: Early monetization also opens the door to exploring different income streams tied to your skill. Whether through freelancing, creating digital products, or offering services, you can start building diverse revenue sources. You can guarantee your future and achieve financial freedom pretty quickly if you focus on this early on. Focus on setting up multiple income streams (as many as you can):
- One from your manual, non-cognitive exhaustive labor (e.g., a trade like woodworking, plumbing, hair-cutting, or welding);
- Another from cognitive exhaustive jobs (e.g., translation (or any form of writing), programming, stock trading);
- Also, another one from your investments, whether through dividends (my preferred one since they are truly passive) or rental properties (which may seem like passive at first, but really aren’t since you need to keep your properties in tip-top shape. The good news though is that rentals pair well with those who decided to learn trade skills such as woodworking, welding, or plumbing since you can maintain your property by yourself, without having to rely on contractors);
- Even another one from ad revenue (e.g., YouTube, Blogs, TikTok), allowing you to build your online presence and connect with a wider audience, which paves the way for the next income stream I’ll talk about;
- And lastly, income from retail (e.g., Etsy, Amazon, dropshipping). Nowadays, selling stuff online is so easy thanks to services such as Amazon’s FBA that I really think everyone should eventually have an online store selling something. The only problem is that preparing products to be shipped takes time and may or may not require some initial capital to keep stock available. This is the only reason I don’t recommend this as a main source of income. But as a supplemental one? Heck yes. There are many lessons you’ll only learn by having your own retail shop, and they’ll serve you for life.

How to Sell Your New Skill

Learning how to sell is a whole new skill in itself, and is quite possibly the most important skill to ever learn. No matter how good you are, if you can’t sell yourself, your services, or your products effectively, you’ll struggle in life. I don’t want to go over too much detail about selling as a skill in this article (for more about selling as a skill, check out my other article), but know that selling can only be improved and learned by doing it yourself, it can’t be taught by someone else, no matter how expensive their course is.

I’ll now give you some tips on how to sell the new skills you’ve been working on. Also, remember that in the absence of selling proficiency, confidence makes a fine substitute.

Start Small

Don’t become a victim of your own ambition: When starting out, start small. Begin with manageable projects to gain experience and build confidence. Platforms like Upwork or Fiverr can be good starting points, just keep in mind that you can’t actually practice your selling skills when you go over to those marketplaces, so don’t rely on them too much. I’ll go into this in more detail in another article, but for now, just know that getting some gigs under your belt will not only build your portfolio but also help you refine your execution and show you what to improve on.
Build Your Selling Skills by Doing: Remember, the only way to improve your selling skills is by actively selling. Each project you land, no matter how small, is a step towards honing this critical skill. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and learn as you go—this is how selling becomes second nature. And don’t forget, don’t rely too much on gig-based marketplaces, send lots of cold e-mails and phone calls (if you’re shy, just send cold e-mails then) as well.

Building a Portfolio

Create a Portfolio from Scratch: It’s no surprise you’ll lack professional experience in the field your new skill is related to, don’t worry. You can still build a solid portfolio by taking a proactive approach. One method is to browse job postings on platforms like Upwork related to your skill and tackle these tasks on your own as practice (I’ll teach you how to do this in another article). Even if you weren’t chosen by the client, completing these tasks gives you valuable experience and materials to showcase in your portfolio. Remember, it’s crucial to complete these projects thoroughly as if they were for an actual client, and feel free to use different company names if necessary.
Pro Bono? I say Con Bono: Look, I won’t go into detail as to why I’m not a fan of pro bono work in this article, even though I did some volunteer work in the early days of my career (Translators Without Borders, in my case). Just know that even without any experience, if you develop your new skill up to a point where you can get the job done and actually have some confidence in yourself, you’ll land some gigs early on. Also, be wary of offering discounts in exchange for testimonials. Know who you are and you’ll know your worth. Never undervalue your skills.

Put Yourself Out There

Establish Your Online Presence: Building your personal brand should happen naturally if you’re following the suggestion I gave about building a nice set of diverse income streams. However, please know that the sooner you start your own blog, YouTube channel, or similar platform, the better. This pushes you to keep learning and improving your new skills while also helping you establish your online presence and authority in your field (and you know Google just LOVES that). In regards to platforms such as LinkedIn, I believe they do have their merits, but focusing on your own website or blog is more important as it allows you to learn about SEO and can also give you some additional income through ad revenue. And hey, who knows, you might actually enjoy writing for your Blog or doing YouTube videos.

Networking

Leverage Professional Networks: If you’re extroverted, networking can be an additional tool in your arsenal. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking networking alone will compensate for a lack of mastery in selling. Networking is supplemental to, not a replacement for, the art of selling. Always prioritize improving your sales skills over expanding your network (if you ever have to choose one or the other, of course). Remember, networking can open doors, but it’s your selling ability that will get you where you want to be in life.
Referrals and Word of Mouth: It should be common sense by this point that you need to always deliver exceptional service and experience to your clients. Shoddy work leads to poor reviews which then lead to skinny wallets and empty stomachs. Meanwhile, happy satisfied clients are a powerful source of referrals, and word of mouth can often lead to more opportunities than any marketing campaign you may eventually want to invest in. Also, don’t be shy about asking satisfied clients for testimonials or referrals (or for a nice 5-star review). This is one of those things you’ll almost always get if you ask for it.

How to Learn a New Skill

Alright, so you’ve made it this far into the article. This section will walk you through a practical, step-by-step process to help you learn your desired skill sustainably and effectively.

Eyes On The Prize

Get SMART With Your Goals: Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals for your learning process. For example, instead of saying “I want to learn web development,” set a goal like “I want to build a basic personal website using HTML, CSS, and Javascript within the next 30 days.” Having clear goals will give you a clear path towards each milestone in the skill-learning process.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals: Set yourself up so you can consistently achieve your short-term goals. Don’t focus too much on the long term if you’re just learning a new skill. The reason I say that is because I don’t want you to become a victim of your own ambition. What I want is for you to collect as many quick wins as possible early on. This will keep your motivation high and help you stay on track mastering your new skill more and more every day.

Learn by Doing

Hands-On Practice: Theory is important, but real progress comes from applying what you’ve learned in practical situations. Engage in hands-on projects that allow you to practice and refine your skills in real-world contexts. For example, if you’re learning digital marketing, look for some influencers or small businesses needing someone to manage their social media. This will allow you to learn social media marketing while also putting some money on the table for you.
Learn What Based on Your Needs: Adopt a “learn what you need to get the job done” mentality. This approach ensures you focus on acquiring the knowledge and skills most relevant to your immediate tasks or goals. It prevents you from getting bogged down in unnecessary details and accelerates your learning process by prioritizing practical application.

Choose One Resource and Go Hard

One Resource to Rule Them All: Find the best book (or course/tutorial) and tool for what you need to learn your new skill. There are way too many resources available online, so it’s easy to get stuck on what I call the “Beginner Course Loop”, where you watch 10 different beginner-level tutorials and get very good at being a beginner, but never move past this level. Pick one resource to learn one skill and stick with it until you can’t improve any longer. Then you pick another resource, hopefully, one focused on advanced users, and get back to work on improving yourself.
Beware of Online Platforms: There are numerous online platforms offering courses on virtually every skill imaginable—think Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy, SkillShare, and YouTube. Although they might seem like a good idea and may even have some good courses, most of them are only after your money and won’t teach you anything else a good book can’t teach within its first chapter. Also, practice is the most important part of learning, so don’t forget to get busy after every new bit of knowledge you acquire about the skill.

Focus on Consistency Over Intensity

All Day You May: Consistency is key when learning a new skill. It’s better to practice for 30 minutes every day than to do a single 10-hour day every once in a while. Regular practice reinforces what you’ve learned and helps to build muscle memory or cognitive pathways related to the skill. This is especially true for skills that require physical coordination, like playing an instrument or a sport, but it applies just as well to cognitive skills like coding, designing, or writing.
Micro-Learning Sessions: Some skills allow you to break your learning sessions into small 15~20 minutes chunks. This will make practicing them easier to fit into a busy schedule and will help you maintain steady progress.

Seek Feedback and Reflect

Get Constructive Feedback: Actively seek feedback on your work/portfolio from more experienced individuals, whether they’re mentors, peers, or even random internet people on Reddit. Constructive criticism is crucial for identifying areas where you can improve and for validating your progress. Don’t shy away from feedback; it’s an essential part of growth.
Reflect on Your Progress: When I say reflect on your progress, I’m not talking about some high-level monk meditation stuff. What I’m trying to say is that you should actively think about the progress you’ve made so far in learning your new skill and which problems you can solve already with your current skill level. For example, if you’re learning graphic design, try to make an infographic using only the first 6 tools in Adobe Illustrator (if this is the program you chose to learn) as a training exercise, and don’t forget to put it in your portfolio after you’re done.

Stay Flexible and Adapt

Get the Job Done However You Can: I need to wrap this article up, so let’s keep things short. Focus on doing the best you can to get the job done on whatever task you’re trying to learn and know that failure is just another opportunity to learn and improve, so embrace it as part of your journey.

Conclusion

Learning a new skill requires dedication and focus. By choosing a skill that aligns with your desires and committing to a hands-on, consistent learning approach, you can master any skill you want. Remember, the beginning stages of learning any skill are always the hardest. Get past them and reap the benefits of increasing your skill set.

Take action today. Start a new project, pick a resource, go hard, and remember, every small step you take is progress. The skills you learn today are the foundations of your success tomorrow. Stay motivated, stay consistent, and most importantly, keep learning.

Bonus

I will also document every new skill I learn in a new blog post here on this website. If you’d like to see how I did learning a skill YOU are interested in, then google “Obsessive Discipline” together with the name of the skill (For example: Obsessive Discipline 3D Sculpting, or even Obsessive Discipline Welding). If I learned any of those skills, you can be sure there’ll be blog posts about them.

Obsessive Discipline

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