Most people waste years trying to learn new skills.
They chase every tactic
Binge endless content, and
End up with half-finished attempts.
I know because I’ve done it too.
For background: I have built 2 billion dollar companies, bought over 3,500+ units of real estate, and invested in over 100+ companies… and if I had know these three shortcuts back then, all of this would’ve happened much faster and been significantly easier.
Don’t get me wrong, I worked my face off.
But I have learned that working harder never solved my “speed of learning” problem.
So I went on a mission to figure out how to collapse the learning curve and find the shortcuts in a world where there are no shortcuts.
Here is the 3-shortcut system to master any skill:
Shortcut #1: The Magic DM Script
I am embarrassed to admit this publicly:
The first time I tried to reach out to someone I admired, I froze.
What do I say?
What would they think of me?
How do I not sound like I’m begging?
For weeks I wrote drafts that sat in my inbox.
None of them felt right.
Then I tested a simple DM:
“Hi [Name], I love your work. I’m working on a project and hoping you can help me. Are you open to paid consulting?”
I sent it to an author I deeply respected.
Within hours, I got a reply: “Sure, happy to help. Here’s my fee.”
I remember staring at that message thinking: “WTF. All these years of overthinking and all I had to do was be direct and respectful!?!”
It works.
So, please use the script.
In fact, here is the best part:
About 80% of the time, people just offer to help immediately. I believe this is because your DM was a seen as a symbol of seriousness and not as a free-loading mechanism.
20% of the time, they will just quote you a fee. For context, I do this every week and I am happy to report that I have yet to receive a quote that was above what I had expected… which should also teach you something.
Remember, you probably just need a little script to get out of your own way.
Shortcut #2: The 80/20 AI Prompt Method
Fun story: Many years ago, I wanted to learn the guitar so that I could propose to my wife.
I did what most beginners do… I googled “beginner chords.”
Of course, a thousand tutorials came back, each telling me something different.
I felt overwhelmed before I even started.
Since this was all pre-Ai, I called my musician friend who gave me some good advice which helped me learn the guitar and successfully propose to my wife.
Recently, I asked Ai the same question that I asked my musician friend:
“I’m learning guitar. My goal is to play three songs in the next 90 days. What are the top three high-impact areas I should focus on? Avoid generic advice and explain why these matter.”The answer shocked me.
It told me to forget scales, forget theory, and just master four chords: G, C, D, and E.
And let me tell you something absolutely insane… this was exactly what my musician friend told me.
Here is what I did 18+ years ago when I got his advice:
I sat on my couch with my guitar.
I could barely press down on the strings without buzzing.
Switching from G to C felt impossible.
My rhythm collapsed every time.
Not only was I tone deaf, I couldn’t even strum.
I began to second guess my friend’s advice. And before I quit, I decided to deploy unreasonable effort for one night.
I decided I wouldn’t go to bed until I could switch between them without fumbling.
Hours later, my fingers were sore, tender and starting to blister, but something clicked for me.
I slid from G to C cleanly for the first time. Then D. Then E.
Freaking amazing.
I went to bed with fingers that hurt and a grin I definitely couldn’t hide.
The next day, those four chords turned into music.
That’s the 20% in action.
Meaning, ask Ai to only layout a plan for you based on the 20% that matters.
Shortcut #3: The Learning Dogma
Years ago, I learned a hard truth about myself: if I didn’t write down what I had learned, I never remembered it for very long.
It sucked.
I felt dumb. Really really dumb.
I’d read a book, highlight half of it, and forget everything a week later.
Clearly, I had to “fix” this mystical ailment.
So I built my own rule that I called the Learning Dogma:
When you listen to something, you get to learn it once
When you teach something, you get to learn it twice
When you document something, you get to learn it forever
And when I say “document”, I don’t mean “write and memorize”… I specifically mean building a framework for it.
Let me give you an example:
A few years ago, I sat down and mapped out my entire approach to lead generation. After putting all my 127 ideas on the whiteboard, I decided to map them into categories.
I came up with 4 buckets:
Organic: You make content
Paid: You run ads
Partnerships: You recruit others to promote you
Activities: You do things like cold call, door knock etc.
Now, anytime someone asks me about lead generation, I just iterate through the 4 buckets mentally in the conversation. Because, I clearly would not have been able to remember even a fraction of the 127 ideas.
I have learned that when you have a framework, it is like a well-defined container of thoughts… and I can shove a lot of data and complexity into that container.
So, make a framework to supercharge your recall.
I’ll leave you with this:
Stop memorizing. Start shortcutting.