Skill Building from the Internet with Having Skin in the Game

The Skill Building Process is a journey of learning towards a destination of becoming an artist who solves problems for society.

Be it if you are going to apply this skill in a job as an employee that will provide value for the business that you are working for.

or be it if you are going to apply this skill for a freelance client that will provide him value for his business.

or be it if you are going to apply this skill in building a product that will serve the community

First, It starts with "WHY"

Why you are enrolling yourself in the skill building and what is the purpose of learning that skill?

For example, if you are learning a skill for getting a job.

You should keep in mind, the competitiveness of the job market,

and

Why the business will hire you amongst all the job applicants that will be applying for the job in future?

Here comes the decision-making,

Every skill in any field depends on the "Foundations & Fundamentals" and the rest depends on "tinkering".

Naval Ravikant calls it "Specific Knowledge" It cannot be taught, but it can be learned at the job through apprenticeships.

But as you are just starting, there will be very little chance of getting an apprenticeship at a business.

So "Tinkering" is the best choice for you to create something based on the foundation and fundamental knowledge of the skill that you have learned.

I got some ideas from Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book "Skin in the Game" while learning a particular skill:-

1) Decision-making on choosing the resources for skill-building

There are infinite resources available on the internet for learning a skill, but investing some time while choosing it can be a good investment because the quality of foundations and fundamentals are really important to get into your head.

2) Uncertainty and Getting Stuck

The skill-building process is dynamic and if you are learning it first time, it can be overwhelming for you. So Uncertainty is a roadblock to skill development, and the best way to get rid of that adopting a mindset that views it as an opportunity for growth. Having an antifragile character who takes uncertainty as an opportunity.

3) Fail Fast - Learn Faster

You are an individual and if you admit failure yourself. The fail-fast thing is understanding the source of failure, where did I get wrong? Fix that thing and then again try to do it again, this mentality will help you to iterate faster with the skill development process.

4) Public Accountability

Accountability is the thing for recording your learning journey in public may it be on Twitter or through a personal blog. it will make you consistent towards learning a skill.

5) Building Confidence and Avoiding Self Doubt

No Confidence and Self Doubt come while you are tinkering with the knowledge that you have gained while learning it. The more you tinker with the skill the more you will get confidence and remove self-doubt from yourself.

In the end, you have got the skin in the game in that particular skill that you are building or creating that has a connection with the real world.