I haven’t shared content about language learning for about a week.
Let’s change that!
I highly recommend you check out this page on my website. I am proud of it. I’ve highlighted what I believe to be the most important information needed for language learners to reach their desired level of proficiency efficiently and enjoyably.
Here’s a summary of the content I cover, all for free.
Lesson 1: How to Learn a Language Faster
Lesson 2: How to Speak a Language Fluently
Lesson 3: How to Improve Listening and Reading Comprehension
Lesson 4: How Long it Takes to Learn a Language
Lesson 5: How Beginners Can Start to Learn a Language From Home
Lesson 6: How to Pick the Right Resources for You
Lesson 7: One Thing You Can to Do Solve Most Language Learning Challenges
Lesson 8: The R.A.A Framework
Lesson 9: How to Learn Grammar in Another Language
Lesson 10: How to Learn Pronunciation in Another Language
Lesson 11: How to Learn Vocabulary in Another Language
Lesson 12: Why You Need to Enjoy the Learning Process
Each video lesson is about 10-20 minutes. I’ve also created an audio-only version for those of you who prefer podcasts to videos.
Speaking of languages, let me give you an insight into what’s going on at the Calgary Language Nerds right now.
I’d like to share some uncomfortable truths. First of all, I’m procrastinating on answering emails. As you can see, I have 103 emails right now that need to be dealt with.
Having lots of emails to answer stresses me out because:
It’s daunting to think about how much work is sitting in my inbox
There are tasks in my inbox that I don’t enjoy
and most importantly:
I don’t feel that clearing out the tasks in my email moves me toward my career goals.
For the most part, clearing emails is a maintenance task.
If I don’t do it, my business would slowly fall apart. Students wouldn’t be billed on time. Instructors wouldn’t have enough direction from me and would not be paid as per the payroll schedule. New potential students wouldn’t hear back from me in a timely fashion and would hire another company for their language learning needs. The people I teach personally wouldn’t receive their homework.
Currently, I feel frustrated that I spend most of my work day (maybe 80%) on maintaining the business I’ve built. For example, some of the maintenance tasks I do every day are:
Answer emails
Prepare for my lessons
Teach classes
Have meetings with my instructors
Upload podcasts
Organize files on my computer
Actually, no I don’t do this. My computer files are a mess. I never get around to cleaning them up because I don’t feel that it will have a high impact on me moving toward my career and financial goals.
The remaining time (maybe 20%) is spent on growth tasks that, hopefully, move me closer to my career goals such as:
Learn new hard and soft skills
Meditate and think through solutions to problems I’m facing
Strategize and implement new projects
Create content
Conduct consultations with new potential students
Teach free classes to simultaneously provide a valuable service, free of charge, and attract new potential students
Meet with other individuals and organizations to create strategic partnerships
I wish I could flip the percentages: 80% of my time on growth, 20% on maintenance.
Is that realistic? Is it possible for business owners to do that? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I think the answer is likely yes. I’d like to at least try and find out for myself.
As I mentioned in my last journal entry, I don’t feel like I’m on the right track to achieving my career goals. I’m going to copy/paste them below as a reminder to myself of what they are:
I want to enjoy what I do for work
I want my work aligns with my values and morals. I need to be spreading good through my work.
I want to earn enough money to pay for all my living expenses using 33% or less of my income
Once criteria 1-3 are met, I want like to put myself on a clear pathway to reach a philanthropic goal of donating at least $400,000 a year toward causes I believe in. It’s scary to admit this publicly because of how ambitious and unrealistic it sounds to me.
Maybe the first step to getting onto the right track is to arrange my schedule to spend more time on growth and less time on maintenance.
Here’s another truth I think I should admit to myself: I have other tasks I haven’t started working on, aside from the 103 emails.
I’m listing them out below as a way for me to organize my thoughts. I need to prioritize them and create a plan of attack for each one.
Follow the exercise routine I should have started in 2017 or 2018. I am disappointed in my fitness level. I’m not flexible. I’m not strong. I’m not fast or athletic. It’s harder than I’d like it to be to stand up off the ground without using something for support. I was extremely active until 2010, stopped all physical activity until 2017 or 2018, and then reintroduced some some physical activity once more. However, I’ve not taken my fitness nearly as seriously as I should. I’m concerned about this because I’m afraid of the consequences of losing my physical health. For example:
What if I fall and break a bone?
What if I need major surgery?
What if I can’t walk anymore? Would I be in a wheelchair? How would I drive a car in a wheelchair? Can I take public transit in a wheelchair?
How would I look after my disabled sister if I’m not in good shape? She has mobility and balance problems herself. She’s also legally blind and brain damaged. It’s my responsibility to care for her and being in good shape makes it easier for me to do that.
How would I travel?
How would I run events for my business? As an event host, being able to move around the room is an asset.
How would I have a meaningful career if I’m not in good health? My work is one source of meaning in my life.
What if my body breaks down at an early age and I am in pain all the time?
How quickly would I experience cognitive decline if I don’t exercise?
How can I best be of service to others if I’m not in good physical shape?
I want to be strong, flexible, agile, and fast. I want to have great balance and excellent cardio. I want to be coordinated. At the same time, I want to learn to accept that I will lose my health at some point, whether it be gradually over time or suddenly due to an unexpected twist of fate. I want to make sure I’m prepared for that eventuality. That takes me to the next bullet point.
Build a strong personal network. While I do have a few very close friends, I would like to add some more “ride or die,” BFF-style friendships. I would like a circle of friends (probably a total of 5) who are essentially like family. We would look after each other and care deeply for each other. We would spend time together every week, or at least a couple times a month. I also would like to get married. My wife would obviously be a part of that inner-circle. A strong personal network would be meaningful beyond words and would be a shield against life’s inevitable suffering. Hopefully the love found in such strong bonds would even make the suffering worth it.
Get clear on exactly what I should eat and shouldn’t eat. As I mentioned earlier, my health is important to me. I don’t have any emotional baggage about nutrition or food, which I’m thankful for. However, I would like to spend time figuring out precisely what an ideal diet for me.
Update my wardrobe. I’m not going to talk much about this today since I’ve already explained why this is important to me in the previous two journal entries.
Become a “Social Superman.” In a nutshell, what it means to me is that I feel comfortable and can handle myself in any social situation and/or location (e.g., hanging with friends at a bar, making a great impression on a first date, acing a job interview, making important professional connections at a networking event, classing it up at a fancy dinner, etc.)
Learn the following survival skills.
Self-defence
Swimming
Wilderness survival
Basic disaster preparation. I don’t want to be paranoid and worry about every possible disaster, but I do believe it’s important to be at least somewhat prepared for a sudden catastrophic event.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I hope you had a great weekend and we’ll talk soon.
Azren