Recently we published testimonies of some students who completed the 1:1 course. Today I will publish a real letter of a real student between the first and the second sessions with Anna. I got his permission to use the full letter and the entire content of the message.
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2. More good news: I was able to read the article I have attached to this email and create some markers for it and I remembered them, and the topic. I surprised myself a little when I realized that I actually could remember the markers! They were FAR from perfect, and they need much work, but I was able to list them off!
3. I need more training with markers. I’m sure it will come with time. But I think this positive experience I had today while reading is more fuel in the tank to A. keep me practicing and B. move me towards my goals!
4. I am having a hard time assimilating practicing into my everyday life. it seems like a lot of work for me at this point in my development to use the skills at my work, in my life, etc. I hope that as I just consistently put in the work every day, the skills will become easier, and will automatically come into my life. This is my hope.
The first session
The first session of the 1:1 with Anna is critical for most of our students. Why?
- Diagnostics. Anna can easily understand what is holding back most of our students and provide simple corrective actions.
- Homework. After the first session, the student is asked to highlight the important words in the article read. Then we increase the complexity of the article. The submission is in writing and I personally try to help each and every student. There are multiple iterations.
- Integration. Many students do not understand how the methods they learn can be applied to their specific needs. We could not make 100 courses for all the professions we work with. However, in 1:1 we can provide immediate guidance.
- Style. What kind of markers and visualizations works for you? We try to brainstorm with our students and try different things. Quite often we settle on something very different from the default guidelines. Maybe even surprising.
- Freedom. The students who work alone need to adhere to very specific guidelines. Otherwise, there is no way to check they are not making crucial mistakes. With our guidance, it is easy and safe to express yourself in a constructive way.
- Training materials. By the end of the training, you should be able to apply the techniques with everything you read. This does not mean you should use the harder materials for the training itself. Quite possibly, they will be handy only after months of training with simpler stuff.
- Organization. Many students have a hard time organizing their thoughts and tracking progress. We provide examples, ideas, and some basic tools. Often we review the results and suggest further improvements.
- Confidence. With so many questions it is easy to lose confidence. We can compare the parameters of performance and improvement with other students and eliminate misplaced doubts.
The density of reading materials
During the initial months of training, we recommend controlling the kind of materials you read. Typically, we recommend articles of 500 to 3000 words with more information density than a fiction or motivational text, but less than wikipedia. Usually, this means reading contents of this blog, BusinessInsider, SeekingAlpha, PsychologyToday, ExtremeTech or similar.
At the same time, we ask our students not to waste their time reading the stuff they will never read. This is a contradiction, read more
