Rules to Live by — for Infinite Learners

Rules to Live by — for Infinite Learners

In working on the podcast Masters of Scale, I’ve come to a perhaps surprising conclusion. There are no true “masters of scale.” I believe we are all, at best, what I call “infinite learners” — people who not only enjoy learning, but need to be constantly learning on the job.

This describes so many of the iconic entrepreneurs I’ve met. They’re set apart not by their mastery of any given field, but the speed at which they zip up a learning curve. And Infinite Learning is practically a job requirement for scale entrepreneurs — because almost every scalable idea forces you to grapple with an emerging phenomenon. Everything around you is changing — your business, your market, your team — and you can’t turn to any one expert for help — because there are no permanent experts. Depending on your personality, you may find that exhilarating or terrifying.

If you find it exhilarating, you are almost definitely an Infinite Learner. I consider myself one, and so does my guest for the last two Masters of Scale episodes, media and internet mogul Barry Diller. One of the themes that came up during the conversation was the need to learn by both reading and doing.

To help you on your quest to learn by doing, the Masters of Scale team has put together a special treat — a visual poster of rules to live by (and break) for infinite learners. We hope that these 20 rules will inspire you, provoke you, and keep you going on your own quest to become an infinite learner. You can download the poster below and make it your wallpaper, print a glossy version to keep above your desk, or silkscreen it on a t-shirt to share it with the world. You can also help us expand it.

Once you become an infinite learner, it's the perfect time to listen to this week's Masters of Scale podcast, which focuses on how to learn to unlearn. You'll learn why Barry quit the entertainment business while at the pinnacle of success, and how his wife — famed high fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg — and her son Prince Alexander set Barry on the path to becoming the king of online dating. You'll also hear the story of how Barry promoted future Expedia and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi from junior analyst to CFO—even though at the time Dara was a bit foggy on what a CFO did.

This week, we're going to do something a little different. I'd like you to read through the “Rules for Infinite Learners” and suggest rules we might have missed! Even better, tell me about the conversations you've had with others about these rules. Tag your post #mastersofscale so we can find it. And if you’d like, tweet it at me (@ReidHoffman) and @MastersOfScale.

Matthew Prosser, CFA

Director of Finance and GTM

1y

Keep asking why

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Shankar Subramanian

AI powered Product Management and Digital Transformation

3y

Awesome.. Keeping the mind active is such a great phenomenon and keeps you in a postive direction always

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I am so grateful for this and everything else Reid and his team are creating! Please do not stop anytime soon!

You learn fast when you focus on both the part you are working on at a time and how it fits into the whole story.

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