The importance of continual learning

Becoming an expert does not happen overnight. It is a long-term commitment to learning and to your personal and professional development. Building your expertise as a nutritionist, a coach, a fitness trainer, a therapist, or any other practitioner role, may require an initial qualification. But as an expert or therapist, you do need to be continually learning, refreshing your skills, and honing your craft in order to really stand out, be seen as a leader, and to access exciting career opportunities. In this video, you’ll hear from renowned experts sharing their views on the importance of continual learning and education as a way of positioning themselves as an authority in their respective fields.

Well, we’re all in the school of life. And these courses and support things can help us to navigate life in a more empowering way. So the journey is never over like you said. But I spent a lot of time on my own personal growth. I mean, this week alone, I will be spending– trying to add it up– probably 20 hours this week on certifications and other things. And I try and do certifications that are very embodied in their approach. So not like a random course on the internet. The courses and certifications that I do have accompanying practises you know where you’re doing a two-hour breathwork session before you ever then deliver it.

You know every week, twice a week, for 10 weeks, then 10 months you know. And then um, you know a lot of my own practises as well that I’m doing in my own time– reading, learning, keeping my finger on the pulse. And I guess, maybe, it’s not for everyone. And maybe people have you know kids or a different situation to me, but my husband and I both like this, so it kind of works well in terms of our relationship. We’re both really curious. We both love to learn. He’s always learning something and doing breathwork as well.

So it really works for us in our spare time to sink our teeth into things that are going to make us more aware, things that are going to make us able to handle life with a liberated perspective, with ease, with grace, you know with hope, with positivity. And um, so yeah, I, I haven’t ever, I think, had a break from doing something on the side of my business since I started it, and I love it.

Ultimately, at the heart of my business, I guess, has been I have to earn people’s trust, number one. And number two, I need to do that for a prolonged period of time where I show my value and my skill set as a coach. So that at some point in the future, I will be able to ask people for money and good money for my, for my credibility and my you know my value. But I don’t want to do that before my time. And maybe that’s hindered me.

You know there’s, there are so many coaches out there, Lauren, who have you know done a PT course and come out less than a year later and released an exercise guide and make great money. There are influencers who have made millions from creating apps. But I look at that personally and say, I could, that couldn’t be me. You know, maybe it’s because I’m too soft. And I don’t feel that I can take people’s money unless I feel I’m in a place where I know enough to warrant taking people’s money as an expert. And that means that like, I’ve been doing this for six years. I’ve not once released a product. That’s not to say it’s not going to come.

And that’s not to say that that’s a smart business decision. It might not be the smartest, and it’s definitely not helped me money-wise. But it’s been something that I feel has aah helped me to it to um, create integrity and ultimately trust because I have spent six years bettering myself as a coach. I’ve spent six years being mentored, training clients, doing courses– so that I feel that right now I’m at a point where I’m starting to feel that I’m comfortable to release something. And I think that’s the same for so many brands. Like, I see so many people online who come out and pose themselves as an authority in a space that they have zero experience in.

And that’s just not something that I would ever feel comfortable doing. So yeah, I don’t have the most business-minded hat on, you know. I, I didnt, I didn’t start this this job or this career to make money. Um, but I think that my path to where I eventually want to get to is the right one for me. And that will end up being you know products and whatever, but that I’ve maybe gone the long way around, but that’s felt most comfortable for me.