It Only Takes a Month?
Building a Foundational Level of Competency
03/22/25
Writing to you from Denver, Colorado.
One month ago I came home from one of the strangest experiences in my life: Learning to sail in the Falkland Islands.
It’ll be hard to top that one.
I learned a lot within a very short amount of time, met good and interesting people, and visited a place most never go. I had a great time and pushed myself to lean into things to learn as much as I could within the 3-week trip.
One nice thing about sailing is that it allows for a lot of time to think.
And, on Valentines Day a thought crossed my mind that I entered into my journal:
February 14th, 2025
It’s been 11 days since we first set sail and 13 days since we arrived in the Falkland Islands. What a strange place this is - nearing closer to Antartica the weather is unpredictable, but typically cold and harsh.
The mass amounts of wildlife (penguins, seals, whales, and many other birds) is hard to comprehend. They are all very different from what I see in Uruguay or in the states for that matter. It’s all otherworldly and even more so being that we have sailed calm and rough seas from island to island in the West Falklands.
My skills that I have acquired here (rope skills, helming, a small bit of cooking, and other sailing skills) have certainly made me more competent.
Considering the fact that I have only ever spent 11 days of my life sailing, I believe that I have made quick progress in my ability to handle myself on board a sailing boat.
I’ve come to believe that an individual, seeking to become competent in a skill, can gain significant progress in attaining it in just one month’s time.
Of course, this is only possible if that individual puts his full, honest effort into progressing during that time. And no, I’m not talking about just gaining competency in sailing (a base level of competency) I am saying that the foundations of nearly every practical skill can be acquired in just one month.
This has become clear to me here and now after dropping myself into something completely blind, yet again.
Core Idea: The foundations of many practical skills can be gained by an ambitious individual in just one month.
In this case, I would count a foundational level of competency as being able to understand the basics of a skill, execute the fundamentals alone, or with mild (sometimes moderate) amounts of help from a higher-skilled individual.
Backing up the Point
A couple weeks back, I met a guy in Uruguay who I would now consider to be a friend. He’s actually one of the guys I mentioned in yesterday’s post…
Well-spoken, well-read, and he has drive to get things done.
Anyway, when I first met him, I obviously knew nothing about him. After a few hours of talking I got to know him more as we were hanging out in the city.
But, I was shocked when we went to a tea shop that my girlfriend and my sister suggested. This guy, who I had just met and had only been in Uruguay for two months, was speaking Spanish better than all of us.
He is serious about becoming proficient in the language as soon as possible to expand his opportunities in the country.
Each day he studies Spanish for 3-6 (sometimes 7) hours.
Languages (even Spanish) aren’t easy to learn and yet he has reached a strong level of competency in a very short amount of time.
Moving Forward With This
Knowing that you can gain a foundational level of competency in ~1 month’s time is a huge motivator. And, it’s an idea that must be discovered by the individual himself through his own experience.
Imagine how much a person could accomplish if each month they gained a basic level of competency in something new.
Who knows, I could be wrong about this. If you’re older than myself and have much more life experience, I’d like you to weigh in on this…
Is this idea correct? Why or why not?
-Maxim Benjamin Smith
One of your biggest challenges in your admirable quest, Max, is one you may not have seen yet. It's the affliction of your generation and the one before: convenience, fueled by a narcissim that, thanks to social media and Hollywood, is so ingrained in the culture it seems normal and even healthy.
Here's an example. My forebears and I grew up understanding that "I" was second. Always acknowledge the other person before yourself, was the teaching You were corrected if you didn't. Now, "me and my Dad", friend, son," (you name it) etc., is standard - and revealing.
Certainly, cramming for a month will achieve rudimentary understanding. Anyone can do it. Mastering is something else. It can't be explained; it's fully understood only in the doing. Immersed in it the secrets of the what you're pursuing give themselves to you as you go and not before. Learning for a lifetime creates the Master - please see the work of Da Vinci, Tesla, Buck Brannerman oh, and Mr Casey. Ask any animal handler of 40 years if they know it all. (If they say they do- run)
Finally, to further the point: I wonder why the Italians say the best place to learn Italian is in bed.
I've always said; if you want to learn how to do something, hang out with people that excel at whatever you're trying to learn and act like a sponge. I've learned many skills in less than a month, sometimes in a few days. You're on the right track Max!