- [Child] My Internet's broken, my Internet is broken!
- Your Internet's broken?
- [Child] Yeah.
- What did you do?
- I just was trying to fix everything, but I can't.
- You're trying to fix everything but you can't, oh no!
But you need to be on the right wireless network.
- [Child] Beep beep beep beep, use automation!
- In today's rapidly changing world,
you need to know how to learn new technologies quickly.
I'm gonna give you five tips
to help you rapidly learn new technologies.
I've done this over many, many years.
Hopefully my experience will help you
also learn new technologies very, very quickly.
But first I wanna thank Cisco for sponsoring this video
as part of the IT Professionals Day.
15th of September, 2020, is the day that we celebrate
IT professionals like you.
Without your hard work,
the world as we know it today, wouldn't exist.
Tip number one, and this is really important.
You must have a reason to learn.
Don't just learn it for the sake of learning it.
You've got to have a good reason to learn a technology.
If you want to learn Python,
the end result could be that you want to learn Python
so that you can automate networks.
That's a good reason to learn Python.
Or you might want to learn Python
so that you can be a better ethical hacker.
So we are learning Python,
not just for the sake of learning Python.
We are learning Python with the goal
of being a better network engineer.
Or we're adding Python to the list of tools that we can use
as an ethical hacker.
Have a good reason to learn a technology.
Don't just learn it for the sake of learning it.
Tip number two is be practical.
Participate in the learning.
Don't just passively receive information.
Now that means that you have to actively do something.
So in other words, don't just read a book, do a lab.
Do something and participate in the learning.
You'll learn a lot more.
Use multiple modalities.
So use your ears, use your eyes, use your fingers.
Get involved, type on the keyboard.
Learn how to code by coding.
Learn how to program network devices
by configuring them through the CLI.
Don't just listen to a podcast.
Don't just watch a video.
Don't just read.
Do all of those things, but make sure that you're practical.
Make sure that you actually practice
and do what you're learning.
You will learn so much more by doing
than by simply watching someone else to do it.
So be practical and do it.
Now, tip number three is teach someone what you're learning.
One of the best ways to learn is to actually teach someone.
So a big tip that I'll give you
if you want to learn a new technology rapidly
is to learn it with the view that you're going to explain it
to someone else, that you have to teach someone else
this new technology tomorrow or next week.
Put pressure on yourself
that you're gonna have to explain this to your boss
or to your colleagues.
That will force you to take the information
and crystallize it and make sure
that you actually understand the core principles
of the technology that you're learning.
So learn to teach.
Tip number four, make sure that you learn
with a deadline in mind.
So as an example, go and set your exam a month from today
or three months from today or six months from today,
but have a deadline.
Don't just learn with some vague deadline in the distance.
Make sure that you put a deadline on yourself.
So as an example, if you wanna take your CCNA exam
or your CCNP exam, set a deadline.
In a month's time or three months' time,
I'm gonna take my exam.
That then forces you to work backwards from that date.
So three months from today, I'm gonna take my CCNA exam.
I've got so many weeks, so many days of preparation.
That means every single day,
I need to do a certain amount to reach that target.
So make sure that you set a deadline for yourself
that will force you to learn the technology
with that deadline in mind.
Don't just have vague goals, have specific goals
that you're gonna get your CCNA or your CCNP.
You're gonna pass this exam by a certain date.
That will force you to learn information rapidly.
Tip number five, and this is really important.
You've got to believe in yourself.
Ignore the haters, ignore the doubters,
ignore all the teachers that may have told you
that you're dumb or that you can't learn a technology.
Take all those doubts and throw them away.
You've got to believe that you can do it.
Believe in yourself.
And here's a tip I'll remind you of.
Everyone who knows a technology, everyone who's an expert
in a technology was once upon a time a beginner.
Once upon a time, they never knew anything about OSPF
or BGP or Spanning Tree or any other technology.
Once upon a time, they knew nothing
and they had to go through the process
of learning that technology.
You can do the same.
If I did it, if many, many others have done it,
you can do it as well.
So have faith in yourself, believe in yourself
and go and make a success of your life.
(electronic music)