Total Recall (A recalled blog, totally)

Wouldn’t it be great if we could tap into all the information we have stored in our brains whenever we needed to?

And also, wouldn’t it be astounding if when we access that information, that the information would be completely accurate?

Well personally, I don’t know anyone who has the ability to remember everything with complete, detailed accuracy. According to research having total recall is unlikely and even having a photographic memory is uncommon. In fact, if it were possible that the majority of people could read something once, learn it and then retain it or access it at will, then the entire system of learning as we know it would be structured differently than it is.

Just think about that for a moment.  With total recall you would be able to take a class and then ten years later go back and pass the required test for that class without ever having to study or take a refresher course. I think we can all agree it doesn’t work like that for the majority of us. In fact, many men can’t even remember their own anniversary and that happens once every year.

Time Out!

If you haven’t seen the TV show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, its premise is based around pitting an adult against a team of children competing to correctly answer questions based on lessons that were taught to us in grade school.  Most of the time, the adults seem foolish because they can’t remember the correct answers.  The reason this happens is because we, as adults, are so far removed from the fifth grade that we usually cannot immediately recall that information, whereas the 5^th grader has that information fresh in their mind, so they can correctly answer the questions quite easily.

You see, if you haven’t been reviewing or consistently applying the lessons you’ve learned in grade school then you may not be able to tap into that knowledge if and when you needed it. Hopefully the show won’t be calling you too soon.

Is That How That Goes?

Think about how this may apply to your career. Whether you’re in sales or have your own business it’s possible that you might not even be applying certain ideas, strategies or training methods accurately if at all. To define this point further, let’s look at it this way. Things become generationally degraded. Over time, it’s easy to forget what you learned even one year ago, then what happens? We can safely say that the information you continue to process or utilize is what you continuously recall. Let me give you two examples.

1: Most dedicated sports fans can tell you their team’s win-loss record whether it’s the beginning, middle or end of the season, because they follow the team all year long. If for some reason they couldn’t use the TV or Internet for a month, they would have to reacquaint themselves with the progress of their team.

2: When I train a group of sales people and we cover objections, if they learn responses to the top 5 objections, they leave the training ready to try them out. Let’s say a week or two goes by and during their sales calls they only needed to consistently use two of the five responses we went over, because the other three didn’t come up. Suddenly, in week three, one of the remaining three responses is needed, only now they have forgotten how to respond because they did not use them since learning it nor did they review the lesson. Had they continued to role-play all five responses, or at least review them, they would have been able to recall them when needed to.

Say that Again . . .

It’s critical to review whatever will catapult you onto success. Don’t listen to a motivational CD only once, listen to it once a week. Read and reread the books that speak to you. Take notes and periodically review those notes. The reason why you can sing along with a song on the radio is because you have heard it so many times that it “gets stuck in your head.” That’s learning through repetition.

Now, after seeing examples as to how important it is to review and maintain knowledge, how do you think a teacher or educator would do on the show Are you Smarter than a 5^th Grader?  Well it’s interesting to note that as of this writing only two people have won the $1,000,000 prize: Kathy Cox, superintendent of public schools for the state of Georgia; and professor George Smoot, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics. Both of whom are still in an educational environment, either constantly learning or repeatedly feeding their mind useful and/or relevant information regarding their profession. Coincidence?

Will Smith said “if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready” so starting today, get ready and stay there.

Rob Liano
Rock Star Life Coach & Sales Trainer
www.rockstarsalestraining.com
1.855.832.ROCK (7625)

 © Rob Liano and Rock Star Success Coaching, 2011. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rob Liano and Rock Star Success Coaching with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.