
Curiosity Creates Chances for You
Molly Fletcher, entrepreneur, speaker, author, and host of the podcast Game Changers with Molly Fletcher, wraps up her time on the 4word blog by encouraging all of us to find a time in our schedules to prioritize learning so that we can remain curious at all times.
You can listen to more of our conversation with Molly on our podcast, Work, Love, Pray! Listen below or click here to find your preferred listening platform.
What do you think are some of the biggest reasons why someone doesn’t embrace wanting to be a lifelong learner?
Fear. It is the biggest blocker for so many things—fear of embarrassment, fear of not being enough, fear of not knowing all the answers, fear of being exposed, fear of vulnerability…I could go on and on. Fear can absolutely block us from what I believe is a path to a better life, to fulfillment, joy, happiness, and connection, something we as human beings all crave. It breaks my heart when I feel like fear is creating a gap for people and anything I can ever do to help close that, I want to do it.
Leaving your comfort zone is a prominent piece of advice many professionals are told when it comes to their careers and advancing them. Would you give that same advice to someone who wants to be a lifelong learner?
“Leaving your comfort zone” and “being a lifelong learner” go hand-in-hand. I mean, they’re the same in so many ways! If you want to be a lifelong learner, you’re going to get uncomfortable. You’re going to be vulnerable and you’re going to find yourself in moments where you have to be curious in order to grow.
How do you encourage learning in your team?
Number one, I think it’s important to understand what matters to your team. What are they wanting to know more about to level up, in their careers and personally? When we as a team gather, we have a section of our meeting dedicated to personal development. It’s something that we work on together when we’re connected in person to really identify those areas of interest or desire to grow. We might also read a book as a team, or my team might recommend that we listen to a podcast, and then we kick off our next meeting talking about what we each took away from that book or that podcast.
Should you set aside a certain time in your day to learn, or just be open to random moments of learning to surface?
I think you do both. The truth is, if we aren’t intentional about the way we spend our energy and look at our energy through the lens of time, I wrote a book called The Energy Clock, which is really a methodology around how to look at our schedule through the lens of energy. So if a priority for you is to learn and grow, then you have to be intentional with the way that you prioritize that in your schedule. I had Cal Newport on my podcast, and he wrote a book called Deep Work. One of the things he talked about on the podcast is using time blocking so that you can protect that time to learn and grow.
We all have different times of the day that are better for us to learn. I’m a huge morning person, so I set aside time in the morning to learn. I might also use a long drive to include some learning in my day. You have to pick what works best for you and then create a system by which you can be intentional about ensuring your learning time is repeatable so you can show up consistently.
What is one thought or piece of advice that you want our readers to remember most from everything we’ve talked about this month?
I would say to remember that curiosity creates chances. Curiosity creates choices. Curiosity is a pathway to fulfillment, to connection, and to a life of meaning, in my opinion. Curiosity allows you to connect deeply with other people and to understand what matters most to them, so you can show up in a way that that allows you to serve, lead, solve, and connect, which, to me, is powerful.
Hailed as the “female Jerry Maguire” by CNN, Molly Fletcher made a name for herself as one of the first female sports agents. During her almost two-decade career as President of CSE, Molly negotiated over $500 million in contracts and represented over 300 of sports’ biggest names, including Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, PGA TOUR golfer Matt Kuchar, broadcaster Erin Andrews and basketball championship coaches Tom Izzo and Doc Rivers.
As a World’s Top 50 Keynote Speaker, she delivers her inspiring message to audiences around the world. She is the author of five books, including The Energy Clock and Fearless at Work, and her latest TED Talk, “Secrets of a Champion Mindset,” has more than one million views.
Molly is the founder and host of the Game Changers with Molly Fletcher podcast, where she interviews experts and celebrities in every field including Arthur Blank, Dabo Swinney, John Mackey, Matthew McConaughey, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Simon Sinek.
Molly recently launched her first on-demand course, Up Your Game, to help people unlock their drive and up their game. Her company Game Changer Performance Group helps clients unlock peak performance through training experiences on Energy, Negotiation and High Impact.