The Power of Staying Curious - The Powers Playbook ep. 14

What if the key to feeling more fulfilled, energized, and excited about life was simply learning something new?

In this episode of The Powers Playbook, Aaron Powers dives into the importance of staying learning-based throughout life and why curiosity, growth, and new experiences may be some of the most powerful tools we have for personal happiness and long-term success. 

From relationships and business to parenting and personal growth, this episode explores how continuing to learn can completely change the way we experience life.

Aaron shares why many adults stop challenging themselves over time, how routines can quietly replace curiosity, and why stepping outside your comfort zone can create some of the most meaningful experiences you’ll ever have.

In This Episode

• Why continuing to learn is one of the most important decisions you can make
 • How curiosity leads to confidence and new opportunities
 • Why adults often stop trying new things over time
 • The connection between learning and happiness
 • Why children naturally learn faster than adults
 • How fear of failure prevents growth
 • Why making mistakes is part of the learning process
 • How learning new things with your spouse or family can strengthen relationships
 • Why accountability helps people stay committed to growth
 • The importance of staying open-minded and adaptable

The Bigger Message

Life feels different when you continue to grow.

When we’re young, nearly everything is new — new experiences, new lessons, new challenges. As we get older, routines often replace curiosity, and life can begin to feel repetitive.

This episode challenges listeners to intentionally break that cycle.

Whether it’s:
 🎸 learning an instrument
 🏃 training for a race
 🍳 taking a cooking class
 ✈️ traveling somewhere new
 📚 developing a new skill
 or simply asking deeper questions…

growth often begins the moment we allow ourselves to become beginners again.

Learning Together Changes Relationships

One of the most powerful ideas discussed in this episode is how learning something new with another person can completely change the dynamic of a relationship.

Whether it’s with:
 • a spouse
 • a friend
 • your children
 • or a group of people

shared experiences and shared growth create stronger connections, accountability, and lasting memories.

Key Takeaway

The people who continue learning are often the people who continue growing.

You are never too old to:

•  start something new, 
•  build a new habit, 
•  learn a new skill, 
•  or become a different version of yourself. 

The challenge is simple:

Go learn something.

Thinking About Real Estate in Las Vegas?

If you're interested in learning more about:
 🏡 Las Vegas real estate
 📈 investing
 💰 wealth building
 👨‍👩‍👧 family-focused financial planning

feel free to reach out.

📧 info@powersre.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You've opened the powers playbook. You are going to family and realistic. Welcome back to another episode of the Powers Playbook. Uh the play that we're running today is going to be all about being learning based. And so just a topic I wanted to touch on because I think continuing to learn is probably one of the most important things that you can do in life, decision you can make. And I may have touched on this in other episodes, but I think it deserves its own uh deep dive into learning. Um, it's probably the thing that I enjoy the most, uh maybe second to teaching. But I what I've found is that if I don't learn it, I can't teach it. And so it really is kind of a you know, the the the thing that gets you to where you want to go in almost anything if you think about it. And learning is just it's one of those things that I feel like as we get older we do less of. And sometimes it's not necessarily by choice or or or really even thought of, uh, you know, or even present in in how you think about it, but continuing to learn is really the essence of life. It it's the the thing that takes you to different places, allows you to make different decisions, have confidence in something you maybe didn't before. So there's just so many things that it ties to, and it really is the very first thing that we start doing uh as a child, is we start learning. Like literally every single day you learn something new.

unknown 1:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

And I know we say that as adults, like, oh, oh, learn something new today. But how many days do you really learn something new? And it's it's really interesting if you if you break it down and start to think about it more. When was the last time that you were curious about learning something new, or really took the time to be purposeful to learn something? And the the times that I find myself the most like personally joyful, and I don't mean I obviously have a lot of joy in in life with my kids and and my family and my wife, but those are instances that involve others. But think about like when you're the most happy or joyful, like just as you, like yourself. And a lot of that when I when I think about it is when I am when I'm learning something or curious about new information, all of a sudden the you you feel like more is possible, like there's just more possibility, right? More opportunity, more positivity. Um, all of these, I don't know if if it's just how it works in my brain, and um hopefully it does in yours as well. But it just seems like all of that is wrapped up into like, oh my gosh, there's this like new cool thing. You know, I'm getting these these different things coming into me that all of a sudden are like, oh, I didn't think about it that way. You know, oh let me let me see how like where this could go. Right. So being learning based and actually like making the choice to continue learning new things is I really think one of the secret sauces or hacks of life is just to be as well-rounded in learning as possible and really taking the time to be curious about things. A lot of times I think we have a tendency to maybe not ask the question, right? Not not dig deeper into something because ooh, I don't know, I might like might be kind of awkward to go there, or you know, I'm not sure how it will end up if I say that or ask that. And I'm here to tell you that I think that curiosity almost gets you into learning, right? If you can be curious about the thing and not just take the service level answer, but really like, well, you know, why do you feel that way? Where did that come from? I think it really helps us being curious really helps you to understand others too. And when you when you can break that down and really start to understand where somebody else is coming from or where the thing is coming from, or the information that you're receiving, you're now in a position to be able to listen and learn, right? I'm sure you I may have said this before, but we say, hey, God, God gave us uh two ears and one mouth for a reason, right? We're supposed to listen twice as much as we talk. And I think that goes back really interesting to learning is you're taking in information, right? So we're we're always learning. But I think as we get older, we have a tendency to just be repetitive in what we do all the time. Right? Wake up at this time, make breakfast, take the kids to school, go to work, do the same duties at work every day, get off work, go pick them up, go home, do homework, make dinner, go to sleep. Hopefully you're showering in there, brushing teeth, things like that. But I think when we get to we get to a certain point in life where everything just kind of happens, other than the maybe the new people that show up here and there, what are we what are we really learning? Like what are we challenging ourselves to to do or learn in those scenarios? And the the people who always seem the most joyful to me or happy or any other way that you want to, you know, explain it always seem to be finding something new to do or new to learn, or finding different purposes. Maybe it's the the sport you continue playing, even though you know you didn't make it professionally, but you want to continue to see your friends and you play, and that you know, you learn through them and you have experiences with other people and and that helps you grow. So I just think we have to be more open and more more learning based, just in general, of what comes what comes in front of us, what can we do? How many times can we say yes even when no is easier? Right? Can we make time for the thing? Oh, I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar or play the piano or you're not too old to start. Why can't you carve out some time and learn it? Like just think about how happy with yourself you would be if you did it, right? If you stuck to it, if you if you followed through, and then you learned, and then you realize, like, oh, this is awesome. I wish I'd have done that, or you find out this isn't as great as I thought it would be, right? But you're still learning, right? And then you go move on to the next thing. And I I just think life is such a such a journey, you know, it's such a long, drawn-out thing, and we're we're in it, you know, whatever season or period you're in right now, doesn't have to be the way it always has to be, right? There, you have options. You can go and learn different things. That's probably one of the reasons I like real estate so much, is because and owning your and owning my own business and working with the people I get to work with is there's never two days that seem to be the same. You're always different, you're always learning. We're helping different people. This transaction has a different buyer, a different seller, a different agent on the other side, a different broker, a different title company. Like every there's this different collection of things that happen, and there's always something new happening that it seems like we haven't dealt with before, even though we've been doing it as long as we have. Like it's just it's just so interesting that there's always something new to learn. And then, you know, things will change or contracts will change, and you you go to a convention and see somebody who's, you know, doing business at a level you never even thought was possible. Like, wow, that just expanded your your mind and your thinking and the curiosity of how do they do that? Where does that come from? Um, and being willy, willing to then ask the questions and then can you study it? Can you learn it? Can you figure out what works and what doesn't? A lot of this uh podcast that you're watching right now, or YouTube video that you're watching right now, is me learning. Right? We put out videos which ones have done well, which ones haven't done so well? What are the metrics for this? What are the metrics for that? How long is it taking us to get a certain amount of viewership? Are we getting followers? Are people paying attention to what we're saying? Do they care? Are they opting in? Are they opting out? Do they not want to listen? Like if you really think about it, this entire thing is a learning experience. And I think that's why I like it so much. It's just so interesting to see, you know, what is possible? What is there, can I can I come from a place and say something to somebody that all of a sudden clicks with them and they get it? And then one day they come to me and say, Aaron, you you you know, you you explained it in a way that I was able to understand it, and now I'm here when I could have been there. Like, how fulfilling is that? Like to me, that's just like that is what we're all doing here, right? Like in life is to either be a part or help or give back or teach or learn, but doing it together. And I think that's the coolest thing about being curious or being willing to learn something or being willing to give it back, is then who do I get to fill up or give that back to? Hey, you're going through this right now? Hey, this is what I learned when I did it. Maybe this can help you, right? And if you're like me, you're still gonna, you're gonna listen and then go make all your own mistakes anyways, and then kind of figure it out by doing right. That's just kind of how I've figured a lot of it out, is just by making mistakes. But that's another way of learning, right? Like, can't be afraid to make mistakes. We can't be afraid to fail. We have to continue moving forward. A tiny little itty bitty step forward is still a step forward. So count the count the wins and and be willing to what's the next lesson? What's the next lesson to learn? There's there's always a different level to something if you're willing to stay in it long enough to learn it. I I I heard this example and I don't remember exactly where it was from. So um if it was you, here's your credit, and then from now on it's mine. That's what they say, right? Like once you you give credit once, and then you can use it for yourself afterwards. So um, I'm gonna use my my kids, right? Your kids, they are the best example of learning you could ever see. Just watch a child and how they go about the day. They're constantly learning. Do they, when you give them something new, whatever it is, do they wait and ask you how to use it? Or do they take the thing and destroy every button on it? Right? Like, I don't know about you guys, but my kids can use a phone, an iPad, probably computer, or any electronic device I give them. They've never once asked me how to use it. They just learn. They're curious, they're down, they'll they'll screw it up, they'll drop it, they don't care. They're not worried about what the effects are, what's gonna happen next. They're just gonna do, and then they're gonna learn, and they're gonna fail, and then they're gonna try it again. And the the interesting thing is when we get older as adults, we have all these preconceived like notions and experiences. And so you get the new thing, and you're almost like, oh, I'm like, I'll actually switch the example to like, okay, how about your parents? How how how do your kids use the electronic devices versus how do you how are your parents using them? And how many times have they called you to say, hey, what button do I push? Or my TV's stuck on this setting and I can't figure out what button to push on my remote. Yeah, damn, but damn it, my my remote's not even connected to this TV anymore. How do I get it off this channel? They're afraid to push the buttons because they don't want to make a mistake. Think about that. That's just wild in life how we talk ourselves out of learning new things and making mistakes. It's incredible to me. But to think about the vast difference of one versus the other. It's so interesting. Those that stay interested and want to learn, and your grandparents who are now texting, they're learning based. Right? Think, just think about it. Think about the different people you know. And I'm just using electronics as an example because it's a super easy way for you to understand the context from from one uh group to the other. But it's very interesting. We almost get afraid of adding in, learning new things and change along the way. And I'm here to to ask you to let that go and learn something new. It will completely change your physiology, like the way you feel about life, yourself, the people around you. Like, you know, go to a cooking class, go to a computer, like any of these things that that you get to learn are amazing. And the other thing about younger versus older is when you're a when you're a kid, the days take forever. Think about it. Do you remember when you were young and you're like, oh my god, I can't wait to be 10 years old? Gosh, I cannot wait until I can drive. I've been waiting my whole life and I'm still not an adult. Like, I can't wait to be 18. I can't wait to be 21. That's about the last one. Nobody ever says, Oh, I can't wait to be 25. I can't wait to be 30. No, hell no. As soon as you as soon as you're able to drink, 21 comes, and then it's like, okay, now I'm just getting older. Why does it feel like that? You ever think about that? Why it feels like that? Here's what I think. When you're young, you are learning constantly. School experiences, every single thing you're doing is almost something you've never done before. There's like a period of life in that in that leading up where there's always something new. You're consistently learning new information over and over and over and over again. You put yourself in a position to always be learning. So the days are never the same. Going to school might be the same. There are specific things, of course, that are the same, but but what happens throughout, you're learning new information all the time. You're subjected to new things, whether you like it or not. Once you get older and you can control what you do, when you do it, how you do it, who you do it with, we take out the new. Right? Like all of a sudden we're doing the same things we already know how to do because it's safe, it's comfortable. We're in our we're in our element where we have our comfort, and we're just doing the same repeatable things over and over again. And then you know what we say? Oh my gosh, I can't believe another year went by. Where did it go? Right? I asked my daughter the other day, um, like, how long has it taken, how long does it take do you feel like it's taken you to become six years old? Oh my gosh, it took forever, dad. And I'm thinking, like, I feel like you were just one. You know, for me, it's like happened like that. For her, it's taken a long time because she's every single little thing she's doing is learning. And I think that has to be it. That has to be the difference. When as we get older, we we stop doing new things. And of course, like we can't, right? Like, you can't keep learning something new every single day for your entire life. Like, we have to, you know, I do have to feed my daughter, right? I have to make money, have to have uh some relatable, repeatable, consistent things in order to have success. But what are you also doing to learn and to to give new things and to give back to those you care about? Um, I just think it's really an interesting uh way to look at the oh my gosh, this is taking so long versus like, oh my god, three years have passed, and now I'm finally looking up and noticing like it just life just happens so much quicker as we get older. And I think that's why. I think that's really the the the imbalance of time through life. I'm gonna give you a little hack and an example, and then uh we'll let you go. Anything that you're learning, if you can do it with other people that you care about, you will do it twice as much. Let me give you an example. Uh what if you wanted to start a new habit and go to the gym? Or go play basketball or go running, and in my case, because I started training for a half marathon recently. Um what if uh you wanted to do something new? Do you think that you would be more likely to continue learning that thing with somebody else or alone by yourself? The answer is with somebody else. I'll give you the gym example. If you had to meet at the gym at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, and that was your goal, that was your plan, and you just had to meet yourself there, how likely are you to not meet yourself one of those days or two of those days? I'd say highly likely, unless you're just a super self-motivated person. What if you had to meet somebody there that was relying on you to be there? You were relying on them and they were relying on you, how many days would you show up? I'm willing to guess if you're a person of intention and you care about the other person, probably five days. Unless they gave you an out and said they weren't gonna go. Then you're like, oh sweet, I'm staying in bed. We generally will do more for other people than we will for ourselves. So if you want a little hack on what to do, to learn something new, sign up, start a new habit, whatever it is, involve somebody else that you care about, and then they'll hold you accountable and you hold them accountable. If you want to do this with a group of people, it's even better. The more, the merrier. Okay. I've also found out over time that this is an amazing thing to do with your spouse. Okay, if you can learn something new with your spouse, where you guys are both beginners at the same time, you've you've just unlocked something that will allow you to create new experiences forever if you should choose to accept it. Because what happens is when you're with somebody for a while, you know all about them and they know all about you. Right? You know their tendencies, you know how to pick at them. Trust me, you know what I'm talking about. When you do something for the first time that neither one of you have ever done before, guess who knows it all? Nobody. And we love to know it all, trust me. We all love to know it all. When you know it all, the person you're closest with, you're gonna show them that you know it all. When you do something new, like travel to a brand new city you've never been to, go to a class neither one of you have tried before, cooking class, dance class, whatever it is, travel. You're now experiencing something together for the first time. I'm willing to bet that it will be the most fun you will have as a couple. When you do something together for the very first time. Think about the dating period when you decided to attach to this person or say yes. Everything you did for the first one, two years was all brand new. That's why they call it the uh honeymoon period. It's your infatuation period. Like, oh my gosh, this person's so amazing. They would do everything this way, and I love it. And it well, what if they do it that way forever for the next 10 years? Are you still gonna love it as much? Those of you that have been in long-term relationships, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There's a great way to break that up, and it's to do something new. That's why date night works so well, right? That's why travel works so well. Get out of the element of the regular day-to-day. You need the day-to-day, you're gonna have to accept this person in the day-to-day. I'm sorry to tell you, you can't travel for your entire life. Um, or if you do travel for your entire life, that will be your repeatable thing that now is not new anymore. So, you know, you're gonna have the repeatable stuff. Get out and learn something with them. Right? This could be something financial, this could be something for fun, this could be a hobby, a sport, um, whatever it is that you could do together that you haven't done before, you will release the control in my case. I I have a tendency to like to control too much. So you'll learn about yourself through this too. The more you learn, the more you learn about yourself. Um, but you will let go of the normal things of who you are, where you are, and where you're comfortable. Go out, do something new, and get uncomfortable with the people that you love kids, spouse. Family, whatever it is, and you'll have much more open-minded and enjoyable experiences. I'm telling you from experience, these things definitely work. So all I ask is go learn something. Like what you're what you're into in the moment. Um there's so many things now. Oh my gosh, with social media and content and the way things are, you can learn anything about anything. And so just interested to see like where you go to next. In our case, if you're interested in learning anything about uh Las Vegas Real Estate, please let us know. Uh, as that's our uh company here with Powers Real Estate. But most of all, I hope that you uh took something out of this because it's probably one of the things I enjoy talking about the most. You probably hear that and watch it as you see it. Um, anyways, uh if you need anything, let us know. Always here to help you. And I'm really interested to know if you guys can comment for me what's the new thing that you're looking to learn. We'll see you on the next one.