Contract Worker - Freelancing Experiences

Learning from the Greats the Easier Way

by Rico on December 12th, 2007

A few minutes ago in a restaurant, while waiting for my dinner to be served, I couldn’t help but watch a bunch of men surrounding a chessboard. Apparently, they were studying a grandmaster-level game, with one of them reading from a handout while moving the pieces. They were all throwing around comments and ideas, and it was clear that they were figuring out why so-and-so move was played, and what could’ve been done.

As they expressed amazement at how White skilfully maneuvered Black into an unmanageable position, I realized that, aside from learning from the greats, it pays to study their work with friends and colleagues.

The group of men quickly discovered the tactics and strategies used by the grandmaster they were studying, since they were working together as a team. Their collaborative setup made their learning experience faster, as each member contributed ideas and perspectives, which helped the others discover things that they wouldn’t have if they were thinking alone.

Perhaps a great way for freelancers and contract workers to truly learn from the greats is to set up meetings with like-minded and similarly-talented freelancers and contract workers. Since two brains are better than one, a group will have an easier time studying each aspect of a particular work. For instance, in a group of writers, one member may notice a particular writing style, while another sees a certain flow in the prose. As new things are learned, they can quickly be communicated to the rest of the group, meaning that each individual will benefit from the efforts of whole.

It’s basically a given that the many contributions will refine the ideas being thrown around, until each member can take away something significant from the meeting (obviously this depends on the group itself). Maybe this is a great idea for Jelly! meets?

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POSTED IN: Great Advice, Living as a Freelancer