How to Overcome Your Fear of Technology

A couple of years ago, I became acquainted with Terry Brock, an Orlando-based internationally recognized technology expert. Having attended his presentations, shared lunch with him, talked with him over the phone and exchanged numerous e-mails, I can tell you that he takes very complex techology trends and explains them in clear language. I needed that (still do), and I'll bet you do, too.

At my request, Terry wrote this brief article for my blog. I am privileged to share it with you. Please note his contact information at the end of the article.

Overcoming Your Fear Of Technology


By Terry L. Brock


It is all around us. We complain about it when it doesn’t work but we wouldn’t have our lifestyles as they are. Sure we have cell phones, cable television, Internet connections and that wonderful voice mail. But think about living life without that. Would you really want to return to no phones, no medical advances, no connections when you’re subject to the elements, disease and a ripe old age of (average) 30??? I don’t think so.


Anything in life has trade-offs. There is a good side and a down side. The challenge is to embrace the good and move from the downsides, or minimize them.


As a professional speaker and syndicated columnist writing about marketing and technology I get a lot of questions about how to overcome that fear of technology. Here are some simple steps you can take to master any technology coming down the pike both now and into the future.


1. Break It Into Bite-Size (Byte-Sized Perhaps???) Chunks. This is an important concept in learning anything new. At first, it can appear overwhelming. If you try to learn a complete new language at once you’ll feel overwhelmed and not make it happen. But, if you take it word by word and phrase by phrase, you’ll gradually gain a complete understanding of the language. When you think about it, isn’t learning technology much like learning a new language?


2. Be Pragmatic ­ Focus On What Is Useful. Realize You Don’t Have To Know It All. It can be quite frustrating when you try to grasp everything. Focus on what is going to help you most in your work or for the project you have at hand. That means you have to wear blinders. Don’t be distracted by the other nifty cool things that are out there. Technology, like surfing the Web, tends to open a lot of possibilities. Focus on those things that are going to help you accomplish what you want. This will be the solution to make it pragmatic and fun.


3. Build “Success Upon Success.” This was the admonition of Walter Wriston, the former Chair of Citibank. Small victories help build that necessary confidence. As you gain confidence the fear melts away. Keep gaining confidence in small areas and build one upon another. You build a steam this way like a locomotive gaining speed. After a while, any obstacle is blasted away as you charge forward. This is important to eliminate the fear and gain real progress and success.


4. Look at What You Already Know. Hey, you’re a professional. You’ve already accomplished some specific things. This took TME (time, money and effort) on your part to achieve it. If you’ve done that already, you can do other things. One of my clients is a medical doctor whom I’m coaching how to work with technology. He admits that sometimes the technology is overwhelming. I admonished him (in a coaching style, of course) that he had already gone through medical school. He has built a very successful practice. He performs life or death operations on his patients every day and has for over a decade. If he can do that,he can learn how to use something like audio or video on the Net. Think about what you have already done. If you’re in business or a profession, you have certain marketable skills. As you learned these you can learn additional material.


5. Don’t Try To Do It Alone. Think about what is involved if you become a lawyer. You have to go to school. You read a lot. You take tests. You work with others (professors) who know a lot about the subject of Law. To gain competency and eventual mastery in any field, you have to read, study, learn and work with professionals that can guide you. Be willing to part with your capital to gain that knowledge. Hire coaches to help you gain specific skills in specific areas. This is the way we gain knowledge today. It can help you enormously.


6. Learn How To Learn. Today’s world is about learning and growing. What you did before is nice but you have to start fresh each day. That means learning new things. That means stretching your brain. If you can learn how to read rapidly with a purpose you’ll do better. Learn how to memorize vast amounts of information. Learn about Mind-Mapping and what it can do for you. These skills are most important to gain relevant information quickly. Learning how to learn is one of the more critical skills you can develop today.


There are other things that can help you but these six steps can get you started. If you’d like to know more about technology, drop me a quick e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or visit a special page on how I can help you get what you need. Point your browser to: www.terrybrock.com/yoursuccessnow.htm and learn about how you can get the information you need to overcome the fear of technology.


I wish you much continued success.


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Terry Brock is a marketing coach who helps business owners market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.


Copyright © 2005, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission.



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