When I’m afforded the privilege of leading business workshops with budding entrepreneurs, I am reminded that while sitting back and absorbing knowledge has its advantages, nothing beats getting your hands dirty and really starting your own enterprise.

For me, doing something instead of just listening is preferable.

Learning by doing is the name of the game when it comes to entrepreneurship.

It’s easy to think that just sitting and listening to information is enough. After all, we’ve been conditioned to think that way our whole lives.

But the truth is, when it comes to entrepreneurship, the way to truly learn is to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.

Yes sure, you can sit in a classroom or workshop all day and listen to lectures, take notes, and even participate in group discussions. And you might walk away with some new ideas or concepts to consider.

But, until you put those ideas and concepts into practice, you are not truly maximising your learnings.

It’s like trying to learn to ride a bike by reading a book about it. You might gain some theoretical knowledge, but until you actually get on the bike and start pedalling, you’re not going to make progress.

The same goes for entrepreneurship.

You can read all the books, attend all the workshops, and listen to all the podcasts you want, but until you actually start a business and start making decisions, taking risks, and dealing with the ups and downs that come with it, you’re not really learning what it means to be an entrepreneur.

Don’t get me wrong, learning from others can be incredibly valuable, attending seminars and workshops is important, being in the room is great, but it’s not enough on its own.

You need to supplement passive learning with active, hands-on experience.

So take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them, at the end of the day, implementation trumps sitting and listening every time.