Being a Student as a Private Investigator #223

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I have been working on my personal development over the past few months and during that time I came to know of a man named Jim Rohn through watching Youtube videos of his seminars from the 80’s and 90’s.  But before you go watch him on Youtube let me tell you one of the many things I learned from him while soaking in his knowledge.  One of the things Jim Rohn stresses is the importance of being a student and why that is so important.  And when I heard him stress this point, the first thing I thought of was the investigation industry and how this principle affects you.

Being a Student (A Good Student) as a Private Investigator

Now I have talked about being a student in the investigation industry many times over the years.  It is no brainer information that many people stress in life.

But why did I decide to write about it today?  Being a student had such an impact on my heart that I wanted to make sure I shared my thoughts with you before I lost my excitement.

Mr. Rohn believes that you should work harder on yourself than on your job otherwise things will always be the same in your career.  You have to improve yourself to make yourself more valuable in the marketplace. That doesn’t mean you should be a crappy employee. No, always be a good employee.

In order to improve yourself, you need to be a student.  This means you take information (learn) from various sources and make your own mind up about things as you learn and form opinions with the information you have learned.  

For instance, the Private Investigator Advice website cannot be your only source of information about being a private investigator, advancement in the investigation career, or even different tips within the industry.  Maybe someday it will be (many years from now) but until then you need to learn from a variety of investigators and teachers willing to share their knowledge with you. From there you take what you believe is the best advice and teachings and apply it to your life and career.  

How I Was a Student

Though I continue to do this in other areas in my life I specifically did this when it came into the investigation industry.  Early on I wanted to learn from every investigator I had a chance to work with. And during those early years (and now of course) I would watch how others conducted surveillance (because early on that is really all I did).

I would observe how different investigators used pretexting and what the results of those pretexts were.

I would watch other investigators when it came to following people and which tactics had better success than others.

I reviewed other investigator’s surveillance reports to see what their style of writing was and what amounts of detail they would enter.  I would also see frequently how different client’s commented on the quality of reports. Those investigators who reports were complimented were the ones I took notice of.

I even learned different management styles from the different managers I had over the years.  I paid attention to the types of styles that received my trust and respect and the ones that always made me suspect of their true intentions and character.

There has been plenty more I have observed and adapted to my life and career as you can imagine.   These are just a few examples that came to mind as I wrote this.

One thing for sure is that I have been able to carve out a career over the past 15 years because of the things I have learned and the trust I have developed in the industry.

I found this to be so important I took the time to share some trusted resources in the industry that included private investigator blogs, private investigator publications, and private investigator thought leaders in the industry. I want you to have different positive influences to help shape you in your career.  

I fully expect you to have an amazing career full of integrity with a focus on truly serving your customer or employer to the best of your ability.

This is What I Would Ask That You Do When Being a Student

So I would ask that you:

1. Read different investigation related material (The private investigator resource page has plenty of books to start with)
2. Learn marketing from those in the industry and outside of the industry
3. Read books that expand your knowledge on different topics (P.I. related, self-development, marketing, internet related, writing, SEO related, etc..)
4. Take courses (P.I. related, self-development, marketing, internet related, writing, SEO related, etc..)
5. Go to seminars
6. Watch videos (P.I. related, self-development, marketing, internet related, writing, SEO related, etc..)
7. Listen to podcasts
8. Listen to books on Audible or something similar

Every bit of information about anything you want to know about is at your fingertips.  When I was growing up everything was at a library or in an encyclopedia. There is literally no excuse for you not to learn or improve yourself through knowledge.

Mr. Rohn also recommended everyone have a library in their home.  I figure a bookshelf will suffice and if you are all digital then a library of books on your Kindle will do just fine as well.

In my library (bookshelf) I have books on finance, marketing, social media, marriage, God, health, biographies, investigations, law, and many fiction books my kids have read.  Now I haven’t read them all. Many times I am in a bookstore and I find a book that I want to read but will forget about if I don’t pick it up right then. I love going to old bookstores and picking up books that you can’t find anywhere else.  Do you have a bookshelf (aka library)? What is in your library?

We can’t change the things around us but we can change ourselves.  This is what I have really learned recently.

So I challenge you today after reading this to share in the comments what you are doing to learn or improve yourself.  What books are you reading? What courses or seminars have you attended (or registered to attend)? What podcasts are you listening to that are helping you grow?  And what is in your library?

Andrew