IT’S EASY to dismiss the success of someone by saying they have an innate ability. Whether it is sales, tech, writing or managerial – there will always be people who stand in the limelight, their talent seemingly beyond doubt. This dismissal explains everything: quick promotions, compliments from leaders, the reason they seem to grasp everything so easily.

Most highly successful people have a similar enterprising spirit, a keen motivation to excel and a penchant for hustling. These traits might seem innate, coming naturally to them. But there is one factor that even successful people must build upon from scratch: catalytic learning.

Catalytic learning is defined as “enduring learning that objectively prepares the learner to continue to learn and implement new knowledge, positioning the learner for future self-directed learning”. In other words: learning how to learn.