“But Lukas, why are you sharing what you know, for free, on your blog? Wouldn’t you be better off keeping it for yourself?”

• my friend Diana (not her real name) some time ago over a cup of coffee

I know what she meant. When I discover a cool new trick to improve my presentation – or even better, when I find out the hard way through my own failure – I am tempted to keep the precious learning as an advantage against a rest of the world.

And yet – I default to sharing. I suggest you too. Here are a few reasons why:

Teach to learn

I don’t really learn when just hearing about something or reading about it. I learn when doing it – or trying to explain it to someone else. By sharing, I’m getting better at what I’ve just learned.

Teach today, get taught tomorrow

Large part of my blog’s audience are my friends & acquaintances. If some of them find a tip I share useful and get even better than me – why not? If my friend gets better than me tomorrow – they might teach me the day after.

Push yourself to keep learning

By withholding some magical trick (or secret sauce) I could get some competitive advantage. By sharing it right away – I rob myself of that advantage.

But with that advantage – I would get complacent. I would not be pushed to learn anymore.

If on the other hand, I share it – the magic disappears. Suddenly I don’t have an advantage anymore.

I must keep learning.

Today there are many ways how to share what you know. From a simple re-post on Facebook to writing a blog post, recording a video or giving a workshop. The main thing is the mindset – sharing what you’ve learned.

One extra benefit of sharing I have not mentioned before: Life is much more fun that way.