Pat Flynn on Lean Learning: Achieve More by Consuming Less

Beyond the To-Do List - Productivity for Work and Life

Erik Fisher

Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Careers, Education

4.5 • 875 Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pat Flynn returns to the show to share insights from his newest book, Lean Learning: How to Achieve More by Learning Less. In a world overflowing with content, Pat offers a powerful solution for those overwhelmed by endless podcasts, videos, and inspiration rabbit holes. Instead of more input, Lean Learning is about acting on just the right information at the right time—and ditching the rest.

In this episode, we cover:

Inspiration Overload vs. Just-in-Time Learning: How consuming too much content becomes disguised procrastination—and how to escape it.
The Power of Doing Less to Learn More: Pat breaks down his strategy of “learning on demand” instead of hoarding knowledge you may never need.
The Inspiration Matrix: A tool to audit where your energy is going—and reclaim it.
Why Mistakes Are Your Best Teachers: Pat shares how micro-mastery, force functions, and “Power 10s” lead to rapid growth.
Letting Go of FOMO: How to opt out with purpose and double down on what truly matters.
Real-Life Lean Learning in Action: From ebooks to public speaking to Pokémon cards, Pat reveals how focused experimentation leads to big wins.
The Role of Mentors and Community: Why surrounding yourself with champions is a productivity superpower.

Pat’s approach is perfect for anyone stuck in a loop of constant learning but little action. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by too many ideas, this episode will help you reclaim your focus—and finally move forward.

Find Lean Learning wherever books are sold and learn more about Pat’s work at SmartPassiveIncome.com.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome back to Beyond the To Do List, a podcast about productivity. I'm your host,
0:22.0	Eric Fisher, and I'm excited to welcome back to the show, Pat Flynn. He's got a brand new book,
0:27.4	Lean Learning, How to Achieve More by Learning Less. And you might be curious, how does that work?
0:32.8	How does learning less get more done? Well, we're consuming too much, and it's procrastination disguised as
0:40.6	busy work. And in this conversation, Pat breaks down his strategy of learning on demand instead
0:46.8	of hoarding knowledge you might not ever need, the inspiration matrix, which is a tool to audit
0:52.5	where your energy is going, and how things like
0:55.5	micromastery and force functions and power tens lead to rapid growth. And we also touch on
1:03.7	why surrounding yourself with mentors and community can also be a productivity superpower.
1:15.8	So if you're familiar with Pat, or especially if you're not, you're in for a treat because Pat is awesome and you're going to love this conversation all about lean learning with Pat Flynn.
1:23.9	Well, it is my privilege to welcome back to the show, Pat Flynn.
1:29.7	Pat, welcome to Beyond the To-Do list.
1:32.4	Again.
1:33.5	Again, yes, thanks, Eric.
1:34.7	How long ago was it?
1:36.1	Oh, gosh, dude.
1:37.3	Like a decade ago?
1:38.5	Not quite.
1:39.3	I know it's not quite because I know I wasn't in this house, but that's been about seven years, so not,
1:45.3	you know, somewhere in the seven, eight year range. But yeah, it's been a long time. But, but you've been busy. A lot of stuff has happened. A lot has happened. And it's happening. And so I'm excited to catch up with you. Yeah, same here. And when I heard you were having a new book coming out, I thought to myself,
1:42.3	well, Pat always has good books,
1:44.2	but this one really kind out, I thought to myself, well, Pat always has good books,
	...

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