Learn from the Best

Find the best sources, people, and learning paths — before you start anything new.

8 Steps The Mondon Method Open Source
View on GitHub See the 8 steps
In 99% of cases, someone has already done what you're trying to do. The information exists — you just need to know where to look.

Most learning frameworks tell you how to learn. None of them systematically help you figure out where to look and who to trust before you start. That's the gap this framework fills.

The 8 Steps

From "I want to learn X" to a concrete, informed decision — in one structured pass.

1 Define Scope — What exactly do I want?
↓
1b Prerequisites — What do I need first?
↓
1c Inventory Check — What do I already have?
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2 Landscape Map — Who are the best sources?
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3 Mistake Audit — What goes wrong for most?
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4 80/20 Focus — What 20% matters most?
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5 Learning Path — How do I get there?
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6 Go / No-Go — Is it worth it?

The Output: Reconnaissance Briefing

A Reconnaissance Briefing is a one-page document that maps the best sources, common mistakes, and a concrete learning path for any topic. Here's what one looks like:

# Reconnaissance Briefing: Writing a Nonfiction Book
## Scope
Preserve 6 years of domain expertise before the knowledge fades...
## Landscape Map
Zinsser (A) · Gutkind (A) · Lamott (A)
Half-Life: Stable · Communities: Nonfiction Authors Assoc.
## Mistake Audit
1. No clear audience — writing "for everyone" helps no one
2. Too broad, not deep — 5 topics deep beats 20 shallow
## Go/No-Go
→ Go: knowledge is fresh, timing is right

Source Quality Grading

Not all sources are equal. The framework grades every recommendation so you know what to trust.

GradeSource TypeTrust
APeer-reviewed, proven track recordsHigh
BExperienced practitioners with public resultsMedium-High
CBlog posts, YouTube, courses without track recordVerify
DAnonymous tips, "get rich quick", no evidenceAvoid

Guru Filter: In fields without peer review — does this person have results outside of content about the topic?

Knowledge Half-Life

Different fields age differently. The framework adapts your source strategy accordingly.

📚
Stable
Years to decades
Books, classics, standard works
📰
Medium
Months to years
Books + articles, communities
⚡
Volatile
Weeks to months
Docs, changelogs — NOT books

Built on Proven Methods

Ultralearning

Scott Young
✓ Metalearning: research before learning
+ We add: systematic source grading (A–D) and guru filter

DiSSS

Tim Ferriss
✓ 80/20 selection, deconstruction
+ We add: dedicated landscape mapping and mistake audit

Deliberate Practice

Anders Ericsson
✓ Quality through proven expertise
+ We add: structured reconnaissance before execution

First 20 Hours

Josh Kaufman
✓ Pragmatism: "enough to get started"
+ We add: systematic process for finding best resources

FAQ

Why not just ask ChatGPT to "research X for me"?

You can — and this framework works great with AI. The difference: a single prompt gives you a one-shot answer that varies with phrasing. The 8 steps give you a reproducible process with specific tools (guru filter, source grading, knowledge half-life) that catch things a generic prompt misses. The output is a reusable briefing you can reference and update — not a chat message you'll lose.

Is this just another productivity framework?

No. Existing frameworks tell you how to learn. This one tells you where to look and who to trust before you start learning. It's the reconnaissance phase that comes before Ultralearning, DiSSS, or any other method.

Do I need AI to use this?

No. The 8 steps work with pen and paper, a search engine, and your own judgment. AI assistants speed up the research phase but aren't required.

How long does a full run take?

With an AI assistant: 30–60 minutes. Manually: 2–4 hours. Either way, it's a fraction of the time you'd waste learning from the wrong sources.

What if my topic is too niche?

The framework scales. For niche topics, the landscape map will be smaller — but the mistake audit and 80/20 selection become even more valuable because there's less margin for error.

Why "Mondon Method"?

Named after Andrew Mondon, a mentor who consistently demonstrated that the fastest path to mastery starts with finding who's already walked it. The principle: don't reinvent — reconnect.

Three Ways to Use It

No installation required. Works with any AI assistant — or none at all.

ManualAI-AssistedClaude Code Skill
What you needPen & paper + search engineAny AI + the promptClaude Code + skill file
Time per run2–4 hours30–60 min30–60 min
ResearchYour own searchesAI researches, you decideAI researches, you decide
Best forDeep reflectionFast explorationRepeated use

Why this exists

I kept starting new projects the hard way — diving into random tutorials, following whoever had the best SEO, and discovering three months later that there was a better book, a clearer path, or a mistake I could have easily avoided.

A mentor once told me: "In 99% of cases, someone has already solved your problem. Your job isn't to reinvent — it's to find them." That stuck. I started mapping the landscape before jumping in. The results were immediate: less wasted time, better foundations, fewer dead ends.

This framework is the system I wish I had from the start. It combines the best ideas from Ultralearning, DiSSS, and Deliberate Practice into the one phase none of them cover: figuring out where to look before you start learning.

Get Started

1
Pick a topic

Choose something you want to learn, build, or understand.

2
Walk through the 8 steps

Manually, with an AI assistant, or as a Claude Code skill.

3
Act on your briefing

You now have the best sources, a mistake audit, and a concrete plan. Go.