Chapter 12 of the One Life Manifesto: Learn.
Let’s talk about learning. The top people in the world read voraciously. They read a book a week and they are humble in their knowledge. They are always looking to learn more from others. They never claim to know the answers. How many books do you read per month? Per year? How many educational videos do you watch? How much do you learn from others?
While I talked about how education stops for many once they graduate, they should never stop learning. They shouldn’t be consuming useless news or content. Content that doesn’t help further their mind. There is one big question. The question is: what is it that you are learning? What is it that you are absorbing to help you grow? If you don’t learn, you become stagnant. Then if you become stagnant, you are actually regressing. Because everyone else is learning in front of you. They are getting ahead of you. The next generation is forming. They get older and they learn. You fall into the darkness. You become irrelevant. You disappear as you become irrelevant if you do not learn.
Learning is always evolving. The world is always changing. You need to stay on top of it to be at the top of your game. You need to never say that you are the “Expert”. Someone else will come along and know more than you. They will know something you do not. Let me say you can never be the expert, even if you feel entitled to think you know everything. You feel entitled like you are some special person. No, you are a learner. You must learn daily. It helps to be a student – a lifelong student and have mentors, friends, and coaches who can help guide you, whether it be face-to-face or online. You have a core group of people who you turn to, to help and guide you. Having that group of people to propel your success forward will keep you accountable. It’s very powerful to have.
You will make mistakes in your life. Your willingness to learn from your mistakes will help you grow greater than anything else. For one, you had the courage to make mistakes. You have the courage to fail and to accept failures. You have the willingness to learn from those mistakes and failures. That is going to help you grow beyond anything else. The practical real-life experience you have put yourself through is irreplaceable.
In schools, students lack real-life experiences. Years of classroom study and listening, but never applying anything in the real world. That’s how most college and university students are when they graduate. They have learned nothing of the practical world. I suppose you can call it the impractical because it’s impractical. In university they choose not to learn around what they cannot control.
In the real world you will experience obstacles outside of your control. It will be your job to learn and overcome obstacles when you make mistakes. You must be fully willing to apologize and learn and say you will be better. It is your job, no one else’s. You cannot change others. You must change yourself. You must improve yourself. And by continually learning you will. Acceptance that you are human, acceptance that you can make mistakes, acceptance that you are willing to make mistakes, is important.
For if you continue with these mistakes, you are not learning. You are just accepting your mediocrity. You must learn. You must move past your mediocrity. Otherwise you will never grow. You will never be able to provide more value than you currently do if you do not learn. The more you learn, the more experiences you experience. The more you can teach others. The more you can help others. The more you can really guide others and coach others. That brings value.
Your degree, your diploma, is a symbol of your educational prowess. Your ability to provide knowledge and value at the surface. It is your job to put that knowledge to use, to learn. The next step is up to you. Whether you say I do not enjoy university, I do not enjoy learning or I enjoyed it, you must continuously learn. Learn the topics you really care about and excel in that field. It’s up to you. I encourage you to learn.
Today you can now learn with audio, with imagery, with YouTube videos, with words and long posts on blogs. You have more information at your fingertips to learn the way that you learn best, as everyone learns different. I learn best with video.
When I have the ability to put my entire attention towards something, video will give me the most and quickest learning value. That is just myself. Everyone is different. You may enjoy words. You may connect with them. Your brain might connect well with words. Therefore you should be reading. Learning some kind of educational material is critical to your growth, to your improvement. Don’t waste your evenings and your mornings not learning. Those are your opportune moments to absorb material and become more knowledgeable. Switch your unproductive activities to learning activities to really excel and get ahead. Learning will solve your problems. Learning will solve your inadequacies.
If you don’t know how to be healthy, learn about diet and nutrition. Learn about exercise. Don’t know how to be in a relationship? Learn how to be a better boyfriend or girlfriend. Learn how to date. The resources out there are endless. Don’t know how to drive a car? Take lessons, learn. Don’t know what project to do? Do anything. Work on it, learn. Grab some wood. Chisel away.
Figure out what you would like to learn and do it as you now have the ability to. Take an online course and learn anything. Training programs, seminars, webinars, you name it. You could become a brilliant person in your pyjamas and never leave your house. Learning is your key to success. There is no shortcut. Continually work hard at learning. Educate yourself. Continuously improve. Learn.