Successful People are Lifelong Learners

Last week I left you with these questions…Are YOU surrounding yourself with the best people for you as a person?  Are these people supportive and encouraging?  Are they pushing you to do better, to be better in all that you do? Are you determining which of the three categories you would classify these people: disassociation, limited association, or expanded association?  After looking at the people around you, what did you conclude?  How are you answering these questions?

I realize I have written about always learning and growing before.  That’s an underlying theme in all that I am and hope to be.  The world is constantly changing. New apps appear almost every day, new medical information or a re-evaluation of that information is reported in the news eg at what age should women begin getting a mammogram, even the food pyramid as we knew it 20 years ago has been re-evaluated. 

According to David Russell Schilling in an article for Industry Tap into news, “Buckminster Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months.  According to IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours.

If nothing else, that rapid rate of information doubling makes a clear case to never just sit around. Yes, that does mean we also have to embrace change, change habits, and rather than complain about how everything is different and things use to be simpler etc. it’s time to move forward. After all, the past is the past.  The past has given us, in many cases, wonderful memories and stories for our children and grandchildren.  Rather than lamenting on the “way things used to be” I would encourage you to embrace what is happening now. 

Does that mean everything new is good. Of course not, but that was true for past information as well.  What I do encourage you to do is to learn what is the current research in medicine, learn the current best ways to keep your body and mind healthy etc. Then you can decide what part of that NEW information is what you can embrace and make a part of your life.  I, for one, cannot give up my enjoyment of eating red meat or drinking milk.  What I can do is reduce the number of times each week I eat red meat and balance that with more chicken and fish. 

Be sure to take into account YOUR particular body type, needs, and family history. The information about the timeline of starting mammograms is for a person without any family history.  However, there is also a lot of information about younger women getting breast cancer and 45 would be way too late. To me the “take away” is for women of ALL ages to do a monthly self-exam which should become a habit and routine early on. This also goes for men both young and old doing a monthly testicular self-exam. Both of these self-exams are critical and should be a part of the health classes in high school if they aren’t already.

Once again, in re-reading Jim Rohn and Chris Widener’s book The Twelve Pillars, one of those pillars is to be a lifelong learner.  “Formal education will make you a living.  Self-education will make you a fortune.” Whether you talk about success in terms of financial, spiritual, physical, emotional etc. “successful people are always lifelong learners. “Self-education is what you teach yourself. It’s what you learn along the way so that you are constantly improving and growing.” “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning are where the miracle process all begins...all that is self-education.”

I look around and see the people I enjoy having conversations with as they are the ones who are always looking to learn more and will often times share those thoughts in our conversations.  They are ready to share ideas; however, they share these ideas as a conversation starter or to have a deeper level in that conversation. They are the ones who are open to differences of opinions without the intent to “throw up on others” as to the “right way” to do something or the “right way” way to view spirituality etc.etc.

On many past CU football games, my brother-in-law, Ray, and I would have some of the most interesting conversations with the focus to learn, grow, and question. Yes, we also watched the game, but leaving the stadium I always felt that I had learned something, or had another perspective to think about, and I felt a stronger connection with Ray.  He is a blessing in my life.  Ray is the ultimate questioner, listener, and is there to add his own opinions in a non-adversarial manner. For that, I am grateful.

According to Jim and Chris in their book, “There are a few mainstays to learning that anyone can use to improve their lives. The first is to read books. In this day and age, it may also be a book on tape as you’re driving to and from work. For those of you who already are saying things like, “I’m not a reader” or “I don’t have time to read,” GET OVER IT!  EVERYONE can find 10 minutes to read a few pages each day or listen to 10 minutes of a CD. It’s either a priority to learn and be the best you that you can be or it’s not. “Books have been, are, and will continue to be one of the greatest learning tools in human history. It isn’t what the book, CD costs. It’s what it will cost you if you DON”T read it.”

The second is to learn from successful people by observation. Who are those people you admire in your work and in all areas of your life? They may be a colleague, a boss, someone in a class that you’ve met and admire, or it may be someone who you have heard at a convention. It may be a trainer, a spiritual leader, a friend you admire as a parent, someone who has the kind of marriage you want to have etc. Watch how these people handle the day to day “issues” that come up, how do they handle conflicts, how do they treat people both publicly and in meetings or small groups, and watch how they walk their talk. These should be people who are already proven role models of what works. Listen and observe those people!

The third is to constantly reflect on your own experiences and learn what went right, what went wrong or at least what you would do differently the next time.” That also means there must be time, set aside, to actually reflect.  It will definitely save you time in the long run. The sooner you have that reflection time after a particular game, a sports season, after a class, after a seminar, after hearing a CD or reading a book the better, and the more impact it will have on your personal growth.

In addition, I would add to these mainstays with actions such as: attend a national conference, take a class on line, or even attend a workshop in person. There you will learn about the new information, the new ways people are approaching saving money, running a particular offense/defense, ways the banking industry has had to change their practices, the current fitness information, the best leadership practices as explained by current leaders and successful people in any industry. The motivational speeches, the keynote speeches, the small group sessions are all led by people who are successful in their field, who have the experience, but who also have the history of where things use to be and where they are now for comparison purposes.

All of these ways of learning will either add to your life’s journey or there is a “cost” if you don’t. “Reading is one of the most powerful ways to open yourself to vast new worlds. You open yourself to new ideas, new ideas are the seeds that grow in your heart and mind, and when applied, become your achievements and successes.” The key question is, “How will you ever grow and expand if you aren’t consistently and proactively pursuing knowledge and ideas that will move your life forward?”

Maybe you find yourself doing all the above in one area of your life. Maybe you have a “do whatever it takes” to learn and grow in your work. You will read anything that applies to your work; you make an effort to attend conferences, classes, you sign up for events where there are successful speakers in your line of work etc.  BUT are you as focused on doing those same things in your personal health and wellness? What about in your spiritual life? What about in your personal relationship with your spouse, children, grandchildren?  I would encourage you to add one more area of your life that you are not currently focusing on and apply some of the above mainstays.

If you really want to make a “deposit” into your “bank” of life skills, growth, and personal development in your job, at home, and in all areas of your life, I challenge you to read the book The Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener.  It’s only 103 pages, an easy read as it’s in a story format, and you will come away with an invigorated way to look at your life. If it’s a book you’ve already read, FANTASTIC, now read it again.  Here’s the Amazon link to make it that much easier to take action:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Twelve+Pillars

Here’s to a week of self-education.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and your journey of learning, growing, and being the best YOU that YOU can be.