RULE 34: Make Learning A Lifelong Mission

I met a guy once who came from a very poor background and was unable to take his education as far as he’d have liked. He left school at 14 and ended up working all his life as a customs officer, working his way up to a middle management role. When he retired at 65, he decided that at last he could afford to get the education he’d always wanted. So he got a law degree, did his training, and qualified as a barrister at the age of about 70. How many of us would have the attitude to learning you need to do that? (Never mind the energy!) 

When you watch kids learn, you can see how much they enjoy it. Not when it’s boring rote learning with tedious teachers, of course, but when they’re inspired and motivated they couldn’t be happier. Well, you and I still have the same brain we had when we were kids. OK, we may have lost a few little grey cells, but we can still enjoy learning. And if we don’t keep learning, we stagnate and become boring old stick-in-the-muds. If you don’t learn, you can’t change, and if you aren’t changing, what's the point of being here?

So, make it your express purpose to keep learning. I know a teacher in Scotland who dreamed as a child of becoming a spaceman—like most of his school friends no doubt. However, he did something about it and, instead of allowing everyday life to get in the way of his aim, he lifted his head and made a point of learning and developing. 

 As a result, he won a scholarship to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Alabama for a week’s intensive space training, complete with zero-gravity exercises and simulated shuttle take-offs. How cool is that? After that he could pursue his dream of taking this knowledge and passing it onto the pupils he now teaches. All because he approached life as an ongoing lesson. 

We can all learn* from people like him. Remember what it was that inspired you as a child? Or consider the new things that have grabbed your interest since. Learning new skills for work is valuable, from another language to new computer software. But any learning keeps your mind open and free and exercised, which will benefit your work and your employer. So, whatever it is that excites you, go on—make it your aim to learn more about it.

IF YOU DON’T LEARN, YOU CAN’T CHANGE, AND IF YOU AREN’T CHANGING, WHAT’S THE POINT OF BEING HERE?