If you have invested any time reading the lessons, articles, polls, or resources presented at eHappyLife.com, you probably are familiar by now with my philosophy regarding the importance of life-long learning. Every day presents us with new challenges to overcome; regardless of your age, health status, financial status, marital status, or any other measurement, group or category you would like to compare yourself to. So it's important to keep your seat belts fastened and stay prepared for the roller coaster ride of life.
In previous lessons, we discussed the importance of networking and investing time in the company of "people of wisdom." There's so much to learn while in the company of others who have faced the same challenges we will. These encounters with "people of wisdom" are like bonus lessons of knowledge, that you didn't have to struggle at the School of Hard Knocks to obtain.
While this "face time" strategy with "people of wisdom" is both worthy and wonderful, we all seem to find ourselves running out of the 168 hours allotted to us each week to squeeze these encounters in. That's why it's imperative to plan into our schedules, a daily dose of "canned knowledge" gained from the experiences and expertise of others. How to choose what you want to learn each day is strictly a personal preference. You never really know with any degree of certainty, what knowledge you will need to face a challenge that pops up tomorrow. However rest assured that you will be challenged in some way, each and every week!
The major point of this lesson is to recognize the fact that every week you will face new challenges in your life, and it's your responsibility to prepare yourself to tackle and solve them. Thus by exposing yourself to a daily dose of life-long learning, you stay "combat ready" to face your responsibilities with confidence.
Two strategies I have used for my daily dose of knowledge are educational audio tapes or CD's and magazines. I have been investing a minimum of two hours a day, seven days a week, split about evenly on these two strategies for more than a decade. If your first thought is you absolutely don't have two hours a day to invest in learning - my question would be why not. These two strategies are flexible enough to fit into many wasted time slots. Like listening to educational audio while commuting back and forth to work; walking; riding your bike or exercising. A perfect time for reading magazines of educational value may be while waiting for a doctor or clients appointment; dining alone; or on a train or bus commute. Then let's not forget that we could substitute some "valuable tube time" each night for either of these two worthy activities.
By learning from the experiences of others via listening to educational audio or reading worthy magazine articles, we can broaden our knowledge on many critical topics, to make us more effective in combating life's challenges. Let's look at how the numbers can stack up in your favor. Two hours a day equates to 14 hours a week or 728 hours a year. Over a ten year span, you have invested 7280 hours on learning, which might have been wasted away. Just imagine what you can learn from experts in their specific fields during this time frame? Better yet, just imagine the aggravation you might have avoided during this decade, by being more knowledgeable about varied topics when challenges came knocking on your door?
Lifelong learning is no longer a catch phrase for nerdy individuals. Lifelong learning is a bare necessity in today's changing world. Staying abreast of the latest technologies, methods, systems and strategies will definitely lead to a better financial future for you and your family. Being an informed individual will also save you an enormous amount of time, effort and frustration. You just cannot afford to ignore the investment of time and resources it takes - to become a lifelong learner.
Make the investment in yourself. Subscribe to a variety of magazines that you will enjoy having your postman deliver. Read the critical information that will prepare you for tomorrow's world. Subscribe to audio services that produce summaries of leading books on CD's. In about 45 minutes you could listen to a summary of the contents of a 300 page book, which was authored by specialists in their field, who share years of their research and experiences. Just imagine how many books you can expose yourself to in a week, year or decade?
Start investing today in YOU, Inc. By learning from others, you will greatly enhance your life!