The most successful people learn something new almost every single day. They never stop, their level of success, their age, their already substantial wealth of knowledge does not stop them from learning more.
In all of history there has never been an easier time to learn something new than right now. The internet alone is a vast and ever growing source of knowledge. Google estimates there are currently 637 million websites and 250 million blogs. The depth of human knowledge has never been so easy to find and transfer from one person to another. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that not everything you see and hear on the internet is true. I know that might be hard for some people to believe but the fact that not everything on the internet is true is one fact that is most certainly true.
There are certainly other sources that are available too.
Read newspapers, books, magazines, and periodicals. Everyday! Here’s a pretty well documented fact: the most successful people read more than less successful people. Technology allows us to carry a ton of books with us right on a laptop, tablet, or even a smart phone. Everyone “waits,” either at a doctor’s office, for a sales call, for the plumber, and the most successful people don’t waste that wait time. One of the more effective ways they use it is to read.
The “boob tube” more commonly called the television is another great source of knowledge. If you make it so. There are programs available that inform and educate, truth be told they aren’t the most watched programs but perhaps they should be. When was the last time you sat down and watched something that did more than just entertain you?
Talk to your mentor. Here’s a problem for most people… they don’t have a mentor. Most people don’t but the most successful people do. If you don’t have a person whose brain you can pick and who you can bounce ideas off of, you should find one today.
Meet someone new and different. If you’re only associating with people like you, who think like you, then you’re limiting your potential to learn something new. Interact with people different than you, people who you do not always agree with. You can, and should, learn from people with different backgrounds, from different cultures, and with different perspectives.
However you choose to go about it understand the “success imperative” of consistent, constant learning. If you haven’t learned anything from this post the keep looking, you only have 249,000,999 blogs to go.
Great post Steve. I’m what you call an EVERGREEN LEARNER all the way. I wholeheartedly believe we should never consider ourselves ‘done’ in this regard. Stay ‘green’ in something until our last breath, while teaching what we do know in the areas where we have some measure of experience.
You also make an excellent point. Not everything on the internet (or ANYWHERE for that matter) can be taken as gospel truth. It takes some effort to separate fact from fiction. When in doubt and we can’t find a way to verify, I remain ‘open’ while doing my best not to consider a subject as absolute truth.
On mentors….if you don’t have one, get one is very good advice. I’m still trying to ‘acquire’ one myself. Not for lack of effort! : ) Otherwise, I learn from as many people as I can, even if it’s what NOT to do. However, when it comes to a mentor, the person doesn’t need to be perfect as much as they need to be experienced and I’d prefer them to be people who have most of their feet planted on the solid ground of facts and reality then theoretical fantasy and fluffy ideas that when push comes to shove, I can’t stand on. We need to be able to apply things practically.
One last thing on mentors, a mentor may not be stronger or know more in EVERY area, yet they are further enough ahead in a critical area of our life to be able to provide some good feedback, advice, and/or guidance when needed. i.e. You won’t find me currently trying to mentor someone else on how to be an entrepreneur. I stick to my personal areas of expertise/experience: military, healthcare, abuse issues, etc. As my knowledge/expertise expands, so does my ability to share what I learn.
Thanks for the post and I look forward to ‘hearing/reading’ about your many adventures when you return from your trip! : )
Thanks Samantha, your description of a mentor is the best I’ve heard. I’ll bet you are a great mentor to someone!
I’ll write about the wonderful city of Rome on my way home and Pompeii later in the week. The Vatican could be about a dozen posts all by itself 🙂
I’m definitely looking forward to those posts. What an adventure! It’s just my opinion, however I feel visiting other countries should be on everyone’s bucket to do list in life! It’s one of the fastest ways to bust ourselves out of the limits of our own thinking/culture and way of life. The world is so much bigger and has so much more to offer that is beyond what ANY one country and people can imagine on their (our) own.
Different countries, customs, languages and even religions for that matter….fascinate me with such expansive diversity. Blows my mind! In a good way! : )
Very insightful, I have learned from this post and still look forward to my next learning opportunity today…no matter how busy one is, there is always and avenue to learn something new from someone or an occurrence.
Thanks and I agree 100%, if we are open to learning we will learn each day. It’s so sad for those who know it all, they no longer have the opportunity to learn 🙂
In the recent past, I heard Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion of the world, make this profound statement:
“Successful people, they achieve my making their good mentors happy. Find someone you want to make happy.”
p.s. How was the pie in Italy?
That is pretty profound, especially for a guy who has been hit in the head too many times.
I had potato pie here, that was pretty interesting. But so was much of the food. The deserts are simply to die for. I need to go home or buy bigger clothes 🙂
Very true…
Reblogged this on Inner Faith Wealth Builders.
Reblogged this on mikky07ng's Blog.
I like this may God bless you.
Thank you.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me.
Thanks!
You’re very welcome, I’m glad I can help!
Reblogged this on Gr8fullsoul.