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Lesson 7 is pretty darn simple.
Don’t be a dummy.
If you want to generate a generous income for life, you need to commit to acquiring new and valuable skills for life.
Seriously, just because you graduated from high school, college, or even graduate school doesn’t mean that you’ve acquired all the education you’ll ever need. In fact, I can promise you that (barring a vocational education) once you graduate from one of those institutions you’ll quickly realize that you’ll never use 80% of what you learned.
The education that will determine the quality of life you lead is the one you begin to obtain once you’re free from institutionalized education. And that is when the real schooling begins.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for formal education. Trust me; I have the diploma, the dual degrees, and, unfortunately, the student debt to prove it.
Ironically, I’ve gained more knowledge, skill, and wisdom from what I’ve taught myself outside of my formal education (with a free library card, an Internet connection, and lessons in the school of life) than the education I acquired in my four years of undergraduate study.
When I entered “the real world” after graduating from undergrad I came up with the following slogan for my brand new reality: “College doesn’t prepare you for the real world, it just prolongs you from entering it.”
The real world was a slightly rude awakening. However, since graduating from high school, and throughout college and law school, and till this day, I am constantly learning. It’s become a wonderful addiction that is now translating into multiple income streams that I could have never predicted.
But here comes the sad truth, most people just stop learning once they leave school. One of the primary ways to increase your knowledge and skills once you’ve “entered the workforce” or have left school is by reading.
Well…get this:
- 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
- 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
- 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
- 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
- 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)
Are you kidding me?!?!?!?
No. No I am not.
Now, time for my PSA.
Don’t be a dummy. Get a library card. Read books.
Find valuable, legitimate content on the Web and learn something you didn’t know before. Challenge yourself to find ways to apply your new-found knowledge to your life. Most of all, never stop learning!
And, if my PSA/plea for a fight against ignorance didn’t move you, look at this way.
The world is changing more rapidly than ever before. Our ability to share information with one another boggles the mind. If you don’t want to become a useless commodity, then you need to buy insurance on your place in the marketplace. The only way you can do this is by having relevant and useful skills and information.
Know enough stuff. Do one specific thing extraordinarily well. Stay on top of innovation in your field. Then, you’ll have all the insurance you need.
So, you’re reading this blog. Do you read books too? What do you think about formal education? Can you suggest any books that you think are worth sharing? Leave a comment. Let’s talk about it.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Marlee: Just popped over to check out your stuff here, and really loved the philosophy behind this article. These statistics are so discouraging — but luckily, none of us is doomed to being uneducated. With the web and the wonderful libraries out there, we can all continue learning. Keep up the great work here!
Thanks for stopping by Kristi!