I think I have always had a thirst for learning. Attending university wasn’t a given when I left school, and after a few years of “gap” I decided to take the plunge. My first year Uni I did Sociology, NZ History and Politics, and Spanish! To what end I really don’t know! They were subjects that appealed and that is why I chose them.
The next year, I started all over…with a business degree! It is this changing of direction I wanted to speak of today.
My point is not just about continuous learning and my personal resolve to bake this into my life over the years but how it broadens our spectrum of opportunities, and creates new paths to follow. At any time…and any age.
Is there only one route?
Some people choose specific careers, study for long years and lock themselves into a particular path, believing that the time and effort (and cost) to become a doctor/lawyer/engineer etc, means they are committed for life.
If that initial choice brings joy, then of course you continue. These are the success stories!
Or maybe you are at a crossroads – perhaps your children were your sole focus for their growing years and now there’s time for you? Or maybe half way through your medical degree (funded by your parents!) you come to the realisation that this is not at all what you want, but you are consumed with guilt for wanting to change?
For those who think they have no choice – that they are in this chosen career for the long haul – maybe it’s time to ask yourself – Who says you can’t change?
I wonder how many people keep getting out of bed when they hate their job.
A text from my daughter (age 19) on her way to a summer job that sucks!
I had to laugh when I got this text early yesterday – a sudden youthful realisation that people day in and day out, do stuff they hate.
By Design or Consequence?
After uni, I decided to travel a bit, and came home wondering what in the world to do next. Some friends had started their own business and offered me a job. Do you know anything about databases? Umm, no, but I can learn….so on that hot summer weekend, on a planned trip to Mount Maunganui, I packed an “Access for Dummies” or something similar, some sunblock, and sat on the beach teaching myself Microsoft Access and all I needed to know about databases!
That was the introduction to a career in IT. (Consequence?)
A few years later, I decided Real Estate might be fun and I did the full certification and sold houses on Auckland’s North Shore. I wound up down another road growing the rental management arm of a real estate firm in Whangaparoa. (Consequence?)
More years later I found myself back in IT where learnt websites and HTML, and discovered a passion for Project Management. So again, I bolstered my learning by completing the PMBOK exams. (Perhaps a bit of consequence and then design!)
I used to think my constant changes were a little flippant, but have now come to realise they have given me a wider scope on life; every step enriched me and made me who I am today.
Lifetime of Learning
My shelves are always full of self development books and motivational reading. Now my Kindle is full of marketing, presentation or speaking books and Audible is the highest used app on my phone.
Zig Ziglar coined the phrase the Automobile University. I too am a full time student of that school when I travel. (I have already churned through a couple of books on this roadshow)! I usually have 3-4 books on the go at once, from biographies, self development, marketing to whatever I need to learn for business at that stage.
Reading influences your mindset and attitude. Consistently reading positive, inspiring and new material will have your mind create the kind of thinking you need to change and design your own journey.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul
Matthew Kelly
