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Get addicted to learning new things
Friday, 3 August 2007
When I was eleven years old I received a book on how to juggle which came with three juggling balls. It sat on my shelf for a couple of years before one day I picked it up and began trying to keep three balls in the air using only my two hands. This wasn't easy and it took me a while to get right, but after some practice I could do it. It's a skill that's always come in handy for entertaining children.
And this is just one of many little skills I've learned over the years. In fact, you could say I'm addicted to learning. It could be something as small and fun as making a coin disappear, or as useful as being able to invest wisely. Whatever it may be, if you dedicate a large chunk of your life to learning new things, you'll find your life greatly enriched. Also, you'll zoom ahead of the competition.
This dedication to learning is a key differentiator between the winners and losers of this world. How many people do you know who haven't developed any new skills since they left school as teenagers? Instead of improving themselves, they sit around watching TV, drinking and gossiping. They're the same people they were as teenagers, just in older bodies.
If you develop learning new things as a hobby, you'll find there are all sorts of avenues for doing so. You can take formal classes, read books, surf the net, watch documentaries, find time to practice and put yourself in situations to develop your skills.
A boring plane ride becomes an opportunity to brush up on your French verbs, or whatever else you're interested in. A rainy day spent at home can be dedicated to improving your golf putting. A free evening every week can be spent doing a finance degree. By putting in a bit of effort here and there, you'll find it soon all adds up to a new skill.
And the scope of useful skills you can learn is massive. You can never know too much. In fact, I've generally found the more I learn about something, the more I realise how little I actually know.
People are sometimes surprised at just how many little talents I've got up my sleeves. I'm sure many of my friends would be amazed to find out I write these articles, for example. They may know I can ski, program computers, or play a mean game of pool, but they've never come across my writing skills before. That's because once you dedicate a large portion of your life to learning, the number of talents you develop over the years snowballs. You don't have to rely on any one thing or even let others know it's there.
And I'm not saying that I'm even particularly talented. I come across people occasionally who amaze me in the scope of their skills. They appear to have been born special, but of course I know that isn't true. Like me, they've got an addiction to learning new things and improving their talents.
You too should develop this addiction. Make obtaining knowledge, whether by training your mind or your body, the hobby at the centre of your life. From this, all sorts of other opportunities flow.
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