THE THING

Here’s the Thing! The more you know the freer you are, the more you know the better the man you can be. And I am not speaking here only about book educated – although book education is important – it’s less important than skills, common sense, creativity and universal or practical knowledge. A Real Man understands that education is the cornerstone of success, health and happiness. A Real Man never stops learning, never stops up-skilling himself, and never stops improving what he knows.

I once met a man who was 65 and starting his degree. He was the chairman of the board but he knew the importance of knowing more. He was well into his 70s when he achieved his doctorate.

The more you know the more power and control you have over your life and the situations you will find yourself in. A Real Man has a thirst for knowledge.

THE REWARD

Education will set you free and open opportunities.

Creativity is the currency of the future – nurture yours and use it in every area of your life.

Education gets you more opportunities, more money and more relationships, and it cannot be taken away from you.

THE HOW TO

1. Never stop learning.
2. Enroll in a new course or programme every year. Become the master of your chosen field by learning and studying your craft until you are the best.
3. Seek out people who have been there and done that; take them to lunch. You can learn more in an hour’s lunch, with someone who has walked the path, than you can in a year of studying.
4. Continuously educate yourself in your industry.
5. Continuously educate yourself about world and local events.
6. Up-skill yourself with practical, hands-on skills, courses and programmes.
7. Read books, journals, reports and opinions, and set up Google alerts. Isn’t it amazing that on average, rich and successful people generally read 10 times more books than average working people? Set up an annual education target for yourself to improve your mind and your skills.
8. Continuously educate yourself on how the world works, on how people operate and how people think. Learn how people communicate and why. Try to understand the phenomenon of self-interest in people and how most of them function with self-interest in mind. Take a course in communication skills and body language reading.
9. Learn, study and embrace knowledge and education, and never stop.
10. Watch other people do their jobs and learn from them. When a professional is called in to do something at your home or office, ask questions, listen, watch and learn.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

• I can’t afford to study. I haven’t got time to read. I just hate reading.
  Ever since Google arrived, education is practically free. The Internet is full of interesting videos and audio books. Watch TED videos as often as you can, nothing could be easier, you basically have an international expert lecturing to you while you make notes.Many books have summaries that are done by other people who have read them, so by reading an hour a day you could get the main lessons of about 3 books.YouTube now allows you to not have to read a word, and still get educated.The real idea here is, as I have said before, those who want to will; those who don’t, won’t.

WISDOM

“Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein