In many countries, schooling is compulsory for a set number of years. And that’s good.
But way too many people come to the stupid conclusion that when school’s over … they don’t have to learn anymore. Of course, they DON’T HAVE TO … unless they want to be successful.
That’s why I tell my coaching and consulting clients that, “Learning is not compulsory; neither is survival.”
Without exception, successful people have an unquenchable thirst for continuing education. They want to keep on learning. And they know they HAVE TO keep on learning to get to the top and stay at the top … whether that be in their career, their marriage, their finances, their health, or anything else. As Michelle Labrosse, a project management expert, notes, “People who make it to the top of the mountain take great joy in learning all the way up to the summit.”
Success researcher Jim Rohn takes it a step further. He says, “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.”
And I don’t want you to miss out on the “miracles” or the Extraordinary Success you could have … if you simply mastered The 7 Immutable Laws of Success.
Over the years, I’ve written almost 900 Tuesday Tips, all different. I’ve given more than 3000 keynotes, half-day, and full-day seminars in 49 states and 22 countries. I’ve spoken to about one million people. And in all those articles and presentations, I have always referred to bits and pieces of those 7 Immutable Laws of Success. But time has seldom allowed me to teach the entire formula. And that has always bothered me.
Well, that’s about to change. On Thursday, September 14th, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, I am offering a FREE web conference on Extraordinary Success 2.0: The 7 Immutable Laws of Success … that will be open to the first 300 registrants. I promise you a great learning experience that will change every part of your life for the better, if you let it.
To secure your seat at this Extraordinary Success 2.0 web conference, click here.
In an ancient text called the Naladiyar, it says, “Learning is the best of all wealth; it is easy to carry; thieves cannot steal it, and tyrants cannot seize it; neither fire nor water can destroy it; and far from decreasing, it increases by giving.”
That being the case, let’s take a look at you and your approach to learning. So let me ask you a few questions.
1. Are You Coachable?
I often ask my audiences this question. I want to know how open they are to the ideas I’m going to give them and I want them to examine their own state of being.
So I’ll ask them, “How coachable are you today? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, with 10 being very open, receptive, and coachable, how would you score yourself?”
After they’ve done that, I’ll ask them to think about how honest they were in answering my question. I’ll talk about that for a few minutes. And they begin to realize how they’ve been lying to themselves … possibly for years and years. They begin to realize that whenever they’ve heard something they didn’t understand or disagreed with, they’ve tended to check out or close down. They haven’t been very coachable in the past.
I’m sure you know lots of people like that. They live their lives in a comfort zone, refusing to let any new or challenging ideas get inside themselves. And as a result, they never reach their full potential of success.
Other folks are somewhat more coachable and a bit more open to new ideas. But they don’t apply the new ideas appropriately.
It’s like the man who was walking through a hardware store and came to a shelf with an item he did not recognize. He stared at it for a while, and eventually asked the clerk, “What’s that thing?”
The clerk answered, “It’s a vacuum bottle.”
“And what does it do?”
“It keeps hot food hot and cold food cold.”
“What a great idea,” said the man. “I’ll take one.”
The next day at lunch, the man proudly displayed his purchase to his co-workers. “This is my new vacuum bottle,” he told them. “It keeps hot food hot and cold food cold.”
“What a great idea,” said his friend. “So what are you having for lunch today?”
The man replied, “Chili and Jello.”
So ask yourself, “How coachable are you? How open are you to learning? And are you sure you’re using the new information correctly?” Be gut honest with yourself.
During our web conference on The 7 Immutable Laws of Success, you’ll find out that it isn’t what you know but what you are willing to learn that counts the most. After all, a computer can be upgraded. Can you?
2. Does Your Success Plan Allow for Continual Learning?
Many people make plans for success that do not include continual learning. I see it all the time in my audiences. I’ll meet a person who is 40 years old, but he does not have 40 years of experience. So he keeps on doing the same dumb things over and over again. He doesn’t have any idea how to learn from his experiences.
The truth is most people do not have an education plan that will catapult them forward.
Some people, for example, seldom, if ever, take time to attend a seminar that is not required by their employer. They fool themselves into thinking they can achieve tomorrow’s dreams with yesterday’s skills.
Other people refuse to read the materials that would make a huge positive difference in their personal and professional lives. And no, novels, newspapers, and most magazines don’t count. I mean real, education-oriented, life-changing books. The outrageous truth is … even after a high school and college education … most graduates don’t read more than a book a year.
That’s a recipe for failure. In The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle, Jim Rohn says,
“Failure’s most dangerous attribute is its subtlety … If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, the lack of discipline does not seem to have an immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat the error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes.”
That’s right. On and on it goes … until one day you’re passed over for promotion … because you seem to be a bit out of date. On and on it goes … until your spouse leaves you … because you never learned what it takes to make a relationship work.
So I ask again, “Do you have a plan for continual learning?” I really hope so. You see, far worse than not having a plan for ongoing education is not even realizing that it matters.
And lastly, I would ask you…
3. Do You Have a System for Learning from Others?
You see … experience is a great teacher. But you won’t live long enough to learn all the lessons you need to learn from plain experience itself. That’s why truly smart people … highly successful people … take lessons from others. As Peter Christakos from South Carolina notes, “A wise man learns from his experiences, but a wiser man learns from others’ experiences.”
It’s a key part of The 7 Immutable Laws of Success. I’ll teach you about those 7 Immutable Laws, but I’ll also teach you about the 7 Law-Breakers that exist for each of the 7 Laws. You may find you’ve broken a law or two along the way. Or, you may be able to learn from others around you who are breaking those Laws. I encourage you to join me for the Extraordinary Success 2.0 web conference. Click here to register. But register soon. The 300 seats will disappear quickly.
So how can you start to learn more from others? Simple. Pick out some really wise people and spend time with them. I make sure I do it all the time and it’s made a bigger difference in my life than you could ever imagine.
For example, I spend six days every year with a group called Master Speakers International, arguably the eight best speakers in America today. They’ve taught me more about business than any MBA degree ever could.
I spend one morning every month walking the beaches of southwest Florida with 90-year old Dr. Sidney Simon, the best teacher I ever had. He continues to teach me the most effective ways to get my message across.
I spend some time every week with Nick Hoty … who came to this country as a 12-year-old Greek immigrant … speaking no English … and having nothing but the clothes on his back. He became the founder, owner, and CEO of the greatest real estate company in Cleveland, and his example of persistence, hard work, honesty, ethics, and spiritual maturity guide me in my decisions every day.
And the list of people goes on and on. I’ve learned that the most successful people learn from other people, so I want to make sure I’m following their example. And hopefully you are too.
Action – Are you learning enough TODAY to ensure you’ll be better off TOMORROW? If not, get in gear and get a plan for your own continuing education.
Dr. Zimmerman’s Tuesday Tip, Issue 898 – 3 Questions That Will Catapult You Upwards