With so much to learn, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Focus on your Core Desires as a way of defining the direction of your learning. This will allow you to maintain peak interest while collecting information and processing data. If you are learning about things you are not interested in, your enthusiasm will quickly wane.
Suppose you have a Core Desire to learn how to ski. Eagerly you seek to accomplish this desire—you buy the best equipment, take ski lessons, and willingly stand in line in the cold. You spend time listening to other skiers reveal the finer points of the sport. You ride the ski lifts even if you are afraid of heights. Because you have this Core Desire, you go all out.
When you only think you might like to learn about something or feel that you’re obligated or “An investment in
knowledge always pays the best interest.” —Benjamin Franklin “Knowledge is merely the expansion of our sphere of ignorance.” —Albert Einstein
assigned to learn, you won’t spend as much time or effort. You’ll do just enough to get by. And at the first sign of difficulty, you’ll probably throw in the towel.
Many individuals willingly take several “have- to” courses in their pursuit of their Core Desires. My
daughter wanted a degree in Information Systems and Technology and took many courses required to earn her degree. She excelled in her career, landing a high-paying position at a major company. Although she may have disliked some of the required courses, she kept at it. They were the “have-tos” to achieve her Core Desire. As a result of the career she now enjoys, I estimate that these “have-to” courses were worth many times the cost of her whole education. Because she had the discipline as a result of her Core Desire, the “have-tos” became acceptable, as long as they helped her achieve her dream.
Formal education isn’t the only way to learn. Inert facts don’t create a vibrant life experience—they just take up space in your brain. However, higher education does open doors that may otherwise be closed. If one of your Core Desires requires a college degree, you must pursue it. Just be sure it is a Core Desire.
People who go into business for themselves quickly find that there are many things to learn. Without a mentor for guidance, they may have to learn the hard way—finding that much isn’t fun and some things are downright unpleasant. To run your own business, you may have to learn about accounting, merchandising, marketing, and sales. If you’re hiring people, you’ll have to learn all the rules and regulations that govern hiring decisions. Then there are public relations, advertising, and public stock offerings. Learning and educating yourself should always be of benefit for you. At a minimum, it should always be interesting.
At a maximum, it should change your life.
Make sure the things you’re learning are those you not only need but also want to learn about. If you are driven by a true Core Desire, you will be more than willing to invest time, energy, and money.
One day in a park, I watched two dads and their sons fly glider planes. The gliders had a six-foot wingspan and performed incredible maneuvers. I thought it looked like such a wonderful thing that I’d try it, too. I asked the men where I could find a plane
“I never let school interfere with my education.”
—Mark Twain
“What’s the difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”
like theirs. I bought one that very day—and it was only $19.95!
Imagine my surprise when I opened the box to find two thousand tiny pieces of balsa wood. It was a kit! I wanted a plane ready to fly. It took me six months just to assemble one wing, and it was no fun at all. To others this may have been an enjoy- able hobby, but to me it was hard and boring work. I never assembled the rest of the plane because it wasn’t a Core Desire. I wanted to fly a plane, not build one.
Because I never took the time, proper direction, or proper action, I ended up with another failure in my life. The tasks of putting the plane together stopped me permanently. I was motivated from an outside source when I made the snap decision.
Have you ever been that excited about something and started with great enthusiasm, only to not follow through? This is what most goals look like—something that you are initially overjoyed about but soon find you’ve lost your enthusiasm for once you discover the work involved.
T
he more interesting and enlightening you are, the more people will wel- come you into their lives and the more opportunity will abound.Learning is not limited to going to school or getting a degree. It’s surprising that many people stop feeding their minds after a certain point. For some, that point is high school graduation; for others, it’s graduating from college. A large university once took a survey of its recent graduates and found that 90 percent hadn’t read a single book since they’d left the university.
Once, while traveling in France for our twenty-fifth anniversary, Marci and I met a couple celebrating their fiftieth anniversary. The couple were in their late seventies, retired, and traveled to someplace new in the world each month. They enrolled in courses at their local university to learn more about each country, and then they traveled to see firsthand what they had been studying.
I
t is important to share your hard-won knowledge with those who want to learn what you know. Once you attain a body of knowledge or under- standing in a specific area, you’ll be considered selfish if you only use that information for your own benefit. Share your knowledge with others and be free from that limitation.“The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead.”
Ignorance is expensive in all areas of life, so don’t put—or keep—yourself in a box of limited thinking. If you feel that you’re boxed in, decide now to think outside the box with the help of your mentors. Your Conquering Force can shatter any limitations you
have put upon yourself. Whatever you heart desires can set you free. Just before I was to conduct a segment of a financial planning seminar, the seminar leader, a brilliant man with a Ph.D. in finance, approached me. He asked me for some background information in order to introduce me properly. He knew who I was but didn’t know my academic background. He asked, “Where did you go to school?”
I replied, “Monument Valley High School.”
Thinking I was joking, he chuckled. “No, I mean where did you go to college?”
“I didn’t go to college,” I told him.
He was shocked. He was also worried about his reputation, since the audience was there by his personal invitation. Seeing that he was upset, I suggested that he concentrate on my accomplishments rather than my academic background.
After I completed my presentation, the man approached me and said, “I’ve been teaching financial principles for twenty years, and I have a doctorate in finance. You only have a high school education and you are making more money than I am. Something is wrong here. Will you tell me what you think it is?” He was interested in learning from me because it was his Core Desire to earn more money.
“You’re not using your knowledge and credentials to create income, you’re using them to teach. Teaching is an honorable profession,” I told him, “but not if you’re interested in making a lot of money.”