Staying Sharp
When was the last time that you read a non-fiction book?
How often do you invest time and watching or listening to educational information?
Do you dedicate time each week towards your self-improvement?
Never-before in human history have we had such access to a plethora of information. The self Improvement industry is one of the fastest growing, sitting just behind health and wellness. One of the greatest discoveries of my generation is that one can change their life by changing their mind. William James captured it well, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.”
The challenge, of course, with having so many options to learn is that the pace of life has increased in proportion to this explosion of information. This is the information Revolution. More information is generated every day than was generated in a year only a decade ago.
An interesting article on techjury.com about big data states that Google gets over 3.5 billion searches daily, WhatsApp users exchange up to 65 billion messages daily. In 2020, every person will generate 1.7 megabytes in just a second leading to around 40 trillion gigabytes of data (40 zettabytes)!
So while it is theoretically easy to learn and stay informed, one needs to be able to cut through the incredible amount of options. I love buying books from the Red Cross book sale every year. I focus on buying books for business and books for self-improvement. We have a number of bookshelves in our house and I delight in giving books away. While buying this year's quota of books I had the realisation that there is a definite part of me that is appeased at the thought that I now have all this information - and with it, all the opportunities that this information holds and can create - should I implement what I learn. The reason that struck me so strongly is that I start all of my training sessions reminding people that “information is only as good as the action that you take as a result of having it”.
I have to plead guilty to having many books that I have not yet read and even a pile of books next to my chair that I have the very good intention of reading. I love to learn. Stephen Covey put it I love to “sharpen the saw” and stay current with new practices and best practice. Learning from people who have been successful in applying is incredibly inspirational.
As with many things, one of the best ways to ensure that one is consistent with learning is to look for ways to make it a habit and to make it part of your routine. I know, for me, that audiobooks while I drive has been one of the best ways to ‘read’ multiple books. Carrying a book around in my work bag and having one next to my chair at home means that I am able to read a couple of pages when the opportunity arises. Additionally, being deliberate and making time every day to watch a 15 to 20 minutes interesting video clip is a great way to consistently gain knowledge and information .
What small action could you make part of your routine that would keep you current, learning and ensure your ‘saw stays sharp’?
