“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

– John Wooden

I remember my mother telling me, “You have to go to college. You need to acquire the knowledge that will last you for your lifetime.”

That’s the way it used to be. When you left school, you stopped learning. You started to work. And you worked for the same company until you retired. And then you _____.

Not today.

Learning for a lifetime will not equip us to remain vital – and employed. Rather, we need to invest in ourselves – committing to a lifetime of learning. Well, at least a significant part of our lifetime!

But – here’s the key – learning doesn’t stop. We can decide to stop learning. But economic forces, a global economy and a rapidly changing world demand that we continue to learn new skills. To reinvent ourselves periodically. To adapt to change.

I have been devoting some time to developing my new website – filming short video lessons of MS Excel tipsand time savers. During development, I have asked several friends and colleagues to review the videos and to give me feedback. Many write back to say:

“Wow! I didn’t realize that you could do that. I’ve been wasting a lot of time doing it the wrong way.”

“If only I knew this sooner. I could have saved two hours preparing my last report.”

“I didn’t realize what I didn’t know.”

“I knew that I needed to improve my Excel skills, but I didn’t know where to begin.”

I gain a lot of satisfaction from my career as a trainer and speaker. I love to see someone in my class have an “A ha!” moment. I love to see the light bulb of learning flash on. I enjoy helping people to learn.

And… I enjoy learning. I try to live my lifetime learning – and growing.

How about you? What are your thoughts on the topic of continuing education and professional development?

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