Self-Learning: 3 Ways To Invest In Knowledge

Self-Learning: 3 Ways To Invest In Knowledge

Every successful entrepreneur is always learning. You’ll never hear Warren Buffet say “That’s it, I know enough. No need to learn anything more” – and that’s because the moment you do that, life starts to pass you by.

Change is constant, and while there’s no need to stress yourself out by trying to keep on top of every new thing that comes along, you can achieve great results in your life by keeping abreast of just a few. You can’t control everything in life but you can manage yourself. You can find out more about self-learning and taking action. Below are three ways you can invest in knowledge.

1. Learn, Learn – And Learn Some More

Successful people study a lot – whether it be e-books, in-car audio courses, relevant vlogs, or scanning the financial pages each morning. You can’t expect to stand in the sun if you keep yourself deliberately in the dark. Get your hands on Mark Douglas’ Trading In The Zone, or T. Harv Ecker’s Secrets of The Millionaire Mind. Read the autobiographies of millionaires and billionaires you admire – it’s like keeping good company.

As you may not make Sir Richard Branson’s appointment list just yet, get as close as you can. Read his book, follow his tweets – whatever it takes to get and keep you inspired on your own journey. A word of caution though; knowledge without action achieves nothing. Don’t forget your own story in the thrall of those already written.

2. Find A Like-Minded Company

You may have noticed that there are two kinds of people in your life; those who encourage your ambitions and those who point out why they will never work. Sometimes those who do the latter can be helpful – provided their input leads you to constructive action. For the most part, however, you probably find spending time with those who back your play boosts your mood, heightens your confidence, and keeps you happily on task.

Being with those who believe we can achieve what we set out to do – or at least that our journey is worthwhile – gives us a boost. Surrounding yourself with positive people pays emotional and mental dividends. In short, these friends help keep your head right and your goal-focused mindset, well, set and steady – especially when your doubts surface. That’s when you need your like- minded company the most. Cultivating and maintaining these relationships is an investment in yourself and your future.

3. Listen

There are often opportunities to attend events where we can hear from our mentors and industry-leading players. Get along to as many of these as you can – and when you do, be conscious of the time you’re investing and make the most of it. It can be difficult to switch off our mind chatter, but there’s little point in making the time in your busy life to listen to a top trader or entrepreneur if you spend the whole talk stressing about your upcoming performance review at the job you’re working your way out of, or that upcoming dinner with your in-laws… or whatever it may be.

If it helps, set yourself a knowledge goal every time you tune in to learn – maybe three new changes to take away and try? Maybe five? Whatever it may be, give yourself over to being inspired and switch off the ‘other stuff,’ just for a while. It’ll still be there in a couple of hours.

Learning new skills and ways of thinking outside a traditional study environment isn’t easy. It takes discipline and a special kind of focus, but if you make the commitment and follow through you will see the results. Of all the investments you make in life, investing in your own education is the most important, and offers the greatest returns.