No matter what line of work you are in, your success will always be limited by the extent of your knowledge and skills. So if you want to be more successful, then you need to upgrade your skills and education. And if you want to consistently rise within your organization and in the industry as a whole, then you can’t wait for educational opportunities to present themselves; you must actively pursue them.
Make Self-Education a Daily Habit
There’s a funny belief out there that the only valid education is the kind that you get from a university in a classroom. The truth is that education doesn’t have to be formal or institutionalized for it to have a positive impact on your career. Moving to higher levels of success in life begins with self-education. You must educate yourself if you want to reach your highest goals in life.
This means that the learning never stops. Your education can continue long after you graduate from school. But it won’t happen by accident. You must make continuing education a priority and commit to learning something new in your industry every day. You can do this by reading trade journals and industry blogs and by keeping up with the latest news related to your field.
Take Advantage of Free Education Opportunities
If you have a library card and an internet connection, there is very little information that you cannot learn. Just about anything you would want to know is available in books and magazines at the library or in articles and videos online. You might be surprised at the depth of quality content that you can find with a simple Google search.
Obviously, the more time you devote to researching your industry, the more knowledge you will gain. But even a simple commitment to reading for 15 minutes per day can make a substantial increase in your knowledge. That adds up to over 90 hours of education every year, which is comparable to taking an additional 3-credit course in college.
Go Back to School…Sort Of
Along with gaining knowledge from books and other media, you should also seek to upgrade your skills whenever possible. It is best to make this a continuous process, just like your commitment to daily reading.
There are a lot of opportunities to gain new certifications and skills, both online and at schools in your community. Most high schools and community colleges offer affordable classes at night or even on weekends. And there are tons of opportunities from accredited schools online. For example, if you’re an app developer or coder, learning a new language like Angular JS Javascript HTML would be worthwhile. If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur, try enrolling in something like B School.
You don’t have to become a full-time student all over again in order to take your career to the next level. While taking classes from accredited schools that count toward a degree is an ideal case, it is not your only way to improve. Knowledge is the key to your success, no matter what source that knowledge comes from. So make the decision today to commit to improving your knowledge and skills in your industry on an ongoing basis. This is the key to success in business and in life.