I am a life-long learner.
I think it’s critical to my survival to keep learning…of course, I enjoy learning about topics I can leverage in my business or monetize in some way – social media optimization or innovative ways to use content marketing to drive lead generation, for instance!
But, I know many people who just learn for the sake of learning. I applaud these people because they keep the dinner conversations going long after my 5 minutes of socio/political and theoretical idealogy knowledge has left everyone wondering if I ever watch the news or the History Channel at all. Not kidding.
I have considered that sometimes, I can get complacent about learning and at times feel one-dimensional. On the other hand, the things I do make it my business to know…I know very well, you might say…I’ve mastered a few things. For everything else – there’s MasterCard! Just kidding! *My business(es) are debt-free and I only personally owe student loans, my car payment and monthly housing (utilities/internet etc.). And, I pay all of my team-members before I get paid usually!
Harvey Mackay says:
I CAN buy a level of expertise within my network! Right now, I know, or know of someone who can tell me exactly how to get a certain thing accomplished.
Think about it!
It’s not possible to be an expert at everything – as one colleague says:
“You can list it but…it doesn’t pass the laugh test!”
As a professional marketer, it is imperative to surround myself with a team of experts – YES I am referring to the cross-functional team (graphics, web, SEO, publishing, accounting and administrative professionals). It’s like getting a second (or third) doctor’s opinion so I don’t have unnecessary surgery!
I am very best at lead generation; generating high volume, high quality leads and developing marketing qualification strategies to turn over sales-ready leads…..there’s a lot of things I DO KNOW…..but I cannot know it all.
As an experienced professional, I have the wisdom to seek counsel on topics that I have less competency in than one of my respected peers. This doesn’t excuse me from researching it, but it sure makes the conversation more efficient. I at least need to fully know the strategic use and right questions to ask – even if I don’t know HOW to build it….I know why I WANT to build it and that is incredibly important. Plus, I might just find that it’s more cost-effective and efficient to engage an expert who would benefit the client with the quality of their work and experience.
So, I’ve challenged myself to really learning something new – in depth, by taking a class on something of interest at least once a month. I can tell you it won’t be a computer programming course – a hobby perhaps? Jury’s out.
I did in fact, recently spend time with Dan Sherman. I learned a lot in a few hours. Thank you Mr. Sherman!
What I’ve been realizing is that, no matter my age:
I still have a lot to learn and I can still learn….
A Lot!
If you are an educator, don’t ignore us old dogs….the quest for more knowledge and new tricks is not over. If I don’t know the answers, I’m going to look until I find them! If you want to educate, tell people what you know. Blog about it or offer a webinar or something….so you can be found on the search when I ask “uncle Google” about my interest….BE THERE!
Do you want to know more about social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn but feel overwhelmed? What is the obstacle that keeps you from indulging your thirst for knowledge? Is it time? Lack of motivation? Fear that it’s too complicated? I’d like to hear what keeps you from learning something new.
