Education Means Life Long Learning
During the first season, Troy McClain made it to the top five.
The fan favorite and
Troy’s success before and during the show must have had something to do with season three, when the contestants were divided into two groups, one with college degrees and the other without. Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts was on. One of the interesting things about the college grads versus the high school grads was the fact that the high school grad team had a combined net worth of more than three times that of the college graduates.
Interestingly enough, by episode eight, there were five people remaining on each team. Before Trump mixed up the teams, he told the group, “It shows that anybody can be successful in business. It’s not whether or not you have book smarts or street smarts, you just need to be smart.” As the teams dwindled down to the final two, both a college grad and a high school grad were left. Trump did ask Tana if not having a college degree put her at a disadvantage compared to Kendra who had a degree, and the issue was discussed at various times during the final episodes. However, it came down to how the two treated their teammates that helped Trump determine who to hire. Not having a college degree did not keep Tana from the final two, just as it did not keep Troy from making it farther than a lot of candidates with degrees in the first season. Being smart is what counts, and there are many ways to become educated, and even after achieving a degree, you must continue to educate yourself and learn for the rest of your life.
In The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, best selling author, Stephen Covey states that he believes that over 20 percent of the present workforce is becoming obsolete, and unless they rededicate and reinvent themselves, within a few years, another 20 percent will become obsolete. People are either losing their jobs or gradually being transformed by the new demands of their new jobs. Covey goes on to say, “This Information Age is transforming so rapidly into the Knowledge Worker Age that it is going to take continual investment in our own education and training to stay abreast. Much of this will be done by the school of hard knocks, but people who see what is happening and who are disciplined will systematically continue their education until they acquire the new mind-set and the new skill-set required to anticipate and accommodate the realities of the new age.”
It is essential that we never stop learning. Lifelong education is a must if you wish to succeed. Obviously, a college education has tremendous benefits. However, we saw candidates that were very successful without college degrees. And even those with college degrees must continue to learn after the pomp and circumstance of graduation.
Where does one acquire lifelong learning? There is a wealth of information all around us, just for the taking. It is up to each of us to maximize our potential by learning as much as we can, and then applying that education to all of our goals and pursuits. Here are a few ways to continue learning.
Learn
From Your Experiences
This is the
school of hard knocks that the street smart candidates claimed as their alma
mater. It is a great way to expand
the dimensions of your knowledge, if you take the time to actually learn from
your experiences and not just let them pass by.
We can learn from successes and failures, but often we forget to look for
the lessons, and dwell in misery and defeat.
Remember
Formal
Education
While this chapter is mainly on education other than college, it should be pointed out that obtaining a formal degree has become easier with the abundant night, weekend, and on-line courses available. Many universities offer courses and degree programs that can be taken while still working full time. Whether you are working toward a degree, or just pick up a class here and there as continued education for your job or in areas of interest, universities and colleges have a lot to offer.
College does provide access to careers that are not open to non-college grads. In addition, learning how to learn and critical thinking, both staples of the undergraduate experience, are often more important than learning a particular occupation. While one can still be successful without a college degree, for some career paths it is essential, and the economic odds are still against the high school graduate who does not continue his or her education.
Mentors
A fantastic way to learn is to find someone who has done what you want to do, and have that person become your mentor. This is an extremely powerful method of learning once you have developed a strong mentor relationship with someone willing to teach you and help you along. Do not be afraid to ask successful people to mentor you. The worst they can say is they do not have time. You will be amazed that many people are afraid to ask, and so many successful people are willing to share their successes, knowledge, and advice to those willing to learn.
Mastermind
Groups
A powerful way
to harness the perspective, knowledge, experience, and resources of others is to
form a mastermind group. A
mastermind group is made up of people who meet on a regular basis to share
ideas, thoughts, information, feedback, and resources.
Not only will you learn a lot, you will have the opportunity to move
beyond your own limited view of the world and advance your goals and projects
more quickly. Authors such as Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Denis
Waitley all promote the power behind mastermind groups.
Form one, and you too will discover the wealth of benefits the group
provides each member.
Read
Devoting time to read every day will result in a wealth of information in a very short time. There are books on every subject imaginable. If you want to learn something, there is no better way than to find the books on that subject and read them. Almost every answer to any question can be found in libraries. So why do only three percent of our entire national population possess a library card? Jim Rohn, business philosopher, speaker and author, likes to say, “If you read two books a week, you will have read 1,000 books in ten years. If you don’t, at the end of ten years you will be 1,000 books behind.”
Zig Ziglar likes to talk about the automobile university. There are tape and CD programs on more subjects that you can imagine. You can learn languages, success principles, and just about anything from tapes and CDs. Most libraries have a large selection of books on tape, including non-fiction selections, so they do not even have to cost you anything. The time you are already commuting can be turned into a daily education session.
These are only a few of the many ways you can increase your knowledge and educate yourself. It is your responsibility to continue learning your entire life, and to apply that knowledge and pass it on to others. One area that is a must to keep up with is computers and the Internet. To be successful in today’s business and into the future, you must be Internet and computer savvy.
Be Internet and Computer Savvy
On various tasks during all three seasons, we saw candidates using computers to search for things on the internet, to assist with presentations, and with season two winner Kelly, to keep everything on track. Computers are a necessity in today’s business world, and the more you know regarding their use the more you will accomplish. There are programs that will assist with many business tasks. Those that do not take advantage of the time and money computers can save them will regret the fact they did not keep up with technology when they are watching their competitors pass them by.
As great and beneficial as computers are, you must be careful not to go too far and micro-organize everything with computers, programs,and fancy gadgets. It does not matter how good you are at creating macros in your spreadsheets or how sophisticated your PDA add-ons are when it comes down to making key decisions. There are many more things to consider than what fits in a spreadsheet or that are in your PDA, when you are leading a corporation or even when making family decisions. There are tools to assist you organize and complete tasks more efficiently, but they are only tools. You must ensure your systems are working for you, and are not creating more work than they are worth. Sometimes it can be easy to become lost in the systems and forget what the important elements of a task really are.
Learn More To Earn More
More than once, Trump asked candidates without college degrees if they were disadvantaged because they lacked a degree. And while they may not have been disadvantaged by lacking a formal education that produced a degree, it is certain that people who have more information have a tremendous advantage over people who do not. As we have seen in this chapter, it is easier than most people believe to increase your information. You can read, listen to tapes and CDs, attend classes and training programs, and learn from mentors and mastermind groups. Not to mention learning from the school of hard knocks. There is no excuse why you cannot substantially increase your level of knowledge and therefore your level of success. If you do not commit to lifelong learning, you will be left behind. The information that allows you to be successful in your career or profession is evolving at an incredible pace. You must commit to lifelong learning – improving your mind, increasing your skills, and increasing your ability to assimilate and apply what you learn.