Curious about Education: Are You Investing in Yours?

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” - Sydney J. Harris

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” - William Butler Yeats

“Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” Malcolm Forbes

I have always loved taking classes, attending lectures and seminars, reading and, lately, attending a plethora of teleseminars. Have you noticed that there are more right now than ever?

Yes, I would agree that I am a strong proponent of lifetime learning and education.

My family has even expressed concern that I spend too much time and money on books, teleseminars and information products. Therefore, I was delighted to hear John Childers, while being interviewed by Armand Morin the other night, tell about one of the most useful tips an early mentor of his had shared with him.

Childers said that this man had told him that one of the reasons starting businesses fail is that rather than spending money on advertising, they wait until they have made some money (which they don’t without getting the word out). He said that it is the same with education and learning. Many people plan to wait until they have money before investing in their continuing, lifetime learning and education.

He and Armand both stressed that those who succeed have invested time, money and effort in educating themselves. Now, I am not suggesting that you spend thousands of dollars in furthering your education. But I am proposing that you find ways to learn, learn and learn more from the experts.

The great news is that with the information - almost overload - available today, we have no excuse for not learning. Not only is the Internet loaded with great articles, well-researched and written e-newsletters and reports, the teleseminars are terrific ways to attend a seminar without paying for travel and overnight expenses. And, most of these are now recorded as MP3s which can be downloaded and listened to, time and time again - without long distance phone charges.

And, don’t forget our public libraries. The books, tapes, CDs and use of computers are there for us to learn from. It is almost too easy! I wonder if that is why more people don’t make use of these incredible opportunities that are available to all of us - whether we have extra funds, or not.

I know that you are looking for some new quotations about education, and I found some great ones:

• “Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.” - Daniel J. Boorstin
• “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.” - Grayson Kirk
• “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” - B. F. Skinner
• “An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.” -Anatole France

So, my question for you is, “What have you learned lately?” I remember the late Leo Buscaglia sharing that every night at dinner his father would have each of them answer the question, “And, what did you learn today?” A great question for all of us to ask ourselves every night.

Let me leave you with one more quotation to think about. Erich Fromm wrote, “Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?”

Curious about Accomplishments - Big or Small, the Importance Is What They Mean to You

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” - Thomas Carlyle

“If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment... quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there's going to be a life after tennis that's a lot longer than your tennis life.” - Chris Evert Lloyd

What did you accomplish this past week? Do you keep track of you accomplishments? And, do you reward yourself for and celebrate your accomplishments? I know I do, and Carlyle is correct when he states that they build “self-esteem” and “self-confidence.”

This past week I had several accomplishments. I went down and back up the three flights of steps to my apartment. I put the trash out twice. I did laundry. I ran the motor in my car for 15 minutes. And, I even cleaned my apartment.

“What?” you say. “What kind of accomplishments are those?”

I would be asking the same question in my usual, normal life, because there is no way I would even think of them as “accomplishments.” They would be easy tasks that I would do quickly and regularly without a thought. But, if you have been reading my blog, or know me, you know that in the first week of January I fell before teaching my three morning fitness classes.

I then taught the classes, and by the time I left the gym I was in PAIN. It did not get better, so three weeks later I visited the Cleveland Clinic's Sports Medicine section where new x-rays showed that I had fractured my hip. They performed surgery, told me not to drive and not to put any weight on my right leg. So, for the past three and a half weeks I have been hopping along on a walker and expending an incredible amount of energy on every small task - from dressing to just moving around.

That’s why I am feeling accomplished this weekend and started thinking about what accomplishment means. I also felt it would be interesting to look up a few accomplishment quotations just for interest’s sake. First, what do accomplishments mean to you and others?

• “My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.” - Wilma Rudolph
• “The greatest feeling of accomplishment for me is the fact that I was an athlete who was somewhat disabled.” - Bill Toomey
• “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” - Jim Rohn
• “Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.” - Eric Butterworth

And, then there are accomplishments that relate to what we do:

• “Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.” - Thomas A. Edison
• “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” - Arnold J. Toynbee. Way to go, Arnold! This could be my mantra. That’s why I have so many careers. I love them all so much, they are more “play” than “work.”
• "You get whatever accomplishment you are willing to declare." - Georgia O'Keeffe

I will leave you with my favorite accomplishment quotation of all. Leonardo da Vinci wrote, “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

And, do let me hear about your accomplishments. In two more weeks, mine should become more impressive than the ones I cited earlier. Just remember, if it is an accomplishment in your mind, it is impressive!

Curious about Questions, Assessments, Challenges and Tests

I just checked back and was amazed to discover that my first blog was posted way back on November 17, 2004.

In it, I wrote about an evening meeting with a group of local bloggers who were trying to convince me to start a blog. My answer was that “I do so much writing already, why would I ever need or enjoy creating a blog?"

“And then, it happened! During the past month, I have been bombarded by glowing reports of the importance of and marketing payoffs of having a blog. I also needed a place to introduce assessments (I have signed up for an assessment generator).”

Realizing that I was planning to use this space to introduce assessments, I am going to fulfill that promise tonight by telling you about several that I have created. They are fun, informative and offer a great way to communicate what you would like to learn about, while they give me ideas for new articles and e-newsletter topics.

Francis Bacon wrote, “Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.”

While Og Mandino stated, “Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.”

I have two assessments on-line that are completely devoted to your questions.

• The first is at www.creativekeys.biz/askquestion.htm and addresses “Burning Internet / Web Design Question(s) that Are Challenging You.” With all of the changes, standards and new programs bombarding the Internet, everyone has questions. As Og Mandino says, “never be too big to ask questions.” I will do my best to answer - or will find someone who can. And, hopefully, your questions will give me ideas for my monthly Internet Tips E-Zine.
• The second is at www.creativekeys.net/askquestions.htm . Called “A Portfolio of Questions - Ask as Many as You Want To!” this assessment provides space for questions and challenges concerning my four information areas of expertise: creativity, powerful presentations, storytelling power and freelance living.

Then, there is a self test, “The 'Portfolio Career' Self Test - or Am I Someone Who Would Love to Have One?” A Portfolio Career - my style - is having more than one career at a time. You will find this test with 20 quick statements to grade from not true to very true at www.creativekeys.net/portfoliocareertest.htm

And, finally, I have a “'Portfolio Career' Self Test Follow-Up” at
www.creativekeys.net/portfoliocareerfollowup.htm . When I first posted this, around 150 people had already taken the Self Test. Now, more than 900 have. So, whether or not you have taken the Self Test, you are welcome to try the Follow-up, especially if you are or have handled more than one career at a time.

All of the assessments are free to take. All I ask is for your name and e-mail address, so I can send you an answer and also a complimentary copy of one of my e-newsletters. Besides, they are fun and enlightening to play with.

After all, Thomas Berger wrote, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” So, ask away!

Curious about Uniqueness - Let’s Learn to Celebrate Ours!

“When you affirm your own rightness in the universe, then you co-operate with others easily and automatically as part of your own nature. You, being yourself, help others be themselves. Because you recognize your own uniqueness you will not need to dominate others, nor cringe before them.” - Scott Reed

“As we grow as unique persons, we learn to respect the uniqueness of others.” - Robert H. Schuller

If you have ever studied and/or read about marketing, selling or self promotion, you have certainly been told about USPs. Your USP is your “Unique Selling Proposition.” It is what makes you different from everyone else out there. I have noticed, however, how difficult it is for most of us to determine our uniqueness, even though I know that we are all unique.

I think that part of the problem goes back to the peer pressure we experience from babyhood on. If we are too unique and/or different from the norm, peers, parents, teachers and relatives often try to force us into the “accepted” mode. We are also told to “model” those we want to be like to be successful.

Don’t get me wrong. I have learned a huge amount from successful gurus. And, yes they have taught and lead me well. I will continue to listen to them on audios and read their books, but I feel strongly that I need to take what they teach and apply what works for me in my way. If we all try to do everything the same way, what a boring world it would be.

Back in the 70s, I returned to college for an M.F.A. in fine arts. My mediums were clay and fiber. I even opened my own art school, studio and gallery where I held classes, did my work and sold artwork. To help keep afloat financially, with the help of my children, I entered art shows and craft fairs.

My work was unique. We discovered early on that potential buyers either hated it, or loved it and bought it. Often a husband would love a piece and say he was going to get his wife to show her the work. This usually resulted in the “kiss of death.” She would hate it. It was even the same with art shows. If the work was accepted, it would usually win an award.

This did bother my children. I tried to convince them that I would rather that people felt strongly about the uniqueness of my work, than to just purchase it because it was so like everything else they were used to.

I am not suggesting that being bizarre just to be different is a good idea. I am submitting to you that you should celebrate your uniqueness and your unique gifts. Be yourself. Be your own person. Here are some quotations that I hope you will take to heart:

• “What you have, what you are - your looks, your personality, your way of thinking - is unique. No one in the world is like you. So capitalize on it.” - Jack Lord
• “If you want to be truly successful invest in yourself to get the knowledge you need to find your unique factor. When you find it and focus on it and persevere your success will blossom.” - Sydney Madwed
• “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.” - Viktor E. Frankl
• “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” - Douglas Adams

I urge you to think hard about your uniqueness, and then pursue it - even if it is different from the way everyone else does what they do. Take to heart the next two quotations by Al Lewis and Martha Graham. It often takes guts to be your unique self, but it is worth it!

“But find something that you absolutely love doing. And then get to love the way you do it. That's the uniqueness of all of us. That's it.” - Al Lewis
“You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.” - Martha Graham

I would love to hear how you are unique! Send me your comments.