The Value of Lifelong Learning
Lifelong learning is the on-going, self-motivated, permissive learning which effects everyday habits. When there is a habit of continual learning, there will be growth in a variety of areas. When a person becomes a lifelong learner, they decide to stay vibrant and relevant. This vibrancy will permeate several areas of your life, including relationships, home, hobbies and of course, work.
Complacency Kills
More than anything else, lifelong learning is a mindset. It requires determination and self-discipline. The enemy of lifelong learning is complacency. The instinct to “rest on your laurels is rarely helpful and often will create a setback. As we wrote about in a previous blog post, you must move out of your comfort zone to succeed.
As legendary former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove put it, “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”
With a complacent mindset, there isn’t room for anything new. It is important to keep abreast of changes in all types of industries, particularly in the digital marketing industry. Platforms change swiftly, new software emerges, developing ideas and competing for the innovative edge. An example of this would be how quickly the world of Google, Facebook and other communication platforms advance to the current thinking, algorithms, and the next best thing. These changes happen constantly. Staying on top of important trends is vital to our work at Magnetic Ideas.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
In the world that we live in, the pursuit of knowledge is much easier than it was in Henry Ford’s time. In fact, it’s easier than it has ever been. With the advancement of technology connecting people and information in seemingly endless ways, very specific information can be at your fingertips at virtually any time and place.
Lifelong learning begins with the willingness to expand the mind and learn something that may be a challenge. New information can often contradict what you know to be true. In the digital marketing industry, researching the best ways to reach a specific audience can lead to innovative ideas and new opportunities.
Knowledge is power and, besides it’s exciting to learn and apply new ideas and information! Has your industry advanced while you were stuck in the normal ways of doing your day job? How can you move forward after learning new information? Continual, lifelong learning will make you question what you know and what to do with that knowledge. Do you share it with others? How will it improve your business, your industry, your life?