5 Everyday Ways to Be a Lifelong Learner and Excel Your Personal Brand, Without a?Degree

Instead of an expensive, time-consuming and potentially unnecessary degree, consider everyday self-directed learning for your personal brand instead.

In Australia, the average student debt is $31,500.

One of the things that saddens me when working with my personal brand coaching clients is the insecurity some feel when they don’t have a degree. As someone who has three formal post-high school qualifications including an MBA, it breaks my heart to see the most incredibly accomplished professionals worry about a piece of paper. Especially, when I know in almost all circumstances,this relates more to a limiting belief and confidence, than needing the qualification to continue to excel in their careers.

I personally feel, traditionally, we too often associate professional competency and effectiveness with formal education. In many industries, formal qualifications are not required for you to excel. After 3 years of studying Marketing, on my first day on the job in marketing, I had to ask an external sales rep to explain a basic process to me. Needless to say, my expensive degree failed to prepare me for that moment.

Of course, this has exceptions. I’m not recommending you aim for a career as a brain surgeon without the necessary qualifications. But, let’s be honest. In many cases, the formal qualifications can serve as more of a confidence boost than the foundation of your competency.

With so many struggling with the cost of living and juggling multiple jobs to stay afloat, let’s talk about the simple, inexpensive everyday ways you can be a lifelong learner with a growth mindset for your professional personal brand potential.

1. Read?Daily

Research has shown that CEOs read on average 60 books per year. This would imply top executives are more focused on the everyday ways they can learn from people who have already travelled the path they are on. Books are an opportunity to learn from those who have gone before you. Those who have taken the time to pave the way for those to come, usually at the cost of around $30, not $30,000.

Many books in the professional development genre that would benefit your professional personal brand are penned by professors of the world’s most elite universities. Those who have taken the time to make their knowledge and research digestible to the everyday person.

As I shared in my previous blog on How I Read 100 Books in 2024, set reading goals for yourself. Commit to being a self-disciplined, self-directed learner. Be a professional who learns at your own pace and is motivated by the unique goals of your professional personal brand. Make the development of your personal brand personal.

To supercharge your learning, become a member of your local library. I personally use my local library’s app for eBooks, making learning this everyday way completely free. If you have some funds to invest, consider signing up to a subscription service like Everand or similar?—?this is much like the Netflix of books.

2. Tune into?YouTube

Most Australian and US research estimates the average person watches 2.5–3 hours of television per day.

Let’s extend these numbers out:

= 2.5–3 daily hours of TV

= 17.5–21 hours of TV a week

= 910–1,092 hours of TV per year

= 23–27 40-hour work-week equivalents per year

Watching TV can give us a chance to unwind and relax. But, could you interrupt your regular programming for more productive options?

In 2024, YouTube broke records as it achieved 10.4% of all TV viewing, becoming the first streaming service to break the 10% barrier. For more than 50% of people, YouTube is also the first app they open when they turn on their TVs. YouTube is the new TV. But, unlike a lot of traditional TV, is flooded with educational content. Where creators are literally giving away everything they know day in and day out, down to the most minute level of detail.

Historically, I have been a huge advocate for formal learning. I was even President of my MBA alumni network and spoke many times at recruitment events. However, the world is changing and information has never been more accessible.

Identify what area of development could most benefit your professional personal brand and schedule time for this new TV. Maybe it’s watching a video or two in your lunch break instead of scrolling social media. Or, switching some of your night on the couch with Netflix to your favourite educational content creator on YouTube.

3. Enrol in Automobile University

How much time do you spend commuting every day and every week?

The worldwide average commute time is estimated to be 72 minutes per day.

The legendary Zig Ziglar coined the term ‘automobile university’, for making the most of your commute.

Consider swapping out mindless (and usually pointless) radio banter for an informative podcast in your field of expertise, niche interest or audiobooks.

Maybe your commute is slightly shorter, remember small blocks of time add up. As Steven Pressfield reminds us in Put Your Ass Where Your Heart Is, even one hour a day can have a huge impact. One hour a day on 365 days, equates to nine forty-hour work weeks. What could focusing your attention on professional development in your commute do for your personal brand long term?

4. Following with Intention

Market research company GWI estimates the typical working-age internet user spends 2.5 hours a day on social media. By these estimates, that’s another 17.5 hours per week.

Based on these numbers, that’s the annual equivalent of nearly 23 forty-hour work weeks. Just a couple of weeks shy of half a year.

Could you use social media not as a vortex of distraction and mindlessness, but as a place for your professional personal brand to thrive in short spurts of learning?

As Cal Newport proposes in his book Digital Minimalism, develop a philosophy for leveraging technology for its real value:

“A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.”

5. Convert Passive Learning to Active?Learning

The Learning Pyramid tells us that we only retain 10% of what we read, meaning reading is highly passive. It sits only above listening to lectures which has a 5% retention rate.

Make an effort to learn by sharing, doing and discussing. Consider starting a podcast or YouTube channel. Write blogs or articles on LinkedIn. Convert your passive learning to the active development of knowledge. You don’t have to be an expert to do so. You just have to learn in public, and in the process, you invite others to learn along with you.

So, ask yourself, does your professional personal brand need that degree, or just a commitment to everyday lifelong learning?

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Dianne Glava?

Personal brand coach, speaker and consultant for executives, emerging leaders and business owners. Use personal branding to differentiate your trusted brand in the marketplace and build industry influence.

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