Learning & Doing Anything You Want in the Age of Information: Part 2 of 3

Part 2: The missing link that keeps you stuck right where you’re at

In the age of information,

ignorance is a choice… 

While true, this phrase, only speaks to half of the equation. 

As a baby, your sense of humor is rather limited. It doesn’t get much funnier than a game of peak-a-boo.

Then you grow up a bit, and you may go to the beach for the first time. The waves—crashing against your feet, advancing and retreating endlessly into the ocean—are simply mesmerizing to your young eyes.

You get a little older and you may go to a major city for the first time. Perhaps you’re in Times Square or Roppongi. The swarms and swarms of people, the neon lights, animated signs, the cars, the noise are sensational when you first experience them.

As these experiences take shape in your mind’s eye, they become the foundation of who you are forever. You can only have your first time—well, once. 

Try and repeat the experiences. They never make the same impression as your first time. These life experiences also can’t be replicated fully online. 

A baby watching a game of peek-a-boo online, just isn’t the same.

You, as a child, watching a YouTube video about the beach or the city, just isn’t the same as standing on the beach, or in the middle of Times Square.

Life experiences largely relate to the people is in your immediate proximity — mother, father, extended family, classmates, and neighbors. 

You are exposed to different life experiences, depending on who is in your orbit. What are the experiences of the people who you interact with day-to-day?

The collection of life experiences—yours and those of the people surrounding you — guide you in a certain direction and influence your behaviors. 

Good people in your life, who inspire you to achieve more, to be curious, and seek knowledge, will change your life. They will influence you positively to seek out wisdom and achieve your dreams. In contrast, NOT having people like that in your life may keep you ignorant—despite the fact that this is the information age and you can discover the answers to almost anything. You need a shining example of what’s possible to inspire you to action.

If you want to change your life, you want to go from “ignorance” in an area to mastering it, it’s not just about information. WHO you know is equally important.

People aren’t in control of who their parents are, their neighbors, or their classmates, as a child. 

While adults can choose their own relationships, by that time, much of their life experiences are already fully crystalized in their heads. They are already headed down a path by the time they’re grown up.

This is why I say that: “in the age of information, ignorance is a choice,” is only half true. Because a lot of it— your individual life circumstances—simply wasn’t your choice.

But that’s not the end of the story. Even if you didn’t have the best life circumstances growing up or even now, you can still interrupt the pattern and change courses. 

1. Seek out the people you admire. You can find mentors online. You don’t even have to know them. Think about times you learned the most… There was probably a great teacher involved in that learning process.
2. Educate yourself with the vast knowledge that’s out there— books, e-learning courses, podcasts, audio books, social media groups, etc. 
3. Be that shining example for other people. Don’t judge others’ knowledge or lack thereof. You don’t know their life.
4. Challenge belief systems — your own and others’. Start a dialog. Post your experiences, opinions, and insights online. 

Just keep going. 

If you missed Part 1, I wrote about changing your life’s trajectory in the age of information. In Part 3, I will cover taking action.