If you're not learning, you're dead

The legend Henry Ford knew it when he said:

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

I read that quote and it took me back to my teens when an English teacher kicked off my love of reading. (Thank you Mr Starched White Shirt Guy whose name I forget.) That in turn reminded me of using Google at the start of my tech career, too long ago to mention, to consume everything I could about web development. Back when Perl was the programming language of choice (that's how old I am).

My 2 cents worth for the top 10 ways to learn right now:

→ Learn from the best on sites like MasterClass

It is insane that we live in an age where the biggest and best minds in the world share their wisdom and experience for the monthly price of a glass of wine at a mid-range restaurant. Anyone from Neil deGrasse Tyson to Natalie Portman to Richard Branson and many more are on there. We've become so accustomed to having information at our fingertips that we forget just how amazing things like this are.

→ Books (the well known and not so well known)

An obvious one. What's not so obvious is the gold you'll find in all manner of books, from fiction to factual, from the popular to the not so popular, and newbies writing about what they love to the vast array of non-fiction. I've personally taken so much away from spiritual reading recently, such as The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and The Untethered Soul by Michael Alan Singer. Hat tip to Emmie Faust for reminding me of the incredible role books can play in a persons learning journey.

→ Social media

The argument over social media for societal good or ill will rage on but it's difficult to argue its ability to inform, educate and delight. LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, Instagram, and the juggernaut that is TikTok all provide an abundant source of brain juice. I feel as if I learn something new every single day just by following the right kind of?people on LinkedIn. People like Justin Welsh or Andrea Bosoni or Richard Shotton or Harry Dry .

→ Podcasts

One of my absolute favourite sources of learning. There's something about the auditory power of hearing people speak the things they're passionate about. I've lost count of the notes I've made and ideas gleaned from listening to a good podcast. Despite having a Geordie accent it's a goal to create my own. Like books, there are the well known and not so well known. Some of my personal favourites are Nudge, Brand Growth Heroes, 2Bobs ( David C. Baker and Blair Enns are American legends), Slo Mo by Mo Gawdat and On Being by Krista Tippett.

→ YouTube

There isn't a topic, subject or task you can't learn more about on YouTube. How to open a bottle of wine with a shoe anyone? According to Wyzowl, an average of 694,000 hours of video are streamed by users every minute (more than Netflix). And although it would be physically impossible, Dcatalyst calculated it would take 60,000 years to watch every single video available. Again, it's insane we have this wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. For this we can forgive that 'Charley bit my finger' was the most popular video for a while (interestingly the clip was finally auctioned off as an NFT for around ￡500,000) .

→ Ted Talks

Some super smart people from all walks of life, backgrounds, places and intellectual prowess telling the world their stories, sharing their beliefs, expounding on life and showing us how to achieve excellence. All in glorious technicolour high def video. Marvellous.

→ Courses

There are now a vast and varied amount of courses you can take online in any language, in any format and over whatever time frame you feel like. They're run by colleges, businesses, individuals, entrepreneurs and all manner of folks. The choice of subject is immense, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Want to study whether or not we're alone in the universe? There's a course for that. Interested in a Vampirology Diploma? There's a course for that too. Much like YouTube it would take a person many, many lifetimes to study all the courses available but man, what an unbelievable time to be alive.

→ Virtual MBAs

I don't know much amount about Virtual MBAs but I'm glad they exist. What was once the preserve of the elite or wealthy can now be attained by anybody with an internet connection, desire and ability to make time for what they love. Like other learning options I've mentioned you can also learn from the best. With Virtual MBAs on offer from big businesses, renowned universities and entrepreneurs who've made it big and want to share their knowledge.

→ Audible

Obviously Audible is essentially books in aural form but you can't read while you drive or have sex so it makes the list. The deep, deep joy and learning that comes with hearing the written word in action is indescribable. You can hear the author speak their passions for f*cks sake! Recommendation: get a ￡7.99 monthly subscription, let your credits stack up as you're listening to your current book, take constant recommendations from friends and connections, add them to your wishlist on Audible, then buy and listen to each one when you're ready.

→ Software

A huge expanse of tools are available and companies are building amazing tech that allow you to learn in new and exciting ways, when you want and at whatever time or place suits you. Technology and internet connection pending. According to Statista, around 63% of the world's population (5 billion users) are active internet users. So that's plenty of brains with the capacity to learn and grow using online software. (I happen to be working as Fractional Head of Data & Analytics for one such company aiming to change the way we learn — the amazing Entelechy . Sign up for beta access here if you're interested.)

What am I missing?

I'll say it again, if you're not learning you're dead. Dead in the water when it comes to your career. Dead when it comes to inner growth. Dead in understanding your complicated, confusing and creatively beautiful fellow humans. And there's never been a better time to learn. It's a huge f**king mistake to let that opportunity pass you by.

We should be yearning to learn, striving to share and grasping to grow in our work, life and in understanding the people and world around us.

(Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash)