Be Happy be a Lifelong Learner

I'm passionate about learning. I'm passionate about life.

Tom Cruise

This life is a process of learning.

Lauryn Hill

Learning is a joyful thing to do. It brings you happiness throughout your life. What you have learnt in school is only the beginning. The true challenge in life is the learning process when you step into the real world.  I can think of many delightful benefits when you continue to seek enlightenment in life:

1.       Stay youthful: Reading and learning is the best way to stimulate your mind. Every time when you have learnt or understood something, it gives you the “Aha” experience. Explore and discover the world around you.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

Henry Ford

2.       New knowledge: Learn from others how they get things done successfully outside your area of expertise. Gain new insight and apply what is relevant to your area of work.

3.       New skills: Sharpen your skills by continuous learning. It is the best way to stay ahead and be efficient and effective.

4.       Embrace changes: Learning means getting to know more about technology which shapes our future. Be flexible and open-minded and ready to adopt changes to your advantage.

Change is the end result of all true learning.

Leo Buscaglia

5.       Wise use of time: Learning is the wisest use of your free time. Instead of watching TV, read books and magazines. Surf the Net for information and be more knowledgeable. Read and learn while you are in the loo, commuting or waiting for your turn.

6.       Productive habit: When you have developed the habit of reading and learning while you were young, you have acquired a productive habit that will last you a lifetime. You can’t stop learning because there is always something new to learn.

7.       Be inspired and motivated:  Reading the wise words of famous people is the best thing to do in the morning. It uplifts your mood and energizes you to start a new day with excitement and enthusiasm. Read motivational quotes every day.

Learning is pleasurable but doing is the height of enjoyment.

Novalis

As long as you live, keep learning how to live.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

10 Essential Things a College Student Should Learn

Learning without thought is labor lost. ~Confucius

According to educationalists, as reported in the newspapers, students who enter tertiary institutions, such as colleges, polytechnics, and universities, are academically excellent. However, they are lacking in things that are more important in the real world:

1. Communication skills: It is more than just telling others what you want to say, it involves active listening as well. In fact, it is wise to listen more, talk less and learn more. Presentation skills are another important aspect that a student is weak in. A student needs to learn to develop the confidence to speak in a crowd and present a subject and get the message across effectively. When you are working, you need to persuade and convince others to accept your ideas and get things done.

2. Critical thinking: Beyer sees critical thinking as using criteria to judge the quality of something, from cooking to a conclusion of a research paper. In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess the validity of something (statements, news stories, arguments, research, etc.). There is an explosion of information and a student must be able to evaluate knowledge gained and make a sound decision for the things they do.

3. Research: There will be no more spoon-feeding. A student must learn to look for the right information all by himself or herself to get assignments done.

4. Time management: A student must be able to discipline himself or herself to get things done promptly and avoid procrastination. Organize personal life in a balanced and productive way between work and play.

5. Personal money management: It is also time for a student to learn about personal budget, credit card, and debt to avoid getting into bankruptcy.

6. Current affairs: A student needs to know about the things that are happening around them because his or her life will be greatly affected and it is necessary to take a proactive approach to avoid disappointment and frustrations in life.

7. Physically fit: More likely than not, a student usually leads a sedentary lifestyle by looking at the monitor all day long. To be fit and energetic, it is essential for a student to be active physically every day. A healthy body and a healthy mind is the key to success.

8. Language proficiency: In a multi-racial society like Malaysia, it is imperative to master three languages well. However, a student is usually weak in English. There is no shortcut to be proficient in a language, but to communicate more, write more, read more and listen more in English.

9. EQ: Learn to know your own feelings as well as others and know the right time and the right things to say when you want to approach someone. It is also to avoid an outburst of your negative feelings. You want to be perceived as a pleasant, calm, and cheerful person

10. Creative: It is also time for a student to think creatively and solve personal problems. In real life and at work, you are employed to solve problems and get things done. How fast you can move up the corporate ladder depends on how creative you are.

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. ~Anthony J. D’Angelo

Are You Learning Continuously?

Have you stopped learning ever since you left school? I hope not because leaning is a beneficial lifelong process. There are many advantages of learning apart from acquiring knowledge and keeping yourself up-to-date. Here are some of them:

• News: Stay ahead of others by knowing and understanding what is going around you and the world. Find out how relevant events can impact your life.

• Technology: Advancements in technology can transform our lives. Learn and be ready to make the necessary changes for the better by adopting new ways of doing things.    

• Economic issues: Look for valuable tips and opportunities in currency issues and business trends. Be on the lookout for a solid investment.

• Books and articles: Gain insights  to make a wise decision and get ahead and stay ahead of the competition

• Professional skills: Update the knowledge in the field of your expertise. Take up courses and attend seminars to keep abreast of developments.

• Mental power: Stimulate your mental faculty: Be open-minded and stay alert and curious about new things and trending events.

• Information and knowledge: The more you learn and know, the easier it is for you to carry out an intelligent conversation with others and exchange ideas.    

• Learning from yourself: Learn from your mistakes and past experience. The most important thing is to apply what you have learnt to improve yourself.

Learning in itself is a fun thing to do. Devote time every day to explore and learn something new.

5 Ingredients of Successful Learning about Blogging

I started blogging in October 2007 without knowing anything about the Internet. At that time I was only thinking about writing articles and earn some money from AdSense. As a blogger, I have managed to learn things the hard way all by myself.

Now I want to share a few tips about the ingredients of success in learning:

1. Interest and passion; I find that the more I blog the more I enjoy doing it and because of my interest learning is fun to me.

2. The thirst for and the urge to learn new knowledge: When I started blogging I was curious to find out all about blogging from Blogger to AdSense, from SEO to Traffic Rank and PageRank, and from Twitter to Facebook and many many more things. My quest for new ideas continues unabated.

3. Make it a daily habit: The surest way to sustain a learning attitude is to keep writing and posting articles. It will soon develop into a good habit. As I write I do research and learn from successful writers and bloggers.

4. Happiness in blogging: The other thing that motivates my keen interest in learning is that from time to time I receive good comments about my articles. It makes me happy and spurs me to learn more about writing quality articles.

5. Perseverance: Learning is a lifelong process. To get ahead we have to keep abreast of the latest development in the blogosphere.

This is how I started and here I am today. I am happy to say that more and more readers are coming to my site to read my articles and I will continue to write more and more stimulating articles for my readers.

According to Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company,” Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

Happy learning and blogging!