Lifelong Learners are High Achievers

History’s greatest men were lifelong learners — many of them devoted quality time to self-education. Albert Einstein, Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Feynman, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton committed a lot of time to personal learning either in addition to traditional education or as a substitute to formal schooling.

The most successful people in history were dedicated to self-learning. They recognize the need to grow and deepen their understanding of themselves and interesting subjects. We would be wise to follow in their footsteps.

Theodore Roosevelt was rumored to read a book a day. Learning for him was a path to professional success. He wrote his first book at 23. 

Oftentimes, when you try to implement some of the mentioned elements, you may run into challenges. To resolve this very issue, I wrote my 13-book Series “Becoming a Pioneer” – Join the Pioneers Club by Clicking this Link

Lifelong learning is the “ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. It’s about learning to know, learning to do, and learning to be. Cultivating the mind is essential for personal growth.

Our whole life is an Education — we are ‘ever-learning,’ every moment of time, everywhere, under all circumstances something is being added to the stock of our previous attainments. Self-learning is a habit many of us can emulate to thrive in an ever-changing world of work. With all the disruptions in the modern economy, ongoing skill acquisition is critical to professional relevance.  

More than ever, learning is for life if you want to stay relevant in the world of work. If you are aiming to become a lifelong learner, some of these habits can be useful for you.

Successful learners prioritize self-learning 

Are your skills, knowledge, and experience more valuable today than they were a year ago? We can all become obsolete over time. The fast pace of change today also means we can become obsolete faster than ever before.

Committing to self-learning can help you do your current job better and remain adaptable even when things change in the future. Scheduling continuous or lifelong learning can help you stay relevant. Make lifelong learning a priority in your life to consistently improve your skills, knowledge, and experience.

Effective learners are voracious readers 

The most successful people we know today don’t stop learning. They read a lot — they continually expand their knowledge despite what they already know or have achieved. Elon Musk grew up reading two books a day, according to his brother. Bill Gates reads 50 books per year. Mark Zuckerberg reads at least one book every two weeks.

Why do the world’s smartest and busiest people find time for self-learning while others make excuses about how busy they are?

The answer is simple: Learning is the single best investment of our time. Or as Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

Efficient learners maintain to-learn lists 

We experience many learning opportunities every day but we can’t commit to them when we are busy getting other equally important things done. We often have to let them pass at the moment because of other tasks. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get back to them later. 

To make the process of learning easier, create a to-learn list, and write down a list of concepts, thoughts, ideas, mental models, and topics you want to explore.

You can later explore them in your downtime or at the specific time you have planned for your learning and make the most of your downtime. Learning is the best when one is relaxed. We all have times when it just feels like the right time to learn something new. Use those times to learn things you bookmark.

Unique Leadership Qualities

It's been found that you can achieve great results and have meaningful relationships at the same time.

Whether your company is a startup or an established firm, I want to share about a compelling leadership model that will get the best out of employees.

Research into a new model of servant-leadership suggests that five characteristics of servant-leadership, when actively demonstrated up, down, and across levels, can lead to a thriving and result-oriented work culture. 

Oftentimes, when you try to implement some of the mentioned elements, you may run into challenges. To resolve this very issue, I wrote my 13-book Series “Becoming a Pioneer” – Join the Pioneers Club by Clicking this Link

This newer idea suggests, servant-leaders are people-centric, not egocentric. Their winning formula is to grow people and serve by shining the spotlight on their employees.

Servant-leaders are far from soft; they demand excellence and command a much higher level of trust from their tribe. Over time, according to Grant, they're much more successful.

Today, scores of successful companies embrace the practice of servant leadership, including Southwest Airlines, Zappos, Nordstrom, The Container Store, and WD-40 Company.

Learn and practice these Five characteristics. While this research is one of many in the servant leadership sphere, it remains one of the favorites.

Organizations looking to boost their leadership effectiveness can start with pursuing the practice of these five traits across all levels of management, in order to have an impact on the people they employ, and on the client’s they serve. 

1. Being able to display authenticity.

The best leaders are learners; they are open to input from others, even those below them. They are transparent and self-aware -- seeking to understand themselves and others to quickly problem solve to an agreed solution. By showing up daily with their most authentic selves and maintaining a high level of integrity, they generate trust seamlessly and develop more productive relationships than their less authentic counterparts.

2. Being able to value others as workers and human beings.

True leaders put others first before self. They will, first and foremost, believe and trust in their people -- their strengths, abilities, potential, and commitment to the job -- before they must earn it. These leaders maintain a high view of their people, show them respect and dignity, and will listen receptively to them and their needs, in a nonjudgmental way 

3. Being able to grow their people.

In the research data, great leaders provide for learning and growth, and develop potential and career paths for others.  They also model appropriate behavior and build up their people through encouragement and affirmation.

4. Being able to provide direction.

They will envision the future and utilize intuition and foresight to direct the organization forward; they take initiative and move out ahead; and they consistently clarify goals and expectations to get to the vision.

5. Being able to share leadership.

Research found that the strength in great leaders comes from sharing power and decision making and pushing authority down to empower others. Because of their selfless nature, sharing their status in relation to position or honor is a given. Lastly, they use persuasion to influence others instead of coercion.

Whatever your belief about which evidence-based, leadership framework or philosophy is most effective, isn't as important as first finding out the health of your organization!  Once top decision-makers clearly understand how employees feel about the environment they work in, they can determine the best strategy for helping all levels of management successfully navigate the challenges and demands of the future.

Your Success for Your Best Future

Your success isn’t defined by what other people say.

No one can define your success but you. If you continue to let others tell you what success is, you’ll never reach it.

This is one of the most difficult things to give up because it is so deeply embedded in our cultural narratives that it becomes the standard by which we measure our lives. Even as entrepreneurs we have collectively agreed that fame and fortune are the markers of success.

But, giving up other people’s definition of success is incredibly liberating and ultimately leads to the fullest expression of who you are and what matters to you. It’s not a one-time thing. It’s a daily habit of comparing less and creating more. “Success” doesn’t just mean what the larger mob of society says it means: lots of money, fame, and fortune. Many people with fame, fortune, and money have terribly empty, imbalanced lives.

The most successful people I know are not busy. They’re focused.

How you spend your days is how you spend your life.

A lot of people love being “busy.” They wear it as a badge of honor. When you ask them how they’ve been, what’s the response? “I’m so busy,” they lament. 

But it’s a subtle brag. They like the feeling. But when you’re busy, you don’t really do anything — just because your calendar is full of meetings, appointments, and commutes doesn’t mean you’re actually making any progress towards your true goals.

Oftentimes, when you try to implement some of the mentioned elements, you may run into challenges. To resolve this very issue, I wrote my 13-book Series “Becoming a Pioneer” – Join the Pioneers Club by Clicking this Link

Reinvesting your free time is one of the most important ingredients to your success. 

If you’re working a full-time job, with a commute and family and bills, you don’t have a lot of free time. If you’re like most people, the precious little free time you do have is spent on entertainment and distraction, not learning, and growing. 

This is low-level thinking, and it will lead you to a, frankly, low-level life. 

But true success requires sacrifice. A common misconception many of those sleep-when-you’re-dead hustle-entrepreneurs claim is that you need be working all the time. 

The truth is you need to work your bottom off — for a time.

After you’ve spent the time creating your life, you can sit back and enjoy the work you’ve done and reap the rewards.