Mark Twain said that "The man who can read and does not is no better off than the man who cannot read!"
I like that one!
How do we raise our "level of thinking"? We develop the habit of continually educating ourselves!
Think about the Isaac Asimov quote above. Why would he say that self-education is the only kind of education there is?
Could it be because the definition of teaching is the presenting of information to potential students, but the definition of education is the reception and absorption of information from the teacher or the environment around us?
Therefore, the only true education we receive is that which we actively pursue and discover through our own initiative. That information will likely come from a teacher of some sort or another, but it will have absolutely no beneficial effect until we actually internalize it and begin to apply it in our lives! That is what it means to educate ourselves.
Here is one of the most important reasons why we need to be continually be educating ourselves.
THE RESULTS THAT WE HAVE IN EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES ARE A DIRECT INDICATION OF THE LIMITS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE IN THAT AREA!
Think about that. Am I experiencing a problem in some area of my life or another? If so, it's a pretty good indication that I am short on some knowledge on how to live a pain-free life in that area!
Another one of my favorite quotes that is so clear and concise on this topic comes from author and businessman Chris Brady :
You don't know what you don't know!
Often we can't remember what we do know!
Much of what we do know...just ain't so!
All of which makes me wonder what I actually do know!
And really makes me laugh at the Know-It-Alls!
Ponder that for awhile!
Remember Socrates' response to being told that he was considered the wisest man in all of ancient Greece?
His reply was that if he really did possess any level of wisdom, it was because the more knowledge he gained, the more deeply he realized how little he really did know!
How do we stack up against that?
Remember Socrates' response to being told that he was considered the wisest man in all of ancient Greece?
His reply was that if he really did possess any level of wisdom, it was because the more knowledge he gained, the more deeply he realized how little he really did know!
How do we stack up against that?
Here are several quotes from a leadership conference on education that I attended a couple of years ago:
"Truth is music to our ears!"
"Real education starts when you are born and ends when you die! The problem is that most of us neglect it for the last 3/4 of our lives."
"Most of the ailments in our heads, families, neighborhoods, and society come from faulty thinking!"
"George Washington spent an hour every evening in his library. Then he would rise with the sun and read until he was called to breakfast."
" Never tear down a fence until you know why it was put there in the first place! Tearing down long established fences because they are inconvenient is the source of most of our social problems today!"
"In a time of drastic change, it's the learners who inherit the future!"
"Why are people angry and suffering in our society today? Because they are not educating themselves with the truth!"
"I'm not trying to tell you what to believe, I just want you to make sure that you know why you believe what you do believe!"
Educating ourselves and then acting upon that education is the only way to true greatness in our lives! That is what makes Self-Education a key element in the pursuit of excellence and in Living A Great Life!
Many people will boast that they haven't read a book since High School or maybe College. I always felt sorry for them because I know that somewhere back down the line, some misguided individual taught them to despise one of the most powerful tools in their arsenal for unlimited growth and success in any area of their lives! Instead they consigned them to a trap of ignorance for the rest of their lives.
Ignorance of true principles keeps us from acting on them and bringing about the great results that they can yield! Where are those principles found? For the most part, in some of the greatest books ever written! But also do not neglect the power and volume of important information available through seminars and audio recordings. Most of the greatest wisdom in the world gets shared somewhere for a relatively small cost. All you have to do is make yourself a hungry student and get to where the action is!
Make sure that you use this link to many of the self education related posts archived here for your learning pleasure. Also be sure to explore our store front for some of the greatest educational material available! Not only do we have many of our own products but we also have recommended reading lists and some of the greatest self education materials available from other great sources out there!
Make sure that you use this link to many of the self education related posts archived here for your learning pleasure. Also be sure to explore our store front for some of the greatest educational material available! Not only do we have many of our own products but we also have recommended reading lists and some of the greatest self education materials available from other great sources out there!
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