Show me a successful optometrist (or anyone else for that matter) and I’ll show you a professional student. Certainly, Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a requirement of licensure. But ask yourself this important question: what if CME was NOT a requirement of licensure? Would you still invest the time and money? And when you do attend, do you really pay attention or are you just there to get your ticket punched? Your responses to these questions are potentially a precursor to your life’s accomplishments. Are they not a signal of your attitude towards learning?
I am astounded at the number of professionals who have never attended a personal or business development program. This is especially disconcerting when one considers that the typical professional has almost no training in the business side of their profession. Education doesn’t stop with your diploma; indeed, in my opinion, receipt of cap and gown should be in celebration of a single step in a lifelong endeavor. Investing in yourself through ongoing personal development will play an impactful role in your life’s success as well as provide a return on investment like none other.
I don’t mean to imply that being a scholar has any connection with being economically successful. Indeed, I personally believe that the opposite is likely true; that many very successful entrepreneurs were actually pretty mediocre students in terms of classic scoring methodologies (for a variety of reasons, most having nothing to do with intelligence). But being academically bored is not necessarily the inverse of being a life-long learner. I, for one, was completely turned off by the book-learning process yet have always been intensely curious. I believe that it is my personal curiosity and my investment in life-long personal development that has provided what success I’ve enjoyed.
Curiosity, together with a healthy competitive attitude, is the blood that flows through the veins of most successful individuals. Indeed, teaching curiosity and healthy competition at the earliest ages is critical, in my opinion, to the success of humanity. Curiosity is the means by which we attain break-through while competitiveness (not necessarily with others) is the driving force behind the work necessary for success in any endeavor.
It’s interesting to observe this concept at work and our Cleinman Performance Network provides us with an amazing laboratory. Who are the most successful participants? They are those members who come back year-in and year out; who are committed to the process of personal development; who leave their ego at the door. These individuals invest two weekends a year in taking an outside-in view of their businesses and themselves. They take their weekends seriously; but not so seriously that they don’t have fun with the process. They always have a positive attitude and they seek one or two good ideas that will take them to the next level. They understand that these ideas won’t just appear; they have to work to obtain them. They also understand that persistent implementation is the key to their success. They don’t take the attitude of “I tried and it doesn’t work.” Their attitude is always, “tell me how it worked for you.”
Sam Walton believed in stealing ideas shamelessly. He’d simply walk into his competitor’s stores and observe their operations. He often said that there are no extra points for original thinking. He believed that if you can copy an existing idea already in use by another it is much smarter than designing a solution from scratch yourself.
"It is better to copy genius than to invent mediocrity"
Successful individuals invest energy in understanding what works for others; why; and how they can adopt these ideas to their own situations. They’re always on the quest for knowledge and always share their insights. They invest the time necessary to learn. They read industry journals, but also business magazines and books. They attend workshops and trade shows, both inside and outside of their industry. They retain consultants to tap into the knowledge base of experience. They’re innately curious.
Learning is not something accomplished before age 25, after which one simply applies their learning in the workplace. Learning is a life-long endeavor involving both formal and informal development processes. However, learning shouldn’t be perceived as a destination, as in “I need to learn this or that.” Successful individuals consciously understand that learning is a process that needs to be acculturated within themselves and their organizations. It’s all part of your life’s investment.
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