A wise man knows not everything, but only where to find the information.

I think Jim Rohn said it best “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

I myself growing up was an avid reader.  My parents were very strict growing up and believed in an early bed time, 8 p.m. until I was almost in High School.  I missed out on a lot of cool 80′s TV shows until the re-runs. However, my mother made me a deal, if I was in bed reading, I could stay up until 8:30. WOOHOO!!  What kid doesn’t want that opportunity to stay up later. It was one of the best things my parents could have ever done for me. So I read.

As a kid I’d read whatever I liked at the time.  There was a series of books about a dog named Mush I vaguely remember. Early on in Junior High I remember reading a series of books called Firebrats about 2 teenagers surviving a nuclear holocaust, was always upset they only did 4 books.  By the end of Junior High I had finished “Yeager” an auto-biorgraphy about a great American Hero and until this day remember the majority of the book.

I then moved on into Stephen King until I bored of his writing style and his ability to spend 3/4′s of the book on character generation before getting to the meat.

By the time I was on my own I was reading books of interest, anything that I was curious about, and became a wealth of various knowledge that makes it hard to challenge me at times in trivia. However, as I got older and life started to become more complex I left that urge of reading behind.

Now I regret that time wasted, but even as hard as it might be at times, I make the time to read now.  There are too many things out there to learn about to improve yourself.  Self-education I think is by far one of the most important educations you can ever have, and often more valuable and a better return on investment than any Ivy League education.  Some of the most successful entrepreneurs out there dropped out of college or had a minimal traditional education at best, yet they rose to the occasion and learned what they needed to be that successful.  I wouldn’t call these people stupid or ignorant at all for not having finished college, they just chose a different path.  Even if you’ve attended college, think about it.  Did you learn everything you always wanted or needed to be successful or do what you want? Through the aid of reading you can become the person you want to be.

Reading stimulates the brain and is exercise therefore for it.  Many of you have no qualms about spending an hour or 2 at the gym several days a week to keep your body in top shape, why wouldn’t you do the same for your brain.  Your brain will be with you long after your body starts to break down.  You’ll get a rush just as much from reading something inspirational and enlightening as you do from that work-out.  Don’t think just because you get older your brain has to go.  I’ve met many in their 80′s and 90′s who are quicker witted and sharper than I ever hope to be, and many still very viable producers utilizing their intellect to aid society.

I had a personal mentor who was 78 years old when she came into my office to work.  She didn’t want to retire, she knew she’d be bored at home and could still work focusing on her intellect.  She knew she could still be a producer.  She had attended college to teach health and aspired to be a great translator and teacher of translation.  One of the best I’ve ever had the joy to work with and learn from. At 82, I believe, she finally retired, not so much because she wanted to or was tired, but due to office politics and outside influences.  That was 4 years ago, she still spends her time teaching and volunteering. She does what she wants because she enjoys it, but everything she learned and read helped and still helps her to keep going.

All your reading doesn’t always have to be serious either.  Many great authors used stories to get their point, views or teachings across. Just because the story is fictional doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from it. One of the most recent books I’ve read was complete science fiction, yet was extremely inspirational. Robert Heinlein was known for using science-fiction to get his political views across.  I learned a lot about the ails of socialism through “Faith of the Fallen” the fifth book in Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series.

“The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews is a science fiction account on the seven steps to success.  I highly recommend this book for anyone.  If you want to see about some of the other books I’ve recently read, I’ve posted the highlights here in my blog in other articles, many with links for more information on the book to help decide if it’s a book you’d like to read or not.  As most authors do a much better job discussing their book than I could ever do for them.

My point is don’t let your college education be the “be all end all” of your education, keep reading and learning as much as possible.  Self-educaiton is the greatest gift you can bestow upon yourself and others.  You never know when that book you just read will come into use to aid yourself or someone else.  When others start seeing and are aware of this knowledge that you’ve gained it will magnetize them to you.  It will start to open more doors of opportunity in your life and your business and will have a resounding affect. So I encourage you to read.