It must be simply amazing to be a child, exploring the world, knowing nothing, but not knowing that you know nothing. The entire world is amazing and everything is interesting.
Then come the challenges of formal education, knowledge acquisition, tests and certifications. There's still a lot of enthusiasm about life, especially if you are studying something that really interests you. I came across Architecture by pure accident, heading straight for an engineering life. But a summer job with East African Engineering soured my taste for that work and I switched into something that was more challenging.
Finally, after formal schooling, armed with the right paperwork, you enter the real world, ready, batteries charged expecting to find a reality matching the creative and exploratory world of formal education.
But alas, that is not so. Most of you will not end up in the vocations in which your formal education certified you in, but that's OK. I truly believe that the function of formal education, post Renaissance, is an opening of the mind, unlocking potential. While clerical and repetitive work is still required, and still very valuable, many of us will have multiple careers spanning very many different types of work which will not necessarily have an opportunity, or luxury, to for formal training.
And so you must become a lifelong learner.
Picasso is often quoted as having said, "Every child is born an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." That quote sums up a lot of what is happening in education today. That at some point, we stop learning.
Being a lifelong learner means that you must have the desire, make the time and have the patience and persistence to explore your interests in this world. I said that. And explore it in a meaningful way by taking action. Doing things that reflect this passion to learn.
I have former employers who are passionate about teaching, and are teaching and writing and working. By teaching they are exploring the subjects that they are passionate about, reading about them, attending conferences, sharing thoughts with like-minded people, and learning the latest technologies driving those topics.
It doesn't take much effort, if it's something that you really want to do. However, in our fast food world, when results don't appear quickly, we often give up. I have a clarinet that I one day intend to master, but I simply don't make the time to practice. That alone says a lot.
But I spend a considerable amount of time journaling, writing software and even creating YouTube tutorials on various software topics. That also says a lot about where my interests lie.
And a quick look at my library, what I read and what I'm most comfortable discussing will tell you that while it does not line up in parallel with my day job, there is an overlap that allows my interest to spill over into my employment.
Desire, Reality and Practicability
In our twenty-first century thinking, we tell our children that they can grow up to be anything that they want to be. And many of us will immediately realize that the statement is not a statement of reality, but one of inspiration. If you reach for the stars, you may end up touching the moon. Pushing this idea too much in education may seriously injure some children, while others may not be affected at all.
And so too in life, there must be a healthy balance between what is desired and the practical reality of what can be achieved. There is no formulaic answer to this question for everyone. It depends greatly on circumstance and is specific to each individual. I personally think it's a wonderful world in which no two of us are alike, and so comparisons of skills become a moot debate. In a world that values financial success as absolute success, this can be difficult to mentally reconcile. But getting over this hurdle is the first step to success itself.
Our educational systems train us into various disciplines. We cannot achieve the Renaissance ideal and work in a variety of fields. But the Renaissance ideal is the approach to life. It is OK to have a passion for sculpture, painting, gardening, nature as well as science, abstract thought, teaching and literature. And while it may seem that these passions may be doused if your day job entails handling irate customers in a call centre, or managing a reception desk, the reality is that these interests can be exercised, honed in the event that the circumstances change.
Here's what I mean.
Gone are the days of a fixed career, doing the same thing. It's more likely that the job you have when you leave school will not be the same job that you have when you are retiring thirty years later. Even if its with the same company. While the career path from a clerical, processing task-oriented job may ultimately lead to managing those responsible for the task, its also likely that that type of work will not exist by the time you are ready to manage it. Your current job will likely change right before your eyes even if its due simply to changes in technology. In fact, being outsourced to computers is happening right now.
And one way to mitigate the risk of becoming obsolete is to continue to flex your mental muscles. Anything you do, outside your regular day job, will flex those muscles as long as it involves learning. And all learning involves gaining new skills. New skills are skills you don't have now. Or, an improvement, upgrading, enhancement of skills that you have. Speaking skills by taking Toastmasters classes. Project management skills by taking classes, or even joining volunteer organisations outside your workplace that put you in management roles. Finance skills by formal training.
And the list can go on. However, the aim is to keep looking at your interests and taking real action to build on them.
As a formally trained Architect, I confess that my ability to construct a building today would take some time to review my class notes (which are very obsolete), however, one of the great things about studying Architecture was its multi-disciplinary approach. A little bit of engineering, a dash of art, a smattering of literature, a spoonful of project management all baked in the study of regulations and legislature. And Oh, don't forget sales - all project work was presentation based. So when I graduated, like many in my class, I was a jack of many trades, a master (as yet) of none. And many of my classmates have succeeded in becoming interior designers, project managers, photographers, artists, engineers and yes, architects.
I suspect that the same applies to a lot of fields. This is probably why many politicians are lawyers, as are corporate leaders. And why educators come from all fields.
My challenge therefore is for you to:
- List your interests, formal skills you'd like to acquire or enhance.
- Find time to practice one of them.
- Read and find literature to enhance this skill.
- See where it fits in your day job - you'd be surprised that some of the skills will find a home there.
- Find groups (it may be professional associations or social ones) that you can join to learn more.
- Read, read and read more.
