Before anyone gets in a twist, this isn’t MBA bashing or PhD envy. However, every successful person I’ve ever met is and continues to be self-taught…
So you wasted all your time and money on that Ivy League business education, right? Not necessarily. Neither are all those degrees a guarantee of success in real life.
Others, like me, may have earned a degree from the “University of Adversity.” While you may want to return to college someday soon to advance your knowledge resources be sure you enter classes with the same sense of determination that got you where you are today.
There’s an old saying in martial arts (isn’t there always?) that goes:
“The teacher is responsible only for the teaching. The student is responsible for learning.”
I know that thinking flies in the face of some of today’s conventional wisdom. I know we’re being asked to spoon feed knowledge into the brains of not-so-eager students while prying their jaws open to shove useful information down their throats. I also know that when students fail these days, it is often the fault of everyone involved from Congress to the local school board to the teachers…
Bullsh#*t!
This attitude often extends into the workplace. Many people today believe they deserve rewards before they’ve proven performance. Too many employees wait for the company to do for them before they take personal responsibility for success.
I know this may be a tough pill to swallow, but I’m sure I’m talking to some of you: Some of you may be waiting for a raise before you put out any more; after all, why should you work harder when you’re not appreciated? Some of you are waiting for the company to buy you a laptop before you organize your client list; after all your competitors have laptops. Some of you may even be waiting for your employer to offer you training that will help you better do your job or help you climb the corporate ladder.
I know. I’ve been there!
At any age learning is my own responsibility. Learning is the most significant single factor that I have complete control over that will have the greatest impact on my personal success.
Best of all, today you don’t need to attend Harvard School of Business to earn a functional MBA. In fact, you can subscribe to Harvard Business Review for just $99 a year! (I don’t get a commission from them!) You can go on-line and read nearly every scholarly article written by every professor at every major business college in the world! You can walk into Borders and buy almost any significant book on business, management and leadership ever written and if you still insist on being cheap I believe we still have the time honored institution of the local lending library!
Point is that there is no excuse for surrendering your own success to anyone else. Take control first by learning, then by doing…your best at all times.
Word of caution to employers: When you see an individual in your organization taking personal responsibility for self-development and learning you better be prepared with some opportunity. Self-motivated people don’t get angry or resentful when you don’t provide the opportunity they deserve; they thank your for the time they’ve spent with you ask you for a reference!
Assuming you attribute some of your success to the excellence education you got at Harvard, University of Maine or Andover College I appreciate your humility. I’d also be confident in the knowledge that while you attended any of these fine institutions you took personal responsibility for your learning, you worked hard to get as much information as you could and you took full advantage of the wisdom and experience of your instructors.
Where are your classmates who blamed their instructors for poor grades, bitched about a heavy workload or complained that the school wasn’t up to their expectations?
Point is that whether you attend business school or learned on the streets, your success is the product of assuming personal responsibility for your learning. Whether you’re in the job of your dreams or you see your current position as one more step on the ladder you’re responsible for your success.
There is no “The Man” and you don’t work for him. You work for you. The only time you make “The Man” real is when you surrender personal responsibility for your success and happiness. As for me, I will not trust my personal success and happiness to a myth.
I’ll do the work myself!
Successful People are Self-Taught…ALWAYS! - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Bouchard's Website.
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