The formal education is something that has been given a lot more credence than other ways of acquiring knowledge, the focus on curriculum and standardized methods of learning overshadowing all else. This does not detract from the importance of these methods. Schooling is not a bad thing, and one can learn plenty in a formal education, although only as much as they are willing to learn. The process towards earning a degree, a diploma, or a certificate, is what you make of it, not what it makes of you.

In this age of competition, one must often have proof of their competence, a record of their training and thus their worthiness to represent a vocation.

But all this aside, learning never ends, and some of the most important learning we can experience is what comes with each new day. The fact of the matter is that we are surrounded by teachers. For everyone knows something that you don’t, and can add another thread of color to the fabric of your life.

Give it a try, especially with people you admire. Every week, make it a goal to speak with one new person about their career path and life journey. Ask them, “How did you get to where you are today?” It is a simple question that will more often than not open a floodgate.

But even with people who are not living the journey you have in mind, seek to understand and learn from them. Ask everyone you meet for their best piece of advice. Who passed it on to them? Or did they make it themselves? How did it help them? Even if it is bad advice, accept it graciously. It is up to you whether you apply it to your own life. Be a student, not a follower.

“What is your best piece of advice?”

Every conversation is a chance to learn. And it just so happens that this question is one hell of a good ice-breaker.