According to recent media reports, library usage is up all around the country. As more people look for moneysaving activities, they’re rediscovering their local library. Hooray! As an enthusiastic patron of the library, I can’t imagine a week without a trip to my local branch. After all, a library isn’t just a storehouse of information; it’s a place of possibility.
Did you know that Ernest and Julio Gallo first learned about winemaking at their local library? The brothers had inherited a piece of land from their father, but were looking to escape the backbreaking work which had come with that inheritance. In 1933 Ernest came across two pamphlets at the Modesto Library. One pamphlet was on fermentation, the other on the care of wine. He and his brother began experimenting, first selling their wine in bulk. In 1940 the brothers Gallo began marketing wine under their own label. Those little pamphlets spawned an empire.
One of the great things about the free enterprise system is that no special training or degrees are required in order to set up shop. At the same time, entrepreneurs that want to grow a successful business realize that they must design their own curriculum and embark on a self-directed lifetime of continuing education. Unfortunately, some folks spend thousands of dollars on the latest technology while resisting their most critical investment: themselves.
“The illiterate of the future,” warned Alvin Toffler, “will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who cannot learn.” So what have you learned lately? How does learning fit into your overall goals for the year? Next year?
Philosopher Jim Rohn is a tireless advocate for the importance of lifelong learning. He says, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.
“Education must precede motivation. Never begrudge the money you spend on your own education. If you step up the self-education curve, you will come up with more answers than you can use.”
Minnesota Public Radio had a bumper sticker which read, “Get out of your car smarter than you got in.” How about deciding to get out of this year smarter than you got in? Go to your library. Be a regular at seminars. Do some creative cross training and explore new subjects. Synthesize and adapt what you’ve learned. Then learn some more and put it to work on your behalf—and behalf of those whose lives you touch.
“We only love what we know.” —Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder (Paperback)
Richard was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio last Friday and I’ve been thinking about this quote ever since.
We couldn’t afford all the books I wanted while growing up so the library was my favorite place to hang out. In older libraries you can often find those ‘hard to get’ titles & sometimes ‘out of print’ titles.
I thought lifelong learning was everyone’s hobby. Sadly it’s not. But, hope it is one day.