I just read a great article from John at Pick The Brain, called how to set up your personal university.
I am a firm believer that your education must not stop after your graduate high school or college. The chances of you going into the career that corresponds with your bachelor’s degree are very slim. So, you need to enroll yourself in your own university. John gives some great tips for doing this and it all starts with reading books. I liked his tip about mixing non-fiction with fiction. Sometimes, you can learn just as much from a fictional book as you can a non-fiction book. Plus, fictional books stimulate your creativity more than non-fiction books. When you strike up a conversation with a possible contact, client, or networking colleague, you don’t want to sound like a total non-fiction reader. Strictly non-fiction readers sound like a computer full of information, but they never analyzed what that information means.
What can you do first? Tap into the best resource for getting all of the books you need. Sign up for a free membership to your local library. I’ve lived in Jacksonville now for 5 months, and I still don’t have a library card. I’ve decided that I’m going to go get it now.
