Learn Or Die

He was droning on and on.

Meanwhile, the temperature of my frustration was on the increase.

I had paid a lot of money to attend the course. The lecturer was supposed to be a well-educated person and a successful practitioner.

However, on the very first day of the training, he was literally reading from the textbook. Quite clearly, right from the beginning, the class could tell he had no real life experience on the subject matter.

What was even worse, he was not even prepared for the class.

As usual, I was sitting right in front, eager to learn, and to apply whatever lessons I can apply to my business.

As the minutes ticked on, I was focusing increasingly on everything that was wrong with the lecturer and the way he taught the class.

Finally, I slammed the table.

I walked out of the class with all the participants staring at me.

When I reached the lift, I sensed a still small voice in my heart,

“I thought you have always believed,
‘I am a human, and as long as I am a human,
I can learn from another human.’ ”

That message hit me like a huge truck.

Quietly, I walked back to the class.

I promised myself I would learn and improve as a result of this experience.

By the end of the course, the trainer became a good friend. I did learn from him, including what I should not do as a trainer.

This is another wonderful experience I had while attending a course. Every time I learned, applied the lessons and got better results in my life, I became more addicted to learning.

I am not ashamed to confess I have been a ‘learning addict’ since I was 15 years old. I discovered the joy of learning from David Loo, a young Malaysian who was studying in Singapore.

Every week, David would meet me and teach me about life. He went out of the way to influence me because he believes in me. He saw more good in me than I realised.

That’s why I have been actively involved in training and coaching. I wanted to be able to transform other lives just as my life has been transformed by David and many other ‘angels’ our Creator has constantly sent to teach and mentor me in my life.

There are many other reasons why I am obsessed with learning.

I know I am not smart and there is a lot to learn. There is no end to learning so many wonderful lessons out there.

Through learning, I can improve and become a wiser and more productive person. It is also a great way for me to relax, de-stress, and have fun.

I always make it a point to have lots of fun in every learning situation.

You may think I am crazy if I tell you I have completed three university degree courses and earned more than nine professional qualifications. By the way, I am still signing up to attend more courses.

I made it a point to attend an average of one seminar and read at least two books every month. I would go through many magazines to keep myself abreast of current affairs.

I would seek out gurus in Singapore as well as from overseas to learn from them.

Very often, a word of wisdom from them would be more valuable than many years of education and it could change my life completely.

I would also call upon my competitors so as to learn from them. Some of the best ideas I have, you would be surprised to know, came about because from my interactions with them.

Throughout the day, I endeavour to switch on my learning antennae. I do it because I know if I’m a dedicated student, as they say, the master will appear.

I can learn anywhere, anytime, from anybody, and in infinite number of ways.

Every morning and just before I sleep, I try to reflect on my daily experience to see what I can learn from it so as to help me go further and faster in life.

In the days ahead, I plan to step up my pursuits for learning, growing, and improving my life.

I believe the world is undergoing a rapid sea of change. What works today will not tomorrow!

To survive and succeed in this new world of disorder, I need to constantly reinvent myself. I need to commit myself to a lifelong process of learning, un-learning and re-learning.

I need to learn more than my customers, faster than my competitors, and in a far greater way than anybody in my industry.

I need to stay ahead in the learning curve if I am going to be relevant and be able to contribute to society.

Learning is the only true competitive advantage in business and in life. Learning, growing and achieving better results can help me live a more meaningful, dynamic and fulfilling life.

Can you understand why I’m puzzled when I meet agents who don’t believe in learning and have never attended another class since they completed their basic real estate course?

I was even more surprised when these same agents told me they don’t know why they were unable to close more sales, earn a higher income, and do better in our industry.

Regardless of what people may say, I will do everything possible to ensure HSR continues to be The #1 In Training. We will have more training programmes, trainers, training rooms, and training resources than any other company.

If it is strictly for business, I should just rent out the training space and collect a stable monthly income or even run training programmes for the public.

In recent times, I am happy to note we have produced more and more ‘learning addicts’ like me. They have benefited from HSR’s courses and to increased their sales, income, and other results.

I have decided I will continue to be a student for the rest of my life.

By the way, I teach because it is one of the best ways to learn. Writing to you is also another way for me to learn and improve my life.

For me, I will learn or die!

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

Please go to ‘Notes’ found below my profile picture.

Visit my Transformation blog at http://hsrpatrickliew.wordpress.com

Visit my Inspiration blog at http://liewinspiration.wordpress.com

Please read them and continue to teach me.

Life is FUNtastic!

 

Question: How can we become lifelong students?