Looking at the world as your library is as close to free education as you can get. This is a mindset that I’ve adopted throughout my life and career.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe there is value in traditional academic and continued education. It demonstrates commitment, a willingness to investment in yourself (time and money), and gives you something tangible (a completion certificate, degree, designation, etc..) that can help you accomplish your goals. This path will always have a place in my journey, but these options usually come with a wide range of costs which can act as a barrier for many.
However, the following 3 options are some simple starting points that are as close to free as it gets for anyone looking to learn more about a particular subject or at the very least a reminder for all of us that the following options exist.
1. On the job learning
Take advantage of every opportunity to learn while you’re at your job. Ask questions, remain curious, show initiative, and push yourself to explore opportunities to continue expanding your knowledge. For the amount of time you are committing to your job, leverage it to learn as much as you can and build up your subject matter expertise. This approach can easily be extended to learning more about any topic, such as leadership by looking at every moment as a learning opportunity including interactions with your leader, your team, your peers, and others across all levels. Look at everything that happens around you as an opportunity for you to learn something and become better.
2. Learn from others
Setup 1:1 coffee chats with others to learn from their experiences, knowledge, perspective, and their journey. This is easiest to coordinate with people you have some form of working relationship with. I have personally used this as my starting point. Once comfortable doing this, start setting up meet and greets with individuals you don’t have a direct working relationship with so you can continue to make new connections.
Everyone is busy and constantly evaluating how they use their time, so help them say yes!
- Tip 1: offer to buy coffee (or tea, whatever the beverage of choice is), it usually spices up the offer and is well worth the “added” cost.
- Tip 2: Offer your help in anyway that you can assist the other person in exchange for their time.
I have found that most people will never say no, and often times they have been eager to sit with me and give me a short mentorship session. I have done this enough times that if I got one “no”, there were 9 others that have said “yes”. The more of these sessions you set up, the better. From here, you can setup mentorship & coaching sessions and leverage those connections to support you in the pursuit of your goals.
3. Published literature
Books are one of the most cost effective ways to learn something new. Someone has taken the time to write about a topic they have something to share about. When you pick up a book or read a publication by someone who studied a particular topic extensively, or is sharing their personal journey and experiences, you have one of the most cost effective ways to learn something new.
From each of the above options, you should be able to takeaway:
- What you consider to be of value to you personally
- How you choose to incorporate any new piece of information to your personal style
- A broadened perspective of what to do and/or what not to do