How many times have you listened to a talk, read a book, or watched a presentation that was supposed to share new or valuable information only to find that you didn’t learn very much from it?  Before you get too disappointed if this were to ever happen to you I want to share with you a valuable grain of truth.  I learned this lesson around the beginning of this year that I have used over and over again.   

If you only learn one new thing that can change and improve your life it is still worth the time, effort, or money that you put into it. If you only learn one new thing it is worth it.  If you learn more than that it is all the more worth it.  

Throughout this past year, whenever I am faced with a decision on paying for a new part of my personal education whether it is a new book, audio talk, online program, or certification class I remind myself of this pearl of wisdom.  With this new attitude I have rid my mind of feeling cheated when I don’t learn loads of new things.  Instead I think how excited I am that I learned something that can really benefit me and I apply it to my life.

Sometimes learning too much at one time is not valuable.  We only retain a certain amount of information at one time anyway.  Taking notes is always valuable when I’m sitting in a lecture or listening to an audio.  Even though I take these notes, I can still often times re-listen to the talk or re-read the book at a different time and come away with more truths or information that I didn’t absorb the first time.

The other day I listened to an informative tele-seminar.  I was in the car and out running errands while listening and didn’t get a chance to take notes.  I learned two lessons from this seminar.  First, is to try not to multi-task while learning and listening and the second lesson was a powerful story she shared in the tele-seminar.  

The story was about a woman who went through a difficult time and ended up in the hospital injured and miserable.  Her friend came to see her and kindly told her to look at the mess she was in and told her that she just needed to quit thinking about herself.  Her friend then gave some valuable advice that changed her life.  She told her to give away 29 gifts in 29 days-one gift a day.  The gifts could be a kind word, a card, a phone call, or anything else that is giving something to someone else.  This woman first felt offended by what her friend said.  The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was right and she did it. What followed was an amazing life changing journey of success and healing that started with her focusing on giving to someone every day.

The next time you pay for something that you hope will improve your knowledge and by extension your life, home, or family, be grateful for all the lessons you learning, even if it is only one or two nuggets of wisdom.  When you are thankful for these grains of wisdom you will always be led to more.  It is always worth the effort, time, and money.

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