Modern Living – Part 1

I recently traveled for work & while reading the Airline’s in-flight magazine I saw an article on the topic “modern living“.

The focus of this article was to highlight 3 areas where upgrade is required in order to be termed a modern citizen of the world. The writer mentioned:

1. Learning 2. Finances 3. Shopping

In recent weeks, I’ve had a lot on my plate with a change in role at the office & some other exciting things happening to me.

All through this time I could not help thinking about 3 words : Learning, Earning & Returning!

Last year, I enrolled in a Coursera module “Better Leader, Richer Life” by Prof. Stew Friedman & during peer evaluation, I got a feedback on my work by a colleague (Mathias Keller) .

In that feedback he mention that while growing up, his God-father told him that the 1st part of anyone’s life should be dedicated to LEARNING, the 2nd part dedicated to EARNING & the last part should be dedicated to RETURNING or giving back.

I thought about that deeply & realized that it’s not really a clear cut divide, but more of a mix & match of all the three. Unlike the article that mentioned shopping as the 3rd area of modern living, Mathais’ God-father chose giving back.

Let’s assume a life expectancy of 90 years, considering Mathais’ God-father’s principle, this means that the first 30 years of that person must be dedicated more to learning, than earning & returning.

This is the case for most of us, but for some people like me  there is an exception. I had to grow up & be a man early as I had to fend for my family from my teenage years by supporting my mom ( who raised all 4 of us as a single parent, A super-woman indeed).

I was learning & earning at about the same rate & my give back was negative. I got into junior high school at 9, graduated senior high by 15.

By the time I started college, I had a lot of IT PPs ( Private Practices) all around town setting up cyber cafes, Local Area Networks ( LANs) for SMEs & getting paid well for a teenager.

I was able to continue learning ( in 2 colleges simultaneously) & also earn enough to take some load off my mom & siblings.

By this time I was getting more & more socially aware. I saw the hardship that people were going through around me & I started giving back.

Old clothes went to charity, Orphanages, etc. My mom made it a point of duty for my siblings & I to celebrate our birthdays at orphanages, motherless babies homes, etc.

She drummed it in our minds that “We have been blessed to be a blessing to others”

While in the car on the way to the airport for this official trip, a radio presenter was talking about the need to constantly learn. He said “you are guaranteed to earn more if you learn more”.

LEARNING

In the past, learning was about doing a degree in your early years & then start working, but in the modern world, learning is now a life-long process.

With careers getting less linear and life span getting longer, with technology advancing at the speed of light, you need to be updated ( or fresh – a recent slang I just discovered) & at the cutting edge always.

I have a problem with people who still hold their 1st degree after 10,20,30 years and have not added to it.

Maybe a 2nd degree, a diploma or certificate, something to show you have progressed. Life generally is advancing forward and for anyone who is stagnant, he or she ends up at the back.

The are many courses online to choose from, I particularly check out Coursera.org, Stanford & Harvard online courses regularly to add knowledge to myself. With my MBA in the bag, I am already looking at Doctorate (DBA), PhD and some courses at Harvard University for the coming years. I am challenging you to push on, THERE IS MORE!!!.

Has your certification expired? Start the renewal process right now!!

Something new would have been added to the course or module. It’s not about adding degree upon degrees like a thermometer, but about adding to your knowledge base as it determines a lot about you, your earning ability & how modern you are.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United FC Manager started learning how to play the Piano after retirement at over 70 years of age. There is something for you to learn.

My next post will focus on Finances and Earning.

This is my snippet, I AM SHALOMESQ!!!