It was November 1st 2008, and I sat at home staring at a textbook.
It was a school day.
'So why weren't you at school?'
Because I had just gotten suspended.
'Why?'
Because I got caught skipping class with my friend, Crispin.
Not going to lie, but this one of the only times I wished I was back in school.
I sat in my kitchen trying to use the week of suspension to get caught up with all my school work.
I wanted to come back & begin KILLING it.
After the recent suspension, I had sealed my reputation as a failure in the BBIT program.
But I couldn't' focus.
The subjects were too damn boring!
When my parents went to work, I decided that I needed to call Crispin.
I needed to find out what he was doing to kill time.
ring ring
'Yo what sup bro. Listen, my dad said I can't talk to you while I'm suspended' Crispin whispered.
Listen, this will be quick. But what are you doing to kill time?
'I'm reading.'
Damn, I see that your parents took away the TV & PS2 as well, right?
'Nah bro, I'm just reading for fun.'
For fun?? What are you reading?
'I am reading a book about Abraham Lincoln.'
What the fuck? Why?
'Because he interests me man. Why don't you give it a try?'
C'mon man. I was calling you because I didn't want to read. Anyways, thanks man.
I hung up the phone & was a little confused.
Why the hell was he reading a book about Abraham Lincoln?
Dude was definitely wasting his time.
Back to the present moment.
For my most recent birthday, my roommate had gotten me a book.
It was Kobe Bryant's new book regarding mindset.
He had never gotten me a gift before, but this one was worth it.
Here I was at age 27, delighted to get a book.
A decade earlier, a gift like this would have repulsed me.
'What changed?'
My desire.
You see, when I got suspended, I was reading a text book that I had no interest in whatsoever.
Half the topics that the school system gave served me little to no interest.
Were the subjects important? Maybe.
But I had little desire to learn.
So at that time, it was unfathomable to me that Crispin could be reading a book for fun.
Made no sense!
But I didn't look into his desire.
Dude was always a big fan of Abraham Lincoln.
You ever heard the question 'Who is your favorite president?'
Well, he would automatically say Abraham Lincoln.
But he had no clue why.
He realized he would just default to Abraham Lincoln because he is one of the most well known presidents.
So he decided to study Lincoln so his opinion had some credibility.
A few years later, I am a firm believer that the real world is about unlearning a lot of what we were taught in school.
For many years, I was seen as the dumb kid.
Sucked at standardized exams.
Did awful on the SATs
Studied my ass off to get B's and C's.
But when I left school, the game had changed.
Now it was about me following my interests.
And when that happened, rather than learning with my head, I learned with my heart.
That's where self education is different from education.
Education is when you learn something because you have to.
Self education is when you learn because you want to.
What's funny is that the first group often has an arrogant attitude towards knowledge.
I went to a party recently and asked a few of the guys when was the last time they read a book.
They looked at me like I had 3 heads.
'Why the fuck would we read a book Tony? We aren't in school.'
There are people who genuinely think like this.
They think that just because they have a degree, that means they have learned all they need to learn.
And when they are told to learn more by their managers or what not, they feel like they are doing something brutal.
But people who self educate?
Completely different.
They learn with their heart.
They follow their curiosity & sees where it takes them.
One group thinks they know everything.
One group thinks they have yet to know anything.
The thing with learning is that it is designed for you to grow at infinite levels.
You only stop once your desire & curiosity dims.
A famous philosopher once said:
-the learned are rattled when the world changes.
-the learners adapt when the world changes.
I want to leave you with something to think about.
Use boredom as a CLUE.
If you are bored as fuck, then it's a clue that you may be self educating yourself on the wrong thing.
When you are learning about something that truly speaks to you, the learning process is effortless.
You feel pulled towards it, rather than being pushed towards it.
Analyze your body & follow your curiosities.
Do that & you will learn at infinite levels.
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