ABC’s to Outstanding: Creating a Passion for Constant Learning

Over the past few weeks, I have shared some daily habits that will change your life and career. I call them the ABC’s to Outstanding and they are easy to do. So far, we have covered the “A,” controlling your Attitude, and the “B,” Better Focus. Now, I want to talk about the “C.” It stands for Constant Learning.

Constant learning is not just about school knowledge, or reading, or mastery of technical knowledge, or new skills, or people skills, or coaching, or making mistakes, or advice from friends and family, or new experiences. I'm not talking about any one of them, I am talking about ALL of them. Embrace growing yourself daily.

Seniority is out the window, the path ahead for you is clear if you continue to grow your skillset and knowledge. But, if you get hired or promoted today and stop applying yourself, stop learning, your skillset and knowledge will be obsolete in less than 3 years.

The best investment you will ever make is the investment you make in yourself. I love to say the more you learn, the more you earn. Truly outstanding leaders are life-long learners, they seek knowledge and take risks. They make mistakes, but they learn from those mistakes.

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

We have a partner that started in administrative support at our firm. She decided that she wanted to be a CPA, and took action that propelled her to reach those dreams. Today, her passion for continuous learning has made her an owner in our business, and a knowledge leader in her focus area. That’s outstanding!  

Did you know that if you read on a specific topic for 15 minutes a day, in three years, you could literally be an expert, a knowledge leader. How often do we waste 15 minutes a day?

John Maxwell says, “Talent is not enough.” Our single biggest obstacle is not believing in ourselves. Not holding ourselves accountable is a close second.

Intent is simply not enough to get us there. We must take action, one step at a time.

Here’s the trap: the ABC’s to Outstanding are easy to do, to make daily habits, but they are also easy not to do. Do not just let things happen to you. If you want to be successful, you have to be intentional in your pursuit.

ABC’s to Outstanding: Attitude, Better Focus, Constant Learning. Small things that if done daily, separate the outstanding from average or typical. Remember the words of Bonnie St. John in the last blog, don’t settle for a normal life, when it can be extraordinary. Only you can make it happen. 

Will you create the daily habits that lead to outstanding?