I didn’t go to college. At one time I thought the word college had a “d” in it – “colledge”. (Sound it out!) Isn’t that funny! Today, after 42 years in business, I have 2,300 employees in 35 states. I teach leadership to thousands of leaders across the world, and have a blog (short daily message) called Think Daily and one called Think Daily for Businesspeople that I’ve been writing faithfully every weekday for 16 years that is read by over 20,000 people.
How did this happen? Answer – lifelong learning and lifelong practice.
When I was a young self-employed carpenter, framing houses with my three employees, I discovered audio learning with the six cassette programs from Nightengale Conant company. When I started listening to Earl Nightengale, Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn and Denis Waitley, I was hooked. My friends would see the cassette programs in my 1967 Chevy pickup and say “Aww you listening to that motivational crap again?” I knew what was good for me so I wasn’t deterred. I’d hide them under the seat when I had to give one of them a ride home.
At the time they were expensive. $59 (in 1983 dollars) for a six-cassette program which was really one audiobook. It didn’t matter to me. I made the investments in myself.
Since then I have listened to perhaps 1,000 books – maybe more. Not a minute of drive time was wasted. I learned about marketing, psychology, leadership, management, personality styles, how to think well, money management, great service, and so many other things that I needed to know to become a leader who could accomplish what I wanted to .
I couldn’t see all that has actually happened in my business and my life back then. But each learned capability solved another problem and opened up new doors. It’s like driving at night. You can’t see your destination 100 miles away, but if you drive as far as your headlights can see, you can see farther.
Today, we have all the world’s information available for free and a supercomputer in our pockets. It has leveled the playing field. Anyone can learn anything – if they want to.
Someone said it’s not the “have’s and the have not’s” anymore, it’s the “will’s and the will not’s”. Nothing is being withheld from anyone.
It’s a great time to be a learner.
Thank you Larry. Attending the DRIVETIME University of Jim Rohn and the gang changed my life as well.
May you all have a Merry Christmas and Blessed 2025
Go, Harry!
I appreciate you Larry!!!!
Go Tom!!
I went to college and I’m thankful for the experience. It opened some doors for me. While I was at school, though, I never heard the phrase “lifelong learning.” Wish I had. I didn’t really begin learning again until about 10 years ago. It’s made a huge difference for me. You’re right, Larry: there’s never been a better time to be a learner.