17 March 1999 Copyright, 1999, Max K. Goff, all rights reserved
I've been studying. Working out and studying. It seems to me that learning is a life-long process. Perhaps it's not always been the case. Most certainly, in the past people went to school, graduated, enter their profession of choice and that was that. Some would go back for a graduate degree. Some would go back to facilitate a change in careers. But as a general rule, you graduate from school and you're done.The pattern in my life has been different. For a while, it seemed like I'd be going back to school every 10 years or so. I attended college the first time immediately after high school, from 1969-72. Having learned enough, I dropped out and embarked on a path. Then, in the late 70s, I realized I needed more learning. So I attended another college from 1980-82. Having learned enough yet again, I left school once again and changed the path I was on. The 80s came and went. And then I realized I needed yet more schooling. So I attended a third college, from 1991-93, this time actually taking a degree (MBA, U of San Francisco, 1993). So it seemed to me that every 10 years or so, I'd probably go back to school. And so it is I'm considering it again.
So much has changed in the last few years. Even though it seems like only yesterday since my graduation, I do realized that more has changed in the last 6 years than in the previous 20. It's time for me to engage a formal learning again -- perhaps I'm even past due. Which brings me to this point: constant learning. The future we're going to see unfold in the next century will require constant learning from each of us. We will effectively be paid to learn in the 21st century. Indeed, it is a requirement in my current profession; I must continue to learn or I will very quickly become extinct. So learning is the survival mechanism that evolution has chosen. And so I study. I need to take a test or two and the apply for some post-graduate program here in New York. As if I wasn't busy enough. :)
