Your learning is your responsibility
Here’s a sentence I often hear whenever I’m in a conversation about training.
“I can’t take the course because my company wouldn’t pay for it,”
… and I’ve heard it enough. I raise eyebrows every time I hear it.
It’s definitely a bonus if the company you work for gives you a training budget so you can learn and grow. However, it should never be the key driver for your learning journey.
And yes, training can get very expensive. A high-quality course can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you love learning like me, the cost can add up very fast.
However…
Since when did your learning becomes part of the company’s responsibility?
Shouldn’t the person who supports and loves you the most be you?
Shouldn’t you be the person who is responsible for your own growth?
If you sincerely want to learn, you always find a way of going about it. You don’t need someone to pay your way in order for you to educate yourself.
Here are a few options I’d recommend to circumvent the entire money issue altogether and put you on a path to learning what you love to do.
Start an education fund
Many parents support their children’s learning with an education fund, sometimes even before the child is born. Why wouldn’t you do this for yourself?
When I first started my Education Fund, I put aside a small percentage of my income every month and kept it in a separate account. Every few months to a year, I would then save enough to attend a conference, sign up for a course, or plan a trip to participate in an event or workshop.
Finding a mentor
The world is full of generous people who love sharing their knowledge and experience for little to no cost. Additionally, there are many mentorship programs that help you find the right person to learn from.
The most effective way I’ve found for finding a mentor is through active participation in a community that interests you. I’ve found some of the best ones to date by simply hanging out in several different types of Slack channels that correspond to my interests.
For example, I recently built up an interest in learning more about the Design Sprint methodology. In order to immerse myself in the process, I have:
- Joined a couple of Facebook and Meetup groups for Design Sprints
- Completed and received a AJ&Smart Design Sprint Masterclass certification last February.
- Hosted my first meetup in Leipzig, showcasing how to do a Lightning Decision Jam (a variant of the Design Sprint process)
- Actively participated in the Global Virtual Design Sprint (GVDS) event last April, which included a live YouTube broadcast of an iteration sprint.
- Received the 2019 GVDS MVP (most valuable practitioner) award for outstanding facilitation and teamwork on five different virtual design sprints.
Throughout this journey, I’ve met and interacted with many open-minded, engaging, and forgiving people. For me, it was the perfect learning environment. This community has become my to-go channel whenever I need a piece of advice or an answer to my questions.
Leverage free content
Education doesn’t always have to cost money. We live in an amazing world where companies and professionals freely share their knowledge online.
There’s a lot of online courses that offer free content or charge very little money. It’s just a matter of choosing what you’d like to learn about.
I’ve found that the best place for free educational content is YouTube. You just have to search for the topic you want to learn, and YouTube will automatically fill up your feed with that particular topic.
You can also do what I do; subscribe to a few relevant channels and follow the content they produce. The channels I’m currently subscribed to are:
Learning through instruction, inspiration and perspective has always kept me motivated and happy. I hope these alternative approaches to paid learning will inspire you to consistently learn and grow.
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This article is part of the 30-minute #KungFuWriting Challenge that Robert Skrobe has organized. My personal goal is to say to myself “I don’t hate writing anymore.” by the end of June.
If you’d like to take part or to learn more, click on the following link:
