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Investing in Learning

If you were to put away a nest egg for your children, what would you invest in? You know that every day money sits in your safe, it loses value. Perhaps you could invest some money in the bank, if you were more ambitious you would invest in the stock market. Perhaps you would like to build a house or otherwise invest in real estate? If you are in India and you have a daughter, you may consider investing in Gold. Many economists tell us that in today’s Knowledge Economy, the best long term investment is in learning. For one, no one can take away that investment from you, for another, knowledge does not deplete if you use it. Investments in knowledge – like a patent – continues to bring in returns in the long term.

But like every other form of investments, there are good and bad investments in learning too. How can we spot the right opportunities to invest in? For now, let us look at individual learning. Here are some points to consider when evaluating the investment potential for learning.

1. Am I learning something that will be valuable in the future?
   1. Keep in mind the gestation period after which you will deploy (use) your knowledge. What kind of world will it be? What would be in-demand then?
2. Is my knowledge transferable? Can I use what I learn in an entirely different domain of work / different job / different company / different country
3. Self Understanding and Personal Growth: Does it help me navigate the 21st century when no one can predict what the future is going to be? Do I understand myself better? Do I have a plan that keeps me going when things are uncertain? Managing uncertainty and failure. Beyond pure theory:
4. Learning by doing- a balanced mix of theory and practice that can help create change. Not all knowledge can be translated into words.
5. Productivity Skills for the 21st Century: A handful of ancient warriors learnt that mastery over their weapons gave them the ability to control their own destiny. What are the skills for the 21st century, when we no longer live by the sword? Good project management skills, money management skills and planning (the ability to see the big picture and break it down into simpler / smaller tasks) are some of the important skills for the 21st century.
6. Making Sense of it all. When the future is unpredictable any kind of map is of no use because by the time you get to a place, it would have changed altogether. Joi Ito, the former director of MIT Media Labs suggests that a compass would be more important than a map. Do you know where you are heading? Learn how can we build a compass that can guide us for the future.

Resources

At the Talk Shop Academy you can ….

1. Learn more about us and what we do.
2. Visit our library to read some of our own content or content that has been carefully curated
3. Join the Talk Shop Community to get to know other members and get invitations for our free
4. Sign up for one of our online courses
5. If you would like a more personal conversation, consider signing up for one on one Mentoring/Coaching Program.