“That’s what I think happens to our natural curiosity. It is squished to death by grades, degrees, and other forms of pressure that turn it into an obligation, when the desire to learn something new is actually something pretty amazing” Both that test and that concert were important experiences to have, in different ways, but in that particular case, I chose the latter. Did that mean I didn’t care about evolutionary mate selection? No, I cared, in fact I continued to care for many years later and still continue to write and read about the topic every chance I get. The only difference, had I chosen to study over shagging, it would have been me speed-reading and regurgitating material in order to ‘pass’ the class. My point is, craving knowledge is a very different concept than the act of going to school. Sure, there’s a lot to learn in school, but do I necessarily need someone to guide me through reading a textbook? Do I need someone telling me I didn’t ‘study’ hard enough? When really, it’s a little more like I didn’t ‘memorize’ enough. Maybe that’s why so many entrepreneurs never finished college. Maybe they realized they could learn more of what they needed to know on their own time - i.e. after they’d danced and shagged - and that they could more readily apply their newfound knowledge to whatever, whenever they needed to.
Feed Your Inner Question Mark Whether or not you actually finished college or dropped out to live in your parent’s basement, there is still a little flame of curiosity - untouched by society’s pressure - burning bright inside of you. Should you ever feel like life lacks purpose, look within and blast that baby up so hot it burns your insides. Keeping in line with life being a path to self-discovery and the result of a bunch of experiences and adventures varying in size, why wouldn’t you want to go and explore things that already interest you, but you know little about? You can’t read a book about astrology because your brain is so burned out from your 9 to 5 that you just want to turn it off and watch some bad reality TV? And what if you die tomorrow? That’d be a rad way to spend your last day on earth. There is so much to learn in this world and it’s a shame that curiosity has been tainted by
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semesters, letter grades, and a constant stream of tests to measure your ability to memorize lectures. Not to mention, there is nothing sexier than a well-rounded, well-versed woman, and when you train your curiosity muscle and get comfortable educating yourself on new topics, you’ll be a lot more flexible and relatable during social interactions. I’m not saying you need to wake up tomorrow and go to the library and from here on out live your life as an explorer who questions everything. Turning off and just being in a state of peace is healthy too. However, do you have any idea how much you’d be capable of if you gave into your natural sense of wonder? Life would be a heck of a lot more pleasurable, I’ll tell you that.
So What Now? Lucky for you, it’s 2014. Questions, answers and education, in general, are all at your fingertips. You have complete control over what you learn and have direct access, as close as your smartphone, to educate yourself on whatever topics you’re interested in learning about. You can access websites, take free online courses, watch tutorials and
download apps. You can walk to the nearest bookstore and without pulling out your wallet, you can spend all day walking up and down the aisles reading the backs of books. And what better time than right after summer, when Fall semester starts for students everywhere? You have to make a conscious effort to make time for curiosity and for your imagination, because without them you are just a little robot, living your days in stagnant air. You were built to explore, to learn and to grow and with all the resources out there, there’s absolutely no reason you should opt to turn your brain off every night to watch reality TV. Do yourself a favor and make this life worth living. There is so much beauty in the world and so many lessons left behind by those who have already lived it. There is history to admire, a future to ponder, and a present to solve. If you die tomorrow, die knowing you read that astrology book.■
Tips: Try coursera.org, iTunes University, or browse the web for tutorials on things you want to learn to do. Do a top 3 lists of things you want to learn and every time you cross one off, add another.