THE PATH TO SUCCESS
The Education of Self
T
he benefits of an “education” often don’t seem apparent until later in life. There are many perspectives. Gratitude for the opportunity is one of them. That is usually reserved for parents—those who fomented their child’s vision through their own desires or through their later-in-life lamenting the circumstances where war or other economic realities thwarted their own studies. In most personal recollections, students cite parents for teaching them the importance of developing life skills and the knowledge of how to have a fuller life beyond just making a living. In life, I have also met many successful people in business who sense they are “not educated” enough. Those individuals can simply go back to school and demystify something that has bothered them for most of their adult lives. Training and Education Training involves learning with a goal of performing a specific skill or behaviour. A new industry Volume 30 Number 1 Spring 2021
Nigel Atkin
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sometimes develops and jobs are available, but a workforce needs specific technical training, for example, for society to adapt to the economic needs of climate change. Colleges handle that function well, rapidly modifying course options to serve community and industry needs. Good colleges also provide educational background about the services they offer their students, such as the history of the trades, the context of the key leaders in the field, who built what great bridge, the architectural background, the significance of good design in everything, and so on.
In life, I have also met many successful people in business who sense they are “not educated” enough. Education by definition is a systematic process of learning something with a goal of acquiring knowledge. Universities are usually considered the home for getting a good education. They generally teach students to think critically from multiple The Scrivener | www.bcnotaryassociation.ca
perspectives to create solutions to life’s complex issues. They encourage discussion, research, and engagement to develop communication toward leadership positions that motivate people into action. They teach business students the organizational and management skills, studies that are transferable in any market, thus rounding out skills to lead people into greater success than just monetary profits. Some universities teach theology or journalism or indigenous studies. The opportunities in Canadian universities are as wide as the sky and can take any student inclination or developing passion to infinite extremes of comprehension, economy, and self-worth. Knowledge is Power One of the best essays I received from a student in a management course at the University of Victoria a couple of decades ago was an assignment to defend or refute the philosophical concept that “Knowledge is Power.” She wrote that knowledge, even if it is not used, is still power resident in the individual. TABLE OF CONTENTS
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