>Your Education is not enough             

  ´Go to school , get your qualification and look for a good paying job .` That was the thinking of my parents and many others like them . Their goal was like mine , to be happy and successful. My parents' idea of success for me came from a place of survival . They wanted me to be happy and financially successful .Their idea of fulfillment meant having a job and being able to pay the bills. The main goal of getting me through school was to equip me with that “magic” key that would unlock the doors to success. Financial success to be exact. And that would be the end to all my problems. 

Many people have realized that being academically educated is not the end of the journey but rather the beginning of the learning process.  It is a great achievement to graduate from a credible institution but it does not guarantee success , not the success that will help  make the nation ´what  you what it to be’ .

I cannot recall a time when any of my mentors spent a significant amount of time discussing my qualifications or where I attended school. In the rare occasions when we discussed the topic, it was always in relation to the industry and career goals. My academic qualifications were never a topic to measure my level of intelligence or my future success, instead it showed to the relevant stakeholders my willingness to study what I needed to, to get ahead and the ability to back by opinions with facts .  

It was on my third job when I realized I have been spending way too much focusing on how I got to where I was. I was focusing so much on how hard I had to study to make it and the financial sacrifices my parents had to make to make sure I graduated. Yet for some strange reason , no one around me seemed to care about that. I did not spend my lunch breaks talking about how academically qualified I was to do the job, nor did my manager bring it up during our performance reviews.  So, out of curiosity I raised the topic with my mentor on a rainy summer afternoon at her office.  A middle aged women, who could be easily mistaken for a model because of her striking looks and slim profile. She was one of the few female executives in her company at the time , and the right person to discuss the topic because of her extensive academic record. She had two bachelor’s degrees and was one year into her Master’s degree.  She gave me a warm smile and a soft chuckle when I asked on the relevance of my education as if she had been expecting the question for months  .She explained that if you have a formal qualification, then you have the golden  ticket that opens many doors ,which  should be a foundation for learning once the desired door is opened. And how I approach my learning equipped with my formal qualifications will have a major influence on how I shape my career.              

  She could still see the puzzled look on my face when I was leaving her office that Friday afternoon. It was not what I expected to hear.  

So she suggested to meet at the movie theaters on our next Friday appointment to watch the film The Pursuit of Happyness based on the life of Chris Gardner , played by Will Smith. The film tells a story of how Chris Gardner went from being homeless to excelling as a broker at the Dean Witter Reynolds firm by maximizing on the opportunity he had as an intern. As entertained as I was by the entire film , we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the lessons from the film. What my mentor wanted me to take away from the film ,was to understand the value of learning at any phase of the career journey. she pointed out how Chris Gardner , took on an internship , with no formal qualifications in the financial industry, and was the only candidates to be selected for a permanent position in that firm. His passion, drive and determination to succeed  made him standout from recent college graduates .Not intimidated by his lack of academic knowledge , instead he used the time he had to learn from his colleagues and excel. Chris Gardner later worked for other firms where he continued to deliver outstanding profits and later founded his own brokerage firm. Proving that learning infused with passion can deliver incredible success.   

She emphasized that although my academic qualifications were important , it will be my learning that will accelerate my success and set me apart from everyone else. She later sent me an email summarizing what she had explained about the different between formal education and learning summarized as:  

Education is an organized way of gaining knowledge from an outside source. From an expert in that field who invests their time and resources to teach information we need to be qualified to think and perform certain tasks to a specific standard. That is why education can be expensive because it is a set of well organized and planned activities intended to progress our way of thinking. Learning on the other hand is more of an informal and personal process that happens through our surroundings and hands on experience. It is an ongoing process that cannot be stopped because it happens consciously and unconsciously through applied effort or general observation. Learning doesn’t need money, but it does need one to stay open minded and  curious.  

  TIPS FOR LEARNING .

 · Get comfortable with being uncomfortable 

 Spend time doing something different from what you are already good at and ask for feedback . Identify skills you will need in your desired future role and work on perfecting them . These could be public speaking, presentation skills or preparing feedback reports. 

· Keep up to date with industry trends

  Read…read…and keep reading on what is going on around you . 

· Map your next move then figure out what skills you will need 

Identify the next role that will complement your career path. Talk to people who are already doing the role to better understand the skills gaps and how you can best prepare yourself for the role.