Life Study - 20 Minutes per Day
Blog Posted: Monday, September 14, 2009
This activity is, in my experience, is as essential as having a rudder on a ship. I have carried out this essential practice almost every day for more than thirty years. Also, I think it is easier to be successful at doing it consistently if we chose a time each day, while eating lunch for instance, and then being fiercely protective of this time, because, over time, nobody can compete with someone who has consistently schooled themselves on how to live well.
Why 20 minutes each day ? Why not two hours once per week ? They both add up to about the same amount of time, so what's the difference ? I believe the difference lies in the type of study we are engaging in. The idea is to take what we have studied and to put it into practice in our daily lives, and from my experience, studying in long blocks of time tends to make it "study for study's sake", instead of "study for action's sake".
Each and every principal I have used to achieve the success in my daily life that I am truly proud of would never have been deeply engraved in my heart and mind had I not been consistent with this habit. I am still extremely passionate about twenty minutes of study each day and feel that I am reading a letter personally addressed to me, something I can and will use as soon as possible. Because I view this activity this way, it has never devolved into merely a form of intellectual stimulation. Interestingly, many of the biographical books I have read have been prompted by something I picked up during my 'life study' sessions. These books function as mortar and bricks in the foundation of my life. I also like to read books that pretty much solely focus on entertaining as well, and feel that it is probably healthier than only watching movies or TV because I am exercising my mind. However, and this is key, the time reading this sort of reading material doesn't count toward my 'life study' goal.
I started studying with the attitude that I was reading a letter personally addressed to me over thirty years ago. I was at that time suffering in my job situation. I was not yet on solid footing, doing some odd jobs like carpentry and less than stimulating office work, and in general just getting by. Moreover, I didn't have rapport with the bosses who had to suffer my poor work habits, especially my inability to show up for work on time. With this scenario as a backdrop, I sat down for my daily study session and something in a periodical written by my mentor really hit home: The passage said to the effect that whatever one's chosen field, the important thing was to never be a coward and never be a loser. Ouch....that one stung! And it has also stuck with me almost daily ever since I read it.
My conclusion from many personal experiences is this: 'Life Study ' is the path of lifelong learning and self development, and is a practice that forms the basis for victory in life.