I’m 18 hours away from finishing college.
I’m not going back. I don’t need it.
But even though I didn’t finish college, I’ll never finish learning.
I didn’t read my first book cover to cover until I was 25. It was The Secret of Closing Sales by Charles Roth, and it gave me the spark to try sales.
At the time, I was a surveillance supervisor making $28,500 a year. I left that sure thing for a career in sales with no safety net and unlimited earning opportunity.
I was scared. But sometimes what you fear is what you need. Fear can be a great motivator.
Twenty-eight years later, I’m still trying sales.
This morning, I read a passage in Napoleon Hill’s The Law of Success. He quoted Russell Conwell on the power of “observing deeply and widely”—a power each of us must acquire through self-culture.
Conwell talked about people who learned through the University of Hard Knocks.
I love that. It’s open enrollment. Everybody can attend.
And the dues you pay are in what you do every single day.
You learn. You apply. Some days you get kicked in the teeth. You learn from it, adjust, and keep going.
I’ve met people on both sides of the coin. I’ve met educated people who could tell you how to do something but wouldn’t do it themselves. And I’ve met people without a formal education who have done well because they kept learning and doing.
Formal education has its place. But your self-education is your responsibility.
That’s why I practice what I call the 30-Minute Millionaire Mindset.
The millionaire doesn’t necessarily mean money. It’s the freedom that learning can create: the freedom to grow, create opportunities, and shape your world.
Here’s how I prime my day:
📖 Read for 10–15 minutes.
✍️ Write for about 15 minutes. What did I learn? How do I interpret it? Where can I use it?
🚶 Live it. Take the idea into the day and put it to work.
Your mind becomes like a tuning fork. Once you’ve read and written about an idea, you become more receptive to it. You start noticing connections and learning moments throughout the day.
And if you don’t have 30 minutes all at once, use the gaps. Download a Kindle book and read a passage while you’re standing in line. If you have more time on certain days, use it.
Lack is leverage.
Stay curious. Look at things objectively. Suspend judgment long enough to ask what you can learn.
Because too often, we judge and then justify: “See, this is why I can’t do it.”
Life is teaching you. Are you the student?
If you want to move up in your profession, nobody’s going to do it for you. Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for someone to come show you. Take it on yourself.
Be ready before you get the nod. Prove yourself ready.
Read it. Write it. Interpret it. Then go live it.
Imagine if you did that every day. Where would you be a year from now?
Actually, you won’t have to imagine it. You’ll see it.
It starts with imagination. It ends with living proof.