Technology is eliminating the need for formal education. Any lesson you want to learn is available online. From courses, to blogs with tons of free content, to being able to communicate with anyone in the world at anytime.
Ask Questions
It has never been easier to contact people than it is today. With so many forms of communication, anyone can message anyone from anywhere. It’s also convenient. Instead of calling someone, and disturbing their day or rhythm, you can shoot them a message and wait for their response.
Learning From No Response
The hardest part for me is sending messages to random people, not knowing if I’ll get a response, or what the response will be. I’ve sent quite a few un-responded-to messages. I’ve also sent a lot of messages that I got far more knowledge-gain out of than I could’ve imagined. As Michael Jordan (or was it Wayne Gretzky?) said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The people who do respond are definitely worth the risk of those who don’t.
Knowledge Gain
Asking questions about something you’re interested in is the fastest way to gain knowledge. You can read books or research topics, but I’ve found reaching out to others is a faster way to learn. The caveat to this is reaching out to the right people. A lot of my emails are to (1) people I have met in person and have a question I know they can answer (2) people I have met online who I know are at a similar level in whatever topic I’m asking about, or (3) people I come across when researching a topic and I have a question for.
Reaching out is simple too. Either get ahold of someone’s email, become Facebook friends and shoot them a message, or try contact people through their blogs. With innovations of technology come new ways of interacting with others. It’s easier now than ever to gain knowledge, so stop waiting and start messaging