College Is For Suckers

College is for suckers; well, not really, but it is really expensive and not the only form of education. I have noticed that while many people are not able to go to college due to the expense, they also neglect to educate themselves. Steve Jobs, Rachel Ray and Bishop T.D. Jakes are examples of highly successful people, who were not college educated. It is possible to be successful without a college degree. However, you cannot be a success without education.

Here are five ways that you can continue to educate yourself.

Books – Books are the least expensive method to educate yourself. There are books on virtually any subject that you can think of. With the advent of audio books that you can listen to on the run, the possibilities are endless. David Burrus said “When I couldn’t find someone who would mentor me, I found a book who would mentor me.”

Podcast – I only discovered the great educational medium of podcasts in the last three years. Leading experts in many fields have developed podcasts to get information to the consumer at no cost. I still haven’t paid for a podcast. If you haven’t tapped into the power of the podcast, then you are surely missing out. Michael Hyatt; Carey Nieuwhof, Tim Ferriss; and H. B Charles are just a few of the podcasts that I listen to on leadership. However, there is a podcast for any subject that you need to gain more knowledge about.

Webinars – Experts on different subject matter are offering webinars. There are both paid and free webinars. The paid webinars often cost far less than what you would pay to attend a college class in order to get the same information. There are cooking webinars, leadership webinars, productivity webinars and fashion webinars. I have taken several webinars ranging in cost from $97 to $700 dollars. I haven’t been disappointed yet.

You can GROW if you want to!

Blogs – I absolutely love blogs. Blogs are short written articles that seek to educate the reader in a quick and concise manner. I cannot tell you how much value reading the right blogs have added to my life. I promise you that there is not a subject matter in the world that someone has not committed to blogging about. This includes everything from high-level information to local gossip. If you can think of it – there’s a blog for it. However, your main purpose should be to add value to your life. Therefore, you should look for blogs that inspire and push you to become a better person, parent, spouse or entrepreneur.

Videos – Do not underestimate the power of a YouTube video to educate you. I have saved thousands of dollars fixing my car and small things around my house by leveraging the power of a YouTube video. I learned how to set up my blog using a YouTube video. I learned how to replace a fuse that was controlling the air conditioning in my car using a YouTube video. This saved me over $300 dollars. People usually ignore the fact that YOUTUBE is also a search engine. Just as you search Google for information, you should also be looking on YouTube.

It’s time to get educated. Although I am a huge advocate for getting a college education, it simply won’t happen for everyone. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. I challenge you to think of a subject that you need to gain more information about. You can then use one of the methods described above to get educated.

What are some additional self-education paths?