I believe it means taking the steps necessary to educate oneself on various tasks. To make the effort to learn concepts that are needed to enhance your job or life. It can also mean to learn things that are going to help you get ahead in life. Not just necessarily career wise, but in every aspect of your life.
Obtaining useful skills can be done with specific training in college or vocational schools. It can be self taught, depending on the skill. It could allow you to have more opportunities in life and the job market.
This is a topic that is near and dear to the hearts of my readers, researchers, and website visitors. So much so that one of them were kind enough to share their own personal opinions. I don’t claim to be the best interviewer in the world, but I do promise some good, raw, and honest answers from normal people like you and me. I do my best to NOT filter these answers, except for the bad words and hateful speech.
With that little blurb out of the way, let’s dive right into the juicy bits of (potentially) life-changing insights.
Current Topic: Gaining Useful Skills
‘R’ = Richard N. Stephenson (me!) ‘I’ = Interviewee (anonymous by request unless otherwise noted)
[This interview is inspired and fueled by research done for my book: Staying Motivated at Work.]
R: Why would anyone really want to pay attention to this subject?
I: Some of the biggest benefits of gaining useful skills would be the immediate application of these skills in order to accomplish goals. Acquiring useful skills would be also useful in advancing a career or switching careers. Gaining useful skills is, in my opinion an important part of human development and the more we learn and develop these skills, the more we will develop as human beings.
R: How’s this subject relevant to making or changing the lives of those around us?
I: If one is unemployed because of the advent of the technology age that phased out a job, the recourse is to get the training required to remain competitive. The workforce changes just as the industrial revolution changed the south in regards to producing cotton. Therefore, one has to attend schools of higher learning and get disciplined in a specialty that is prevalent in the current job market.
R: How do you think this could be used for personal development or just being a better person overall?
I: Skilled people are the most employable. Employed people are important to contributing positively to the family and to the community. Skilled people know what they are doing because they have been trained in a particular trade. A skilled person has confidence which makes him perform his job better.
R: Can you think of anyone that exemplifies what this topic means to you?
I: My mother has taught me many from the beginning and they are just now starting to get to me. I re-learned other through mistakes and later realizing i actually had known about it from my mom but still forgot about it. Now that am not living with my mom any more is when i actually learn them the hard way. You got to start somewhere though.
R: Provide us with an example of what kind of person is better of never talking about this subject ever again.
I: A person who, instead of really concentrating and finding the best way to work through a problem or exercise, simply follows the same course of actions they usually do or were taught. If this person were to try something different, they would learn a new skill, and probably learn the material better. As it is, they are using the same skill that they know and not building upon that in any way.
R: Think of your daily routine – how does this topic fit into the overall scheme of things?
I: I know by fact that gaining useful skills can not only change ones life but improve it. I’m all about improving my life right now so the many useful skills i can learn the better. Being organized and planning them out and executing them at the right time is what i need to learn more as i get distracted a lot and I’ve come to learn that i need a plan (skills) to negate the problem.
R: Pick a time, pick any time… when should folks out there bring this idea into their lives?
I: When one graduate from high school, it is called a commencement. Commencement means the beginning. Therefore, the most appropriate time to make gaining useful skills a part of your life is right after the high school years.
R: When’s just a really bad time to be working on this subject?
I: When you are being sexually harassed by an employer. You are able to show your strength, how you persevere and take from it a learning experience. It also could give you a chance to change careers or attend college.
R: Where can regular people like you and me plan to bring this into our daily routine?
I: Trade schools, technical schools, college and universities provide skills that enhances one’s daily life. Learning is fundamental. Learning improves one’s cognizance and therefore they can contribute to job functions that result in meaningful income.
R: Give an example of where folks should not be working on this subject.
I: The worst place to for gaining useful skills is alone in a closet. Since there is nobody around to practice even the minimal social skills with, there is really nothing useful that can be learned. If hanging out alone in a closet becomes part of a daily routine, then there definitely is nothing that can be used for gaining useful skills.
R: Do you know of any people, organizations, or groups that could benefit from learning more about this topic?
I: I think those who have fallen through the cracks for one reason or another could use some instruction in gaining useful skills. For whatever reasons, during the time when most of us are learning our life skills, some people fall behind ~ whether through their own devices (things like alcohol or drugs) or through matters out of their control (abusive situations or illness). Many times these people have poor self images and may not be forceful enough to seek the help they need.
R: Describe at least one thing you would recommend to someone looking into this topic more.
I: I think someone looking for help with this should probably go to a professional or mentor that know more about it. This might be a professor at a local school, a psychologist, or maybe a business or life coach in the area. A senior coworker might be a good idea, too.
R: Share with us your thoughts on what’s most damaging when it comes to this subject.
I: Avoid being lazy, simple as that. Once you commit to a schedule stick with it if you wish to gain results. Laziness is a disease so make sure everything and everyone around you does not convert you to be lazy in the process. Have positive energy around you as it will smooth things up when under difficult or unpleasant situations.
R: What would you recommend folks do today to work on this topic at hand?
I: One of the most effective ways to gain useful skills is to go to college. The benefits of this extend beyond developing work related skills. A university education also develops interpersonal skills that are incredibly useful for not only acquiring work, but for building relationships.
~~~~~
Thank you for reading this personal journey into becoming a better person and having a better future ahead of you. I hope you enjoyed this interview conversation and found golden nuggets you can immediately apply to your daily life.
If you want to get more productivity (and fulfillment!) out of your work, career, and life through being more motivated, then check out Staying Motivated at Work.
Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, or personal life-changing wisdom below.