Are you still learning or you know it all?

“A Scientist reads hundreds of books but believes he has a lot more to learn. A religious person reads one and he thinks he knows it all” ~ Anonymous

When people ask me about my profession and as I answer that I am a Business Consultant in one of a leading Information Technology firm, the next question I get a lot is “Did you do an MBA degree?” of course! not. How did you land up in this profession?

Firstly, let me give a little bit of background on how the mindset of a typical middle-class family works in India. The parents have struggled hard to fulfill their children’s education, so the least expectation they have from their children is either they become an Engineer or a Doctor as this is the only two professions with high paychecks and respectable in the society. So with the same expectation, I did try my hands on completing a 4 year engineering degree however failed in the first year and I switched to a normal 3 year BA degree.

I was lucky enough to secure myself a job once I completed my degree and during my career, the only thing that has led to moving ahead in my career is I am always open to learning and I firmly believe that the learning process never stops.

I did not need an MBA degree to reach the position where I am today, it was always my curiosity and learning process that led me to my profession.

I still remember and in touch till date with of my mentor in one of the organizations that I have worked used to say to me that “If we look the profession of a Doctor or a Lawyer they are always learning and still thinks there is a lot more to know, why can’t we apply the same principle in our profession” 

I realized that even though you complete a 4-year college degree or an MBA and think that you have known everything then that’s the end of your career. After having 8+ years of experience in my profession, this is one of my new found interest in trying my hands in writing and I am still learning.

I would like to end with an example, it may not fit the context that I have written however, it’s an interesting piece.

In the 19th century when India was fighting for freedom, one of the revolutionary freedom fighters “Bhagat Singh” was to be hanged by the British Government. When the time came for his execution, he requested to spare some time so that he can finish reading “Mein Kampf” to learn the ideology of Hitler.

“Learning never ends because life never stops teaching you”