Recently, I discovered the book, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. I recommend the book.
Among many other good suggestions, Mr. Schwartz recommended taking college classes for the rest of you life. Schedule it in. Plan on taking at least one class a semester from now on.
Just because you are done with school does not mean you have to stop learning.
On page 272 of the book, the author writes:
Why not make an investment decision right now? Call it School: One Night a Week for Life. It will keep you progressive, young, alert. It will keep you abreast of your areas of interest. And, it will surround you with other people who are also going places.
If you live near a university, or a community college, you could do this.
Of course, for many reasons, going to local classes may not be easy to do. But, these days, you can take classes online.
Udemy, for example, has thousands of reasonably priced courses.
Harvard and MIT offer classes online for free. All you need is an internet connection and self discipline.
And, of course, if you are a subscriber to my site, you are welcome to join any of the live classes I teach each weekday morning. Currently, I am teaching Latin, Greek, German, French, and Spanish classes. And, if you can’t make it to the live classes, you are welcome to move through previous classes at your own pace.
The point Mr. Schwartz is making is simple. Keep learning.
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I received quite a few responses to this message. People sent even more helpful tips.
Brad says:
This is very timely. I have read The Magic of Thinking Big a few times and own two copies.
I have taken Udemy courses (tech related), they are very solid. They also occasionally have 70% off sales. I bought 3 Latin courses on that sale. Udemy programs have a high number of short modules and they test you after every single module (much like your Capitulum tests). It is impossible to move thru that course format and not learn.
My other Latin class is 2 nights a week, for Vatican sponsored credit at various thresholds. I want to translate medieval Dominican texts when I “retire” HA.
Harvard has a fairly famous free course called The Happiness Project, free thru 3/31/24. I will be taking this soon. As I was leaving my prior job, Shawn Achor’s book The Success Advantage was recommended to me. This title grew out of the Harvard project, it is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Finally, I am a judo black belt. I had a major concussion in Japan (went temporarily blind). Every single study on brain health l’cites the critical importance of continual learning for brain health.
Pax Christi,
– Brad
Great content here, Dwane. Thank you. Our son just texted yesterday from Cedarville University to tell us that they are now offering their Bible minor for free online. Thought I’d share since it’s pertinent!
Hi, I have been taking classes from Hillsdale for free for a couple of years now. Wonderful classes!I also highly recommend learning Latin. 😁
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Almost every Saturday, I send out a Tip of the Week. The tip of the week is usually something I have picked up along the way that may make your life a little easier. If you would like to hear from me (almost) every Saturday, just go to the home page of my site and plug in your name and email. You will also get a free digital copy of my book on learning Latin (and almost anything else). Just go here: https://dwanethomas.com/
If you want to buy the digital book instead (because you just feel like buying me a cup of coffee) go here: https://dwanethomas.gumroad.com/l/fzixlh
If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7. I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful. To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
If you want a more professionally filmed experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.
Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word Up! Warning. Word Up! is a bit wacky. You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.
I teach other languages on my site, too. The current schedule is here: https://dwanethomas.com/live-classes/
By the way, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Not trying to pull a fast one on you. I only promote what I believe in. Not only that, but commissions from affiliate links allow me to continue offering training and books at low prices and sometimes free.
