I hadn't really started to properly learn until I was finished my first Charity job and dedicated enough time to sit at my computer and digest information in a good way. Beforehand it wasn't encouraged to grab books and learn from them. I had wanted to learn about body language a couple of years back but it was strangely taken away from me. I only assume that people didn't want me digesting what they were thinking; it may have scared them a little, perhaps knowing a bit more about them would have been backwards to what they had planned for me? Who knows? One can only assume.

I was a dummy!

About 6 months into my sobriety I remember having the 'great awakening' as I called it. I was slowly beginning to realise that there was more to life than meets the eye. That there is so much to learn about that I haven't even considered yet. It hit me one day as I was sitting at my desk at work; it had slowly dawned on me that I hadn't learned much since High School, that since I started drinking every day I hadn't taken on board any life lesson that was thrown my way. I would have rather hidden away from learning at the bottom of a beer bottle.

Since that day, I dedicated my life to a passion of learning. First of all, I took myself to college to learn my great passion; computers. I went to complete a course on the effects the Information Age has had on society. The positives, the negatives and the bridges we can make to help people along the way. From the knowledge of that course I began to teach older people a basic understanding of computers. I gained my community teaching qualification from that too. After that I took myself to University to learn Computing and Business, and from there landed myself in a a middle-management job at a medium sized charity. I also trained in Project Management.

Looked into my interests!

But it didn't stop at these courses. I've always been interested in human life and communication. I've read all about Ancient Greece and Roman history, I understand quite a bit about human emotions. I read and had my fill on addictions and the societal drivers that fuel such a thing. I taught myself how to build a website. I learned to write for an audience, I even took myself to understanding Politics. Not just modern Politics but older too. I understand Marxism, and not the typical Marxist insult you'll see loosely thrown around the internet by someone that thinks a Marxist is the equivalent of a Centre-leftist. I threw myself into places that made me feel like an idiot in comparison to their knowledge. I swallowed my pride for the greater good. I have learned a shit ton over the last 11 years I kid you not, and I continue to do so. It will never stop. That's something I wouldn't have been able to do if I was still drinking.

Yet through learning I've grown to understand common perceptions of learning, or misconceptions. A lot of people have negative experiences with learning establishments; further learning for older people can be quite daunting. Their recollections of School were an angry teacher at the front of the class with a cane. Or the modern dilemma that I hear all too often; a rowdy class with the teacher focused too much on taming it rather than teaching it. Yeah, learning for some can be quite a negative experience and it's one that I've dedicated a good part of my life to change in other people.

Like you, I also had a barrier to learning

My barrier to learning was that I was a dreamer and a lazy person. Every time I began learning I'd end up dreaming about where I would be in ten years and get frustrated when I wasn't at the finish line already. I'd be dreaming of success, fame and untold riches and be snapped back into reality by a college lecturer driving his point across by snapping the whiteboard. I wanted to be successful before I had even started and this was a massive barrier to me. It caused me to take days off college when I didn't need to, or drop out after the first few weeks.

It all came together for me when I learned about SMART goals. SMART goals stand for small, measurable, achievable, realistic, time. Which put in a teacher’s terms is basically setting yourself small goals that you can realistically achieve day to day that feed in to the bigger goals. One of my smart goals for this book is to write at least one section per day no matter what, and yet when I began change almost 12 years ago one of my smart goals were to get up earlier in the morning on non-work days. Those two goals are wildly different. The first goal is for someone that is highly motivated to achieve what he wants, and the second goal was for someone that is beginning their journey. Both are me at different stages of my life and both targets feed into larger goals.

SMART goals changed my life

Mastering that changed my life completely. I was finally able to realistically set myself achievable targets without being nailed down by my dreams and aspirations. Procrastination was my enemy!

Yet all of this wouldn't have been possible if I didn't allow some of the brilliant people that I have allowed into my life. I surrounded myself in positive and empowering people that only want the best for me. If I had tried any of that in previous circles I would have been laughed off the stage. I had one friend that told me I'd never achieve success when I tried to get into a computing course at a college in Glasgow. Of course, he was wrong, and he didn't want me to start overreaching from my station. That would have been bad for him. He would have then had to start explaining why he had achieved nothing.

Having people in your life that give you the confidence to attempt your dreams is all that matters. All of what I've said wouldn't have mattered if I didn't believe that I could learn. Belief should come from yourself reinforced by amazing friends because sometimes I just need that backup.