Learning should be a lifelong pursuit. Education shouldn’t end when we leave school or complete job training – it should continue throughout our lives. The desire to learn, to grow, to improve – that is a critical quality for those who desire greater success, and one that should never be undervalued. You never get too old to keep learning, and I would even argue, you can teach an old dog new tricks!
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman just turned seventy-five, and he still loves to learn. During a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Freeman talked about his new show, a series on the Science Channel called “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.” The show is based on questions. Deep, existential questions that many of us have asked or wondered at some point in our lives; questions like “Can we live forever?” “Is there a soul?” and “What makes us who we are?”
Freeman explains that as a youth he was always curious, always full of questions – and remains so to this day. In his high school physics class Freeman was an ‘A’ student, not because he was scientific-minded, but because, as his teacher put it, he “questioned.” Freeman explains, “I don’t have a passion for science, but I have a passion to know things.”
On the show Freeman has the opportunity to continue to grow, learn, explore… and ask questions. He says, “What I like a lot about it is that I personally get to ask questions too.” Those questions are then answered by leading scientists and experts, but – as often happens when the truly curious receive an answer to a question – rather than quenching curiosity, those answers simply whet it more.
How about you? Do you continue to grow, learn, explore and ask questions? Never stop! The desire to learn is a critical success factor you should cherish and leverage. If you keep learning, keep asking questions, keep pressing on, you can’t help but achieve significantly greater success!
To watch Morgan Freeman’s interview on the Charlie Rose Show, please click here. I also encourage you to check out “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman” Wednesday evenings on the Science Channel at 10pm E/P – you might find some answers to puzzling questions, and I guarantee you’ll learn something new!
