Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – Udemy

Tags

cheap, easy, fascinating, inexpensive, Learning, Life-long Learning, new courses, new material, Thinking, Udemy

As the future unfolds, many of us will need to retool and learn new things. I decided to pursue the Python programming language. First, it’s a pretty easy language to learn. There are some things that still confuse me, but mostly, particularly with what I want to do with it, the language is very “learnable”.

I’m taking a Python course on Udemy. These courses cost money, but if you are patient, you can get most of them for less than 20 USD. It’s a real bargain when you consider that you have permanent access to the course, the instructors are outstanding in the 4-star rated and above courses, and you get so much content that you’ll be busy for a few months.

I’m enrolled in an NLP course, two Python courses, a graphic design course, two Excel courses, a digital marketing course, and a data science and business analysis course. I’m taking these because my new position in a religious organization requires that I know how to do all these things (excluding python and NLP). My goal is to complete all these courses before the end of 2021. Not a problem. I’ll get there in no time. The key is to do a little each day. By doing a little learning each day, you’ll retain the information more efficiently. To repeat, since you have lifelong access to Udemy courses you purchase, you are free to go back and review anything that you forget or need to refine. It’s a terrific service. I highly recommend it.

Is there something you’d like to learn, just to learn it? Head on over to Udemy. You won’t be disappointed.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – MS Publisher Course on Udemy

Tags

Gaining Knowledge, Getting Unstuck, Life-long Learning, moving forward, online courses, Practical Learning, Tutorials

MS Publisher Course @ Udemy.com

I always joke with my Mom and Dad about having all the world’s books on my phone. I also joke about all the world’s music on my phone and how nice it is to be able to access books, music, and movies anywhere I am. Another benefit of the technological advances we enjoy is the ability to take online courses.

I present a discussion each month at our local library about various philosophical and religious topics. The topic I have selected for December is on Dreams. My local leadership has decided to begin postering for these events so that the public is more aware of what we are doing and will have the option to attend. Guess who got assigned to create the poster? (laugh).

I didn’t know what other people in my organization were using to create posters in their areas, so I reached out. They came back with PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator, and MS Publisher. Since MS Publisher is part of my MS Office 365 subscription, this is what I went with. As soon as I opened it up, I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. So, I began looking for a tutorial or course I could take. My search helped me find an MS Publisher course on Udemy!

Since I’m very familiar with the Udemy platform, I paid the $12 for the course. Note: If you get on Udemy and find a course you want that is more than $10-12, wait. They have sales all year long and it will get into this range at some point. If you really need to take a course in a particular topic area, keep looking. You will find a course that meets your price range and will deliver the content you are looking for.

The course is composed of 1-3 minute presentations on each part of the platform and advances all the way to creating a project and finishing it. I like bite-size presentations that I can take each day and then practice on the real application afterwards. The course link is above. You may not have any need for MS Publisher, but you may need to learn something else. Google it. You’ll find what you are looking for on one of the online education platforms or on YouTube.

I wanted to show that regardless of the problem you are facing, you can find a solution. Whenever we embark on doing something that is unfamiliar, you can find a place to learn easily on the Internet. Don’t let a lack of knowledge hold you back from your dream. The knowledge you seek is only a few mice clicks away.

If you are taking an online course that you really enjoy, send a link to me in the comments.

I’m always looking for the next great course to take!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Life-long Learning

Tags

Computers, Curiosity, e-books, Laptops, Life-long Learning, online courses, Programming, smart phones, smart watches, tablets, video tutorials

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Learning.

Most of us “learned” to dislike it because of school. We had to take subjects we didn’t like or maybe we weren’t that great at it. Whatever the reason, take a moment to think about those classes you took that you liked. There must have been a few you enjoyed right? That’s where you start.

The reason I bring this up is that I don’t want any of my friends, family, or my customers/readers to become complacent. The world is moving faster and faster. New technologies are coming to market more quickly. Do not be left behind.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”  – Henry Ford

Each of us can learn new things. Start with the things you enjoyed in school. Maybe you liked shop class. Read books about carpentry, masonry, and metalwork. Maybe you enjoyed writing. Learn about writing. Maybe you always liked Astronomy. Learn about Astronomy.

I think you’ll find that learning brings a sense of accomplishment, joy, and builds confidence. Once you catch the “learning bug”, you may tackle some topics you didn’t like, but want to try again. Go for it! There are so many places to learn, whether it be an online course, a video tutorial, or a book.

 

Set a goal to learn something new each day or complete so many courses in a year. Take a variety of subjects so you can build new skills and knowledge. This variety will build on your current knowledge and help you find new solutions to problems you didn’t know existed. Simply by opening your mind and working through different topic areas.

With a Father who is suffering from Dementia, I am learning and working my brain with the hope I do not fall victim to the same thing my Dad has. It is tough to watch one of the smartest guys I knew, forget how to turn on a television or log on to a computer because he can’t remember how.

I’m also motivated to learn new things because I never want to be obsolete. In this information age, people are falling by the wayside because they can’t keep up. They can’t use a smart phone, smart watch, or tablet. They can barely use a computer. In a few short years, these people will not be able to do what most of us can do today with little effort.

Get out there and learn about your phone, your computer, your tablet. Go get yourself a smart watch and play with it. Get comfortable reading articles online, books in e-readers, sharing what you find on social media. Get a bank account app and use it. Learn all there is to know about the apps on your technical gear. Find new apps to play with and use, even if you don’t keep it or find the app to be a waste of time. The new apps will help you learn more.

Have you ever taken an online course? There are some that are free and they are really good. Have you ever read a digital book? Downloaded a digital book from your local library? Get on Coursera, Udemy, Study.com, or Skill Share. Take a course, complete it, do the exercises. Download a book to your Amazon Kindle App. Get yourself a music app and download the music. Get on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video or Vudu.com and stream a movie or television show. Show your parents and grandparents how to use this stuff. They are the generation that is falling behind currently and it is hurting them.

 

Before I came home, my parents did not know what Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Vudu was? They didn’t know what Spotify or Apple Music was. My Mom had a flip phone. My Mom and Dad still have a landline and don’t use it anymore. They pay 50 dollars a month for a phone that takes messages from robocalls. You see what I’m talking about? Don’t let your friends and relatives fall to the wayside. Take the time to show them how to use this stuff and keep them up-to-date.

To those of us that are caught up and know how to use these things—GREAT! Think about 20-30 years from now when your are older. Will you still be in the loop or will you fall to the wayside using the technologies you are comfortable with now, that, will be outdated.

 

Take the time each day to learn something new. Take the time to teach someone else that may not know what you know. Don’t be complacent. Continue to grow, to learn, to improve. It makes life exciting and worth living. I hope all of you are having a great week!

 

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesdays

Tags

Dr. Jordan Peterson, Gary Keller, Life-long Learning, Maps of Meaning, The One Things, wisdom

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” – Neil Gaiman

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/neil_gaiman_676237?src=t_learning

As many of you know, I love to learn. I ran across this great video series on YouTube, called: Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. In this series, Dr. Peterson teaches us how human beings have used stories to communicate to one another and map out the key features of our belief systems. The lecture series is composed of 12 lectures that last about 2 ½ hours each. This is a fascinating series filled with lots of ideas and things to think about. I’ve provided a link below if you are interested in checking it out.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQAT-0aSPq-OKOpQlHyR4k5h

This year, we are all going to experience new things. We are going to learn new things. When we are truly learning something new, we make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the learning process as our brains rewire themselves to a new way of doing things. Make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes. Build on your mistakes. Do not be afraid of making mistakes.

I’m also reading a great book called: The One Thing by Gary Keller. It’s a book that describes a process for focusing on the very best action we can take to improve our lives. He also provides a great way to categorize our lives into areas of focus that I found to be quite fascinating. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in self-help books. It adds to the books I have read in the past and fits in nicely to the way I am rewriting my life daily. I think you’ll find it to be yet another book you can add to your yearly lexicon of reading.

We are what we focus on. If we focus on the right things daily, we will build a life of meaning. We will build a life that is exciting and filled with learning, building new skills, and increasing our marketability so that we can live a life that is fresh, ripe with variety, and productive. Isn’t this what all of us want?

Gary’s way of speaking is down-to-earth and easy to understand. He provides a way of pursuing a balance in life so that we can tackle all facets of our existence each day and build our relationships, maintain ourselves physically and financially, pursue our spiritual interests, and develop an individual curriculum of learning that adds to our skills and continuously pushes us to greater heights.

I hope each of you is having a great week so far! Take a look at The One Thing and Dr. Peterson’s lecture series. I think you’ll enjoy both.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote

Tags

Education, John F Kennedy, Learning, Life-long Learning, Quote

Today’s Quote:

“The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.” – John F. Kennedy

Life-long learning is something all of us should strive for. Whatever your interests, pursue everything there is to know about that interest. Maybe you like history, nature, science, fashion, or even writing—pursue your interests and read everything you can. Take tutorials online, take a college course, or find a mentor to teach you.

The truth is a tough topic. Before you can claim something as truth you have to measure it two ways. The first way is to determine if it applies universally. The second way is to determine if it is subject to change. If it applies universally and is not subject to change, you may have found the truth. The best we can do as a human being is to verify everything we read, see, and hear, and double-check and verify again. We should also remember that truth is sometimes an individual thing. What may be a truth to me may not be a truth to another.

Critical thinking is what I’m driving at here. We should all be skeptical of what we read, what we hear, what we see. The primary reason is that we are all biased. We all have a way of looking at the world. Many times we see what we want to see or what is filtered by our internal paradigms. Subsequently, there will always be a personal slant to everything we view. Look at another viewpoint, ask questions, look for evidence to support your ideas and claims.

There is also a lot of evidence that many of our “trusted” news sources are no longer reliable. Resources like the New York Times, Washington Post, LA times, and CNN have all been tagged as “Fake” news. Honestly, I haven’t read or watched the news seriously in years. If you really listen to these anchor people, it is just one lie after another. It is almost comical that they think people believe what they say. Anyways, I’ll leave this for another day.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

See you tomorrow…