Create Your Own University on Wheels

The other day I posted about how to build a self-development day.  A self development day gives you a boost in optimism and attitude that will definately cause some great results.

But what about when the honeymoon is over and your self development day is behind you?  What is going to help keep you on the right track?  How will you continue to gather great ideas that continually move you forward?

One way is to create a University on Wheels for yourself.  Take the self-development programs you purchased for self-development day, add some other titles and keep them in your car.  Listen to an audio program on your way to and from work every day.  Whenever you set off on an errand, think of it as brain-time where you can learn or reinforce a skill.  If you travel for a living, throw some of the CDs in your carry on luggage and learn on the plane.

I don’t know how long your commute is, but if you are normally listening to FM radio and commercials, your time will be much better spent if you pop in a learning cassette or CD.  Just think of all the time you spend in your car getting from home to work and back.  If you travel for a living, how much time do you spend in a plane?

Even if you are just 15 minutes each way, that is 1/2 hour of good focused learning time each day that is otherwise wasted if you don’t have an audio program playing.  Added up over the course of a year and you’d have 125 hours per year or more of education just by making this simple change!

That is why we call it a University on Wheels, you can get a college equivalent education sitting behind the wheel of your car.

I have used this method to learn new communication skills, business and marketing tips, Spanish, negotiation,  Conversational French and more.  I am thinking of naming my school The University of Brad in Camry.

What skills would help you to get to your most important goal the quickest?  Odds are, there is an audio learning series you can get that can train you as you drive.  While other people are listening to top 40 radio and getting stressed with the commute, you could be advancing your career.

Aside from the long-term education you’ll gain from your university on wheels, there are some immediate benefits from creating one.

• You get a good mental start to your day – you are feeding your mind with new ideas that can help you get stuff done efficiently.  You’ll feel brighter and more awake.
• Driving becomes more pleasant. Listening to commercials on the radio, the sound of traffic, other radios blasting gives you a headache.  Learning more about a subject you are passionate about will sometimes make the drive seem too short!  You might start wishing for red lights so you can finish listening to the author’s thoughts before you get to your destination.
• You end your workday on a positive note.  If you had a rough day at work, we all have them, what better to boost your spirits than learning more and preparing for your future success?

Additionally, as time goes on, you’ll build your library.  You can listen to your older programs for a “refresher course.”

New idea! Voice record your thoughts: I am getting a lot from keeping a recording device with me to jot voice notes while listening to my audio programs.  When I’m listening to the programs, ideas start rolling – as they should.  But in a car, you can’t take action on any of them immediately.

Solution?   Voice record the ideas and put them on an action list when you get to work or home.  Any recorder will do (cassette or digital) as long as you can hear your voice clearly. Or better, I’ve been using the Jott app on my iPhone to send ideas to my email or (in the case of tasks) to the Toodledo app.

Over the years I’ve learned much of the value of the audio learning programs comes not from the information itself, but my ideas that arise while listening.  My audio notes are crucial to make sure I don’t lose any of them.

So if you haven’t already, get started building your university on wheels as soon as you can.

Updated: Originally posted May 12, 2006