Micah 3.0

For the past several months I have been really trying to figure out what exactly my calling in life is. What is my unique path? I have read a few books and tons of blogs on the topic. The trick is to really decide on something and discover how that journey could become a reality. Tonight I believe I had a breakthrough on how to pursue my passion and fulfill my life calling.

My Passion and My Gift

First, let me tell you what my interests are. I am interested in learning. It is ironic in a way because I really loathed school. That is another story for another day. I love learning random interesting things. That is why I love the internet so dang much!!! I have seemingly limitless information at my fingertips. I also love sharing what I know with others. To me, knowledge is power. Knowledge is priceless. You can’t really lose it and no one can take it from you. I believe you carry what you know beyond this life and through eternity. The purpose of this life is to learn as much as we can. I am afraid I am not meeting my learning potential.

If I had unlimited time and resources I would probably get Masters and Doctorate degrees in as many fields as possible. Although, I wouldn’t care too much about the degrees themselves as much as the opportunity to gain more knowledge. I would pursue things like Psychology, Art, Economics, Political Science and Biology. My employers have loved me because I am always willing to learn new things and take on new challenges. Almost everything I do in my work is something I have learned on my own since graduating from college.

I have a gift for learning quickly. I actually didn’t like school because I felt like I wasted a lot of time. Don’t get me wrong. I did learn a lot in school but I could have learned more in a shorter period of time given the opportunity. For example, my junior year in high school I took a keyboarding class. It was a year long class and by the end of the first semester I was typing 40 wpm. I had also finished all the lessons in the program. I got permission to quit that class and take a computer repair class. I promise, I’m not the smartest person in the world. I am far from it. I could write a book about all the stupid things I do. I just have a talent and passion for learning especially when I get to choose the subject and go at my own pace.

My Own School

A lot of people are “going back to school” in the down economy. So here is my idea. For my 31st year of life I will dedicate my time to learning. I will focus on subjects that I am most interested in and I will set goals for reaching specific levels of expertise. The general rule of thumb will be to reach a professional level. Meaning someone would pay me for my work in that subject. I won’t be using traditional schools but I may utilize private instruction and tutors as the need arises and it is financially possible. My idea is to document the journey and get as much help as possible finding the best resources for learning. I would also find methods for speeding up the learning process. Along the way I would be building my business of web design and development as well as teaching courses on the same subject. I would also hope to build a following as I share my journey through blogging. With the right following my business would grow and I would work on writing a book and other information products related to learning and pursuing one’s passion. The end goal is to pursue my passion for the rest of my life. Ideally, I would continue my own school and fund it through a business I run passively, affiliates and sponsorships.

Logistics

I turn 30 in August. My current job ends in July. This gives me a few months to plan and prepare. Between now and when I start the project I will need to solidify the subjects I’m going to study as well as the curriculum and resources I will use. I will also work on building an audience through this blog, twitter and some PR. People love stories about leaving corporate jobs to pursue a calling, especially when the topics I plan to study are more creative and artistic in contrast to my current career as a software engineer.

Subjects

*Subject to change
1. Physical Education
2. Religion
3. Design (Web and Illustration)
4. Photography and Video Production
5. Music (Piano, Guitar and Singing)
6. Computer Programming

Resources

1. Google
2. Lynda.com
3. MIT OpenCourseWare and other free online courses
4. Youtube

What Do You Think?

Am I crazy? Let me answer that for you. YES! It takes a little crazy to be successful. What have I got to lose? Like I said, knowledge is power. I am 100% confident in my ability to learn. At the end of the year I will have likely learned more than the average person learns in 4 years of college. If I haven’t built a system for keeping the project alive beyond a year I will only be more valuable in the workforce than I am right now. Perhaps one of my subjects should be business so I can increase my chances of sustaining my journey on my own.