How many people do you know who have used their college or advanced degree as an excuse to stop learning? You are one of them? What stops you from sharpening your saw? Lacking the time, tuition, or patience? It may be easier than you think!
Change idle time
It’s been said that travelers here in Chicago experience only two seasons over the course of a year: winter and construction. Both result in delays and frustration for all travelers. If we add up the time we spend on both legs of our journey, most of us have between one and two hours of wasted time each day. When these seasons become more severe, it gets even worse. With all that time we spend traveling, we are lucky to have time to have dinner, be with family and sleep before the routine repeats itself the next day. And then, at work, we are continually challenged to do more with less. Who has time for personal or professional enrichment?
An off-ramp memory
Earlier this year, I took some time to sharpen the saw and attended one of those Motivational Extravaganza events that featured high-profile speakers like Colin Powell, Tom Hopkins, Lovie Smith, and good old-fashioned Zig Ziglar.
I became a disciple of Zig Ziglar over twenty years ago when I borrowed his program on tape from the library, See You at the Top. To this day, I find myself using Zig quotes continually in my work with clients. And I can confirm that he does too. Mr. Ziglar is in his 80s now and still tours and speaks, always accompanied by Red Head, his wife of over 50 years, whom his listeners have come to know.
Speaking to the crowd at the Allstate Arena, Zig reminded me of how we met when he spoke about enrichment opportunities at The Automobile University. I remembered that we figuratively put in the AU campus. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to promote this excellent underrated institution and create this short brochure for our ongoing alma mater…
The Automobile University
The Automobile University is a higher education institution open to anyone who travels daily. It offers endless opportunities to put that frustrating downtime to productive use. While Auto University does not award diplomas, it does give those with and without degrees the opportunity to become rich without sacrificing valuable work or family time.
The UA Campus: It is always easy to take a tour.
At the Automobile University.
- We allow you to choose your own courses and teachers from among the best in the world who have published audiobooks. Stephen Covey, Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, Jim Collins, Tony Robbins, Ken Blanchard, Zig and hundreds more.
- You can skip irrelevant lectures whenever you want and even fire incompetent professors. Try it at Harvard!
- If you’re having trouble grasping a concept or want further understanding and retention, simply start over and repeat it as many times as you like.
- It’s easy to sign up. We don’t care about your previous GPA.
- We don’t have a soccer team. But this season, we’ve won as many games as Notre Dame.
- Our fight song is “On the Road Again.” School colors? We’ll match your paint job!
- You do not need to take out student loans to pay for tuition.
- Graduation is strongly discouraged.
- You may not be able to impress people with a fancy role from a prestigious institution. But you have the opportunity to outperform those who have used their diploma as an excuse to proactively stop learning.
Requirements
All you need is a car with a CD or MP3 player, a library card and/or credit card to purchase the desired learning materials.
AU Course Catalog and Bookstore
- Search your library’s website for desired topics and titles available on CD.
- Search Amazon.com for audiobooks.
- See the old reliable source: Nightingale-Conant
- Visit your local Borders or Barnes and Noble.
Ready to sign up? Congratulations! Welcome to The Automobile University, class of lifelong learners! Can’t you hear the AU band playing “On the Road Again”? Come on AU!
