A Revolutionary New Way to Learn Revealed

Written by Robert Pagliarini - 25 Comments
Categories: self education, self improvement

One of the best ways to make incremental progress during your other 8 hours is to learn. There are all sorts of newfangled websites that can teach you a thing or two — some with nifty videos and others with PowerPoint presentations. Call me old school, but I think one of the easiest and most economical ways to learn is by reading a book.

But I discovered something over the weekend that’s better than a bookstore and even better (gasp!) than Amazon.com. Stick with me because I’m going to introduce you to new terms and concepts that you won’t be familiar with. It might take some time to digest what I’m explaining, but hang in there — it will be well worth it.

A friend of mine told me about a place not far from my house that seemed too good to be true. Even after confirming it wasn’t April 1st, I was still unconvinced. Always up for a challenge, I thought I’d run my own MythBusters experiment. So I buckled my three year-old daughter into her car seat and we set our sights on this mythical place.

About ten minutes later we arrived at a peculiar looking building. We parked and set off on foot. We reached the entrance and I started to have second thoughts. “Is this safe for a three year old? Is this some kind of trap?” My fearless daughter grabbed my hand and said, “Come on Daddy” as we crossed the entrance.

I smelled something. Something strangely familiar and comforting. And then I saw it. It was breathtaking. Row after row after row of books. They had every book I could want. And not just books but DVDs, magazines, newspapers, music CDs, and even (pinch me if I’m dreaming) audiobooks.

The story gets better. Much better. After filling my hands with books for my daughter and me, we went to buy them. The price tags were a little confusing, so I asked the checkout person what the deal was. He told me it was some new decimal pricing system or something. I didn’t understand much of what he said, but I had already decided I wanted the books so I threw down my credit card. “Fill this out,” he remarked, and handed me some sort of membership club form. “Is this like a Costco card,” I asked. “Yes, something like that Sir.”

He handed me a membership card and then told me to enjoy my books. “How much do I owe you?” I asked. “Nothing, just return them by July 5th,” he shot back. I drove home in a daze. Questions raced through my mind. I decided to do some research. I googled “L-i-b-r-a-r-y” and got a few hits. The sites made it seem like these “libraries” are all over the place, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, you can’t trust everything you read on the Internet.

All I know, is that I’m never leaving home without my library card again. It is an amazing place with tons of free information. I can “checkout” (that’s their clever term for renting) books, audiobooks, CDs, movies, everything! My guess is that Netflix will sue them for some kind of patent infringement on the whole renting thing, but until then, I’m loving libraries and you should find out if you have a library in your town. You can even find the nearest library to carry a specific book, CD, or DVD.

Think about it. For $10 or $20, you can learn from an expert. You can read the latest trends and learn the newest theories. An expert may charge $300+ and hour or $10,000 for a keynote address, but you can learn so much more by reading their book for free from a library. That’s time well spent.

For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose.

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  • http://sandyxuan.com sandy

    and i also quite enjoy reading IN the library.
    the bright, spacious and quiet area is very soothing for reading :)

    and old school or not, books are always a great way in learning, as long as you can hold a peaceful mind~

  • http://thoughtwrestling.com/blog Mark Dykeman

    It’s a valid point: there are so many free resources available through libraries that it’s astounding. We should all be supporting our local libraries more.

    Imaginative post!

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  • http://davepeckens.com Dave Peckens

    We visit the library at least once per week with our kids. I love the sarcasm in this post. Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.happenchance.net Seth @ Happenchance

    I used to love my local library. More books than I could read in a life time, and it didn’t cost me a dime.

  • http://www.officearrow.com Lauren – OfficeArrow

    I haven’t been to a – what’s it called again? – library in years. Maybe since high school. No wait, I did go to vote within the last year. Anyhow, most people these days go to Barnes & Noble I suppose. If only libraries could start serving Starbucks, I’d imagine they’d be booming.

    All sarcasm aside, people have forgotten that libraries are FREE and have way more information than any Barnes & Noble. Thanks for reminding us! Great post.

  • http://www.timelessinformation.com Armen Shirvanian

    Hey Robert.

    That was a great story. I liked it. You represented libraries well.

    I go and get books from one library or the other at times. The library system we have in place around the world is appealing and enjoyable to use. To be young and in/using a library is wonderful, and to be old and in/using a library is wonderful, so that would signal that making use of our local library is the thing to do.

    The last book I read from the library was “The Narcissism Epidemic”.

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  • http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2010/03/05/the-sedona-method/ Marelisa

    When I was in law school in Washington, DC I would go to the Library of Congress all the time. Being in there just makes you feel like you have all the knowledge you could possibly want at your finger tips. I think it was Pablo Neruda who said that heaven must be a library. :-)

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  • SoCal Girl

    Please be VERY aware that library funding is being SLASHED – CRASHED and BURNED nationwide – contact your folks in Washington, DC to stop the carnage. Learn more about libraries here – and HAPPY LIBRARY WEEK to all!!

    http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/index.cfm

    -SoCal

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    Well done! :)

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  • http://www.meamoeba.com Fawn

    In the midst of our economic time-bomb, the library provides the best bang for your … well, buck. Libraries are wonderful, but then I am a bit of a bookaholic.

    Another great resource is an online subject guide. These sites are collections of “good” information compiled and organized by real people–who often have academic affiliations. Here are two highly selective catalog sites in which you can search specific subjects:
    http://www.ipl.org/
    http://infomine.ucr.edu/

    Oh what the hell, here’s another:
    http://www.libraryspot.com/

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  • http://www.richardshelmerdine.com/blog/ Richard | RichardShelmerdine.com

    The library is an amazing and underrated place. Sadly only children and OAP seem to go there nowadays. I check online if they have something in stock and they often have great books there.

  • http://www.successupermarket.com/blog/ Martyna Bizdra

    hey!

    haha, what a nice story, you would be a good writer, Sir!
    I remember such libraries full of audiobooks, I visited them when I was in London.
    So reading is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to self-education, but having a mentor develops your mind in a new direction- you meet a person with a new way of thinking, new perspectives…Meeting a person may be worth a thousand books:)

    have a great day
    thanks

  • http://www.graphical.co.cc/ Decal Sticker

    I seldom go to the library after moving house because it had been so far. But with online I had to go to, because interNET is a library for me.

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