Learning never stops

My dad had an employee who refused to learn about new products at the car workshop. "The more I learn, the more you will ask me to do," he argued. My dad didn't keep him for long.

Even at 67, my dad is still constantly looking for new products to sell, figuring out how to install and use them, and teaching his customers. He only has a primary school education. But he learned how to use apps and picked up a little English from my siblings and I. This is, among many other reasons, why his business has been going for almost 40 years. Even though many of his competitors have shut their businesses, he hasn't become complacent. He never stops learning and exploring. He would often nag us, "This one have to learn! That one have to learn!"

Admittedly, I sometimes get annoyed by his constant questions. I would complain in my head, "Why bother with this new app when you are so old already? You keep forgetting what I taught you the last time. Just use what you already know and leave me alone." It is only when I slow down and reflect that I realize how wrong I am.

Even though it's harder for him to pick up new technology at his age, he is not intimidated by it and not afraid to try or ask questions. He doesn't master everything he attempts. But he would give it a shot. If he could type and read English fluently, he would probably fire up ChatGPT and ask it endless questions until he really understands the things he wants to learn. Day in, day out, he models lifelong learning for us.

As John Gardner implored us in his popular speech, Personal Renewal:

There's a myth that learning is for young people. But as the proverb says, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." The middle years are great, great learning years. Even the years past the middle years. I took on a new job after my 77th birthday—and I'm still learning.

Now that I have my own children, I regularly think about how to encourage and inspire them to be interested in learning. My dad has shown me the path.