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do not care to learn about the financial aspects of life then you will have a difficult time achieving your retirement goals. Receiving a financial education is able to teach you how to invest, save your money or even balance your checkbook. The acquisition of financial knowledge could save you quite a bit of heartache if you learn it at an early age. A social education teaches you how to act around other people, whether in a personal or professional setting. If you have a solid social education then it is able to help improve you financial status also. By speaking well in a group or personal setting, you will be noticed and it could help you receive a promotion or a job offer. Your moral education is something that you are learning from the time you are born. Your moral education is normally based on your parents' beliefs in the beginning but as you age your own belief system will evolve. It is up to you whether your moral compass is set to help you improve your life.

One of my brother's teachers once said to my parents, "It is a shame that such brilliance is wasted on such ignorance." The teacher was upset that my brother wasn't trying to learn anything, he thought since he had been informed that he was a genius that he didn't need to learn anything else. This kind of attitude is detrimental to anyone. If you believe you can't learn anything from a situation then you are only limiting yourself. You should try and learn something from every experience. Every situation is an opportunity for acquisition of knowledge; you just have to be willing to take ownership of the knowledge.

My father does not believe that he has an education because he only made it through the fourth grade in school. But during WWII he was educated in the task of maintaining and using an anti-aircraft weapon. He was also trained as an electrician by the military, but because he did not learn these in a school, he does not believe he is educated. He taught himself how to work with wood and can build a house, create furniture, toys and many other items, but he still doesn't see himself as educated because he didn't go to school. My father is one of the smartest men I know. He can quickly tell you how much lumber you would need to build an addition on your home and draw the blueprints you need for the addition. He taught himself to fix his cars to the point that other people were bringing him their cars to fix. He is also able to navigate his way with the stars and constellations and tell you when the next storm is going to happen by watching the heavens. He is also fantastic at cards. After the war, he traveled around the country and one of the things he did was play cards for money, but be warned if you play with him you will probably lose. He can still count the cards at 87. My father is one of the most educated men I know, even if he only made it through the fourth grade in school.

Education is not just information you learn in school whether primary school, secondary school, trade schools or apprenticeships. It is important not to limit yourself by believing that education only comes to you through formal schooling. Education is all around us and comes to us through all of life's experiences. It is in listening to a story from a lady at church, in the next book you read or even in the next television program you watch. Education can be found anywhere, you just have to be open to hearing it and willing to claim it as your right. Embrace the world you live in as your own personal school and the education you receive will be perpetually evolving and so will you.

Learn more about this author, Patti Winters.
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