Friends, I was listening to a podcast the other day
and I heard a term that I wanted to share in this week's reminder. The
term was automobile university. I heard it listening to the podcast
"The Zig Ziglar Show - Motivation & Inspiration to Fuel Your Life and
Success". If you don't know who Zig Ziglar is you've probably seen
one of his quotes at some point in your life. Zig was an American author,
salesman and motivational speaker. He's from Mississippi and if you've
heard his speak you can't mistake his strong southern accent. I like
listening to Zig because of his storytelling talent. Unfortunately he's
no longer with us but his motivational talks live on through the vast amount of
recordings he made. On the podcast I was listening too Zig referred to
"Automobile University" on several occasions. The actual talk I
was listening too was probably recorded in 1990's.
Zig's reference to Automobile
University was a suggestion to take the time spent in the car to continue your
education. He made mention of people who learned how to speak several
languages by listening to cd's in cars. Yes, he was partially plugging
his own motivational cd's that he was selling at the time but he was also
emphasizing that you can learn anything you want during the times you are in
the car. What I especially liked is the fact that he said you could even
involve your kids in the learning when they were in the car too. Well
times have changed and they have gotten much better. The Internet has
changed the game. It's changed the game because it allows digital content
to be accessed so much easier. My car may have a cd player in it but it
barely get's used. Because of today's technology I can access digital
content from numerous devices. The primary device I happen to use is my mobile phone. It's a great way to put my unlimited data plan to use.
I live about 23 miles door to
door from my house to work. In a rural area that might not seem too bad.
However, I live in the metropolitan Atlanta area so those 23 miles take
anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hours because I drive the same time as millions of
others. During non-peak hours it can be 30 - 40 minutes. I decided about
3 years ago to start using that time to benefit me versus just letting it be a
waste. Prior to that decision I just used that time to listen to the
radio or take the occasional phone call. Yes those phone calls could have
been beneficial but listening to the radio for the most part was not. I
wasn't learning anything. I wasn't improving my life. I was just
listening to the latest song and the latest commercials. Yes there were
radio personalities on talk shows that discussed some relevant topics but even
then I was held subject to their goal of entertaining the listeners.
Entertainment is wonderful but I don't think it was valuable 5 days a
week. When they did have an inspirational topic or a intriguing
discussion I always enjoyed it. It just wasn't frequent enough. Something
was missing and I didn't realize it until I was introduced to podcasts.
That introduction changed my life.
I was first introduced to podcasts when I was
training for a marathon. Even though I was in good physical shape and
had been working out for years, I knew nothing about training for a marathon.
I went online and found some tips and training regimens. During
those searches I found a podcast by an ultra runner. An ultra runner is
someone who runs more than the standard marathon length of 26.2 miles. I
figured whatever I learned from them would be beneficial since I only needed to
run 26.2 miles. Before this time I'd never listened to someone speak
about a topic this long without being in a meeting, watching television or
attending an event. I actually got a lot out of listening to those
podcasts. I learned some techniques. I got motivated.
Eventually it lead to me successfully running 2 marathons myself.
But after the last
marathon I didn't have a goal in mind when I searched for podcasts so I just
found myself listening to random stuff. That wasn't very motivating so I
went back to just listening to the radio. Lucky for me I bought the book
the Secret which lead me to the fascination of wanting to learn about the Law
of Attraction. What better way to learn than to search for a podcast?
Once I did that I hit the jackpot. I've been going strong ever
since. I've been a student a full time student of automobile university.
Right now I have a list of 5 podcasts I listen to every week. Each
of the podcast owners has a different number of podcasts they produce each week
so it helps me get through 5 days with new learning. Let me be clear.
There are days when I just want to listen to Pandora or even drive in
silence, but 75% of time I'm in "automobile university". Most
of the topics I discuss in this blog come from those podcasts. So here's
the list if you are curious:
1. Think, Believe and
Manifest! by Constance Arnold
2. The Life Coach School
Podcast with Brooke Castillo
3. The School of Greatness
with Lewis Howes
4. The Ziglar Show Motivation
& Inspiration to Fuel Your Life and Success
5. Joel Olsteen Podcast
I've listen to all 300 of
Constance's podcasts. I just started listening to Joel Olsteen. I love
the logic of Brooke Castillo and Lewis Howes has some great guests he
interviews. Automobile is having a great impact on my life. I am
learning. I learn new things every week. Well actually I might not
be learning anything. I get reminded new things every week. I call
it reminder because I truly believe that everything we need is already within
us. I've always known I had potential. What I'm getting from
automobile is the confirmation that none of us can do it alone. We all
need some support at some point. My support comes from these podcasts.
They serve as a mentor to me even if I'm not directly meeting with the
podcast owners or people being interviewed. I'm happy they are a part of
my life and I know I'm better of because of the content they have decided to
share. The reason I'm telling this story about me is that I want you get
the same experience I have it you want it.
The time you spend in your
automobile is a great time to feed your mind and educate yourself. In my case
that's a minimum of 10 hours a week. What if I only listened to music?
What would 10 hours of listening to music do for my life? Compare
that to 10 hours of listening to podcasts, audible books or educational cd's.
What can that do? Let's say I get and get one nugget of inspiration
from all of that content. That one nugget could do so many things to
improve my life. That nugget could help me be a better man, a better
father, a better husband, and a better co-worker. I can promise you I
have gotten many nuggets of inspiration and it has helped me be better in all
those areas. Some of you may think I would have gotten there without it.
Some of you may think that was already me and I just didn't see it.
Whatever you may think, I know the impact that automobile university has
had on me and that's why I stay enrolled in it.
I get a great experience from
attending class all the time. Sometimes it's motivation, sometimes it's
peace or it can also be as simple as an acknowledgment that I'm on the right
path. You may think its boring. You may think you would rather
listen to something to get you hype. Well what has your hype from
listening to music done for you over the last 10 years? What hype song
can you point to that has changed your life? You may not care.
That's your decision. Now think of a book you've read that has
changed your life over the last ten years? I'm sure there's one. If
not you can find one. What mentor has changed your life over the last ten
years? I'm sure there's one. If not you can find one. The
beauty of automobile university is you can actually find that book or that
mentor everyday while driving to work.
Are you satisfied with your
life? Are you looking for a change? If not then you won't be
motivated to attend automobile university. That is your choice and you
are empowered to make it. For those of you who are looking for change and
resources to help you do so, I highly recommend automobile university. If you
have a dream or an aspiration that hasn't been met there is another tool you
can add to your toolkit to help you along the way. That tool is
automobile university. If it’s not a car then call it public
transportation university. Call it going for a walk university.
Call it flying on a plane university. The next time you want to
spend an hour listening to the radio ask yourself "have I gotten in all of
my university time yet?"
Consider this your reminder to be proactive and stop
waiting on life. Go out and make a life. Use automobile university
to help you along the way. There is an education right at your fingertips and all you have to do is turn off the radio to access it. As always, I wish you the best and enjoy the
journey!
With gratitude,
Drew
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