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EDUCATION

You can’t put a price on education. Of course, you have to pay to attend college or university these days. But there is something priceless about knowledge. This Oracle answer may be about a qualification (a degree or certificate). It can also be about knowledge which comes without a piece of paper – but is still valuable.

The only issue with education is that the person doing the learning (you) has to be ready to carry the information. In other words, you need to be psychologically and emotionally equipped to take on board the new wisdom. Sometimes more time and life experience is needed before you can integrate what you’ve learned.

There is nothing quite like the confidence and strong self-esteem that comes from gaining qualifications though. Or even finishing a reading list, or delivering an essay. Education serves several purposes – one of which is to make you feel better about yourself. A good education boosts your self-respect.

It’s worth asking what you are going to do with your wisdom. For it to be of any value at all, your knowledge has to be shared at some level. That is an important point about this oracle answer. Education is there to benefit everybody. To lock up what you know, and never use it in the wider world, is to waste an opportunity.

It’s also worth remembering that even though the subjects you learn are taught the same way, to a large number of people, it is your own unique perspective and personality that shapes your education. In other words, you filter and adapt what you know in a way that will (hopefully) add to your subject. So it’s worth sharing.

To really fulfill the promise of your education, you need to match learned wisdom with good communication too. Without the ability to articulate what you know to others, you will never really reach your potential. So the idea of being able to convey what you know is very important; others must be able to understand you.