Why you and Bill Gates can have similar daily learning experiences?

 

Bill Gates is often considered a thought leader and one of the richest men on this planet. Yes, he may have access to certain things that the normal person may not have access too…But let’s think again…

1.  Reading a Great Book – You and Bill Gates will have to spend a certain amount of time reading a great book. You are both having a similar rich life experience through the great book. Maybe Bill Gates will buy this wonderful and place it in his personal library. You can just borrow it from a friend, and return it once you are done reading it. There is no reason you cannot benefit from the thought leaders of the world. Reading books, blogs, magazines and more will open up this world for you.

The work of New York Times Best Selling Authors or the work by Pulitzer Prize Winning Authors is a great place to start -

2.  Watching a Great Movie – You can buy a CD of an Award Winning Film or watch the same at the local theatre or your friend’s place. If your friend or somebody you know has the CD just borrow it from them. Bill Gates cannot fast forward a second of the movie. If it is a 2 hour academy award winning documentary, both of you will have to spend two hours watching it and no less.

See the award winning movies from film festivals and award ceremonies from the around the world like the Academy Awards in the US, the Cannes Film Festival in France  or the Filmfare Awards in India.

Link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture

3.  Attending a World Conference – They may not invite you to a big conference of thought leaders, but you can access the insights shared at the event without even being there by using the power of the Internet. You can follow the conference website and social media page, watch the conference Videos on You Tube, read articles written by people on the conference online, see pictures taken by participants uploaded online. Maybe Bill Gates was invited to the conference but you were not. So what? It does not stop you from actually being there and learning from the best minds.

A good example will be the TED and TEDX conferences that happen all over the world. All the videos are posted up on You Tube and many of the speeches have written transcripts as well. The TED Blog is a great resource to share and learn from the best minds in the world

Links

TED - http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector

Jaipur Literature Festival – http://www.youtube.com/user/JprLitFest

Google Campus Talks- http://www.youtube.com/user/AtGoogleTalks

        4.  Enjoying the little things in life – I always felt that there     are certain simple things that are worth much more than lots of the materialistic things we strive for in the world. This is a long list but a few of these things or moments are.

-      Laughing till you belly hurt.

-      Having a heart to heart conversation with a friend or family member.

-      Eating  a hot meal after a good day’s work. Playing with a little child.

-      Watching the sunrise.

-      Running with the wind blowing down your face.

-      Drinking a Cold Glass of Lime Juice on a hot summer day.

Hmm…This could just go on. Do add to this list by commenting on this post

I read an article recently where, it was said that once you reach a certain limit of wealth. Let us say 20 Crores (in rupees). Then there is not much of a difference it terms of the experiences you and the much richer people of the world can have. Good clothes, food, travel, a home to stay in. How much can you spend?

But do all the good things in this world cost money. There are more cost effective way of being happy? There are better ways to learn?

 You don’t have to be the wealthiest or most influential person in the world to read a great book, watch an award winning movie, to attend a world conference. You can do that right now and experience the same life changing and enriching moments that the thought leaders of the world experience on a day to day basis.