The term “lifelong learner” is thrown around here and there, but what is a lifelong learner and should you be one?

A lifelong learner is simply someone who is curious and seeks to learn things all throughout their life, not only during their formative school years. Unfortunately for many people, school was not their favorite experience and put them off of the idea of conventional learning.

The good news is that there are lots of different types of learning and ways to learn out there. There are both personal and professional benefits to committing to education. Harvard Business Review lists some of the health benefits of learning:

• Reading reduces stress, sometimes dramatically
• Learning can help delay the symptoms of Alzheimer’s
• Learning a new instrument offsets cognitive decline
• Learning difficile skills at an older age improves memory
• One year of education can add over 6 months to a person’s life span

There are professional benefits too. Walden University reports that “only 15% of hiring managers say most job seekers have the skills their company is looking for.”

How do you become a lifelong learner?

Thanks to the internet, there are TONS of resources to meet you right where you’re at and help you reignite your learning journey.

Low budget

YouTube: Youtube is an incredible resource to learn a new skill. It may take a little clicking around, but eventually you can find an activity and a teacher that clicks with you.

Google Skillshop: I’ve written about Google’s tools here, and for $0 you can get trained in a brand new career like SEM or learn skills to help your own business grow.

Udemy: Udemy runs so many sales on their courses it’s bananas. This is my favorite learning platform because you pay by the class so you don’t have to pay on a monthly basis. For busy people this is a great option because you never feel like you’re wasting money if you didn’t dig into learning that month.

Coursera: On the other hand, if you like monthly subscription models, then Coursera may be a good option for you. They offer tons of longer courses that can transition you into a new career (if that’s your learning goal). In fact, Google has partnered with Coursera to host their classes for a certification in areas like User Experience.

Skillshare: This is another subscription model but it’s focused on learning new skills and hobbies. It’s less academic, though you can find plenty of brainy courses to take on there too.

Big budget

MasterClass: MasterClass is not cheap, but if you can pay the $180 annual price tag, you can take courses from some of the best in the biz like Shonda Rimes, Gordon Ramsey, Carlos Santana, and Serena Williams. I’ll admit, once I’m done with my MBA program, I’m probably going to invest in these classes. They seem SO enriching.

General Assembly: These professional programs come with a higher cost than the others but for good reason. It comes with mentoring and placement options to help you land a new job or transition into a new career.

These are by no means the only learning programs out there. You can click here for some more options to explore.

Please share any other platforms you love in the comments! Happy learning!