The Autodidact Manifesto

1. I’m passionate about being a lifelong learner.

2. I’m insatiably curious.

3. I believe that knowledge is power.

4. I know that if I’m truly invested in learning something, there’s no need to go back to school to learn it.

5. I believe I can teach myself any subject if I have a serious interest in it.

6. I’m 100% responsible for my learning – I take full ownership of the process of improving myself.

7. Being an autodidact gives me the freedom to learn what I want, when I want.

8. I can be my own coach, mentor, and teacher.

9. If there’s something that I want to learn, I can figure out how to learn it. I know I can learn anything I set my mind to.

10. I make the time to learn. I include learning in my schedule.

11. I overcome inner obstacles to learning such as procrastination, fear, and perfectionism.

12. I ignore the naysayers who say that you can’t teach yourself.

13. My diploma is the project that I complete with my newly-acquired knowledge.

14. I constantly push myself to step out of my comfort zone. Instead of constantly doing what I already know how to do, I stretch myself in order to learn more.

15. I’m self-directed and I work well on my own – I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder telling me what to do.

16. I’m good at goal setting and set S.M.A.R.T. learning goals.

17. I’m good at plan creation, implementation, and iteration. When I want to learn something new I create a plan for learning it and I follow through with my plan.

18. I know that all of the information that I need is at my fingertips.

19. I have the discipline necessary to accomplish my learning goals.

20. I have the necessary grit to persist until I achieve my learning objectives.

21. I’m self-motivated — I can keep my motivation and enthusiasm for learning high.

22. I see obstacles to my learning as challenges to be overcome, not as stopping points.

23. I’m willing to put in the necessary time and effort to learn what I want.

24. I’m committed to self-learning.

25. I learn something new every day, even it’s just a new vocabulary word.

26. I move quickly from learning to doing.

27. I’m invested in learning how to learn.

28. I know that making mistakes is simply part of the learning process.

29. I can deal with the frustration and confusion that are integral components of learning.

30. I’m willing to be a beginner.

31. If one learning strategy doesn’t work, I look for a different strategy.

32. As I learn I make careful self-assessments and adjustments.

33. Those who have the most success with learning are those who try the hardest.

34. I learn actively, not passively.

35. I share what I learn with others.