Tuesday, August 18, 2015

YOU DON'T NEED VOCATIONAL TRAINING, YOU NEED MOTIVATION

I was in a conversation on line with a man from India.  A good man.  During that conversation he posited that what they need in India is for the church to help people learn vocational skills, plumbing, electrical, accounting, mechanics so they can get good jobs and support themselves.  I wondered about all that... why?

I am a fairly competent auto mechanic, can plumb a house (fixed a toilet yesterday), can build a building (not well, but can), can repair most mechanical things,  can do most electrical work.  Not that I am smart or talented, I just do it.  When I don't know how, I have my phone or computer as a tutor.  There is a document or a you tube video for nearly every eventuality of repair (including how to build a small building which is a project I am about to undertake).  Every repair I make I study carefully how.   You can too.. just plug in how to.. whatever and you will find what you need.

I am not alone, my son Kevin has done extensive auto repair at deep levels simply by study and reading what he could on line or in a manual.  He has little natural instinct for this, he's just diligent.  He has tackled projects that would terrify me.

So what school did I or Kevin go to in order to become able to do what we know how to do?  NONE.  Not a class. Not a study.  Not a mentor.  I just said once to myself, "Other people know how to do this, I can too".   Accessing the online and written resources guided me.

We have become far to addicted to education rather than initiative.   I am becoming convinced those who are not able in skill may not be motivated enough to learn and do.  You can't teach being self motivated.

There is the opposite however, recklessness fostered by the "You can do it, we can help" Home Depot slogan backed up by the whole house remodeling done in 22 minutes on TV.  That is fiction. Some things you can't do..

But some you can.  You don't need training, you need to be hungry enough to find out how to do it on your own.  You have books, the Internet and common sense.  NOW get off your butt and get out there and make it happen.

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