by Marilyn Van Norman
In a recent conversation with a very wise and successful woman, the words in the title were used with passion. They came in response to a question about the importance of life long learning. She began by talking about the fact that at some point in her career she started to try to analyze why some people were successful and others were not. Many of the latter also seemed to be unhappy. There are of course many variables, but, a common feature she said of those who were successful was that they were vital, interested and interesting, curious and never stopped learning. She summed her observations up by saying “What these people had in common was a believe that learning was essential right up until the last breathe is taken.