The Dirty Classroom

Last week I wrote about bad teachers. There are teachers who are rude and make you feel dumb, but who share valuable lessons that you should listen too. Often, the best lessons are the ‘harsh wakeup calls’ that you don’t want to hear, but need to listen to.

 

The same applied to the classroom where you do your learning. The classroom is your life itself. Just like your teachers you learn from, the classroom in which you learn may not be so pleasant.

 

You may be out of money, sleeping on the floor somewhere, eating boring food you don’t enjoy, living in clothes that aren’t washed regularly enough. You may be too cold, or your home may get way to hot during the day to be comfortable. You may even be getting sick on a regular basis.

 

If this is your life, then this is your classroom and if this is your life, you have a LOT to learn.

 

My ‘Dirty Classroom’ In Peru

 

It took a boat trip up to the Amazon river last week.

 

The boat was a big blue barge loaded with crates of oranges and stacks of eggs. Below deck, large bags of rice and sugar were stored along with barrels of oil.

 

There were showers onboard, but they ran brown river water. All the passengers slept in tightly packed hammocks, kids and baby chickens ran around peeing and vomiting, it was hot and sweaty, and a bell rang 3 times per day signaling you to line up with your plastic Tupperware to get food.

 

“Like an adventure!” I said. “Like prison.” a girl from Germany responded.

 

I had fun on this 3-day river trip. (You can see my videos on YouTube!) I opened up with a lot of strangers and I would do it again in a heartbeat. But I also lived out of 1 swimsuit, washing it every day in the shower and immediately putting it back on. The boat was dirty and hot, and trash was thrown everywhere. (Even, sadly, directly into the river!)

 

This boat was dirty, but it was my dirty classroom. Before boarding, I had downloaded 5 audiobooks on small business accounting and taxes, business strategy, creative problem solving, and managerial accounting. The boat was my classroom and these books were my teachers.

 

As kids projectile vomited right next to my hammock, I was listening to audiobooks and taking notes in my journal.

 

You can learn just as much in a dirty classroom as in a clean one! Whatever projectiles are flying at you in your life right now, embrace the dirty classroom. Open the book, put in the headphones and learn something. Focus on the words, not the funny smell, or the fact that it’s too hot or too cold out, just focus on learning the material.

 

No matter what life throws at you, yes, even if it is smelly and stinky, you can take a shower and clean up. All that will remain is the knowledge you learned while class was in session, and that knowledge never washes away.

 

Final Takeaway: Welcome To Your Dirty Classroom, Class Is In Session!

 

It doesn’t matter which classroom you find yourself in. It may be as clean as Harvard’s cobblestone walkways, or it may be a uncomfortable and dirty as a cargo ship in the middle of the Amazon.

Class is in session and time is ticking! After nearly 4 days on the boat, I wasn’t even able to finish the audiobooks I’d purchased.

 

Time is ticking for you as well and it doesn’t matter which classroom you see around you today. Sit down, create a ‘lesson plan’ (you know what’s important for you) and start studying now!

 

In this classroom, the 80+ year class that is always in session that you call your life… you have no time to waste.