A few years ago, I read a quote that resonated with me. I happened upon the quote this week and had the same reaction. The quote is “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.” This insightful statement is by Buckminster Fuller, and he is correct on many levels.

We all have potential, but realizing that potential takes work. Think about the intelligent people you have known who are disinterested in learning or otherwise do not apply themselves. No matter your definition of success, in most settings, hard work beats intelligence.

Learning goes hand in hand with hard work. It is part of improving yourself and makes for a better work place. It also makes for a more interesting work place.

Learning may take the form of business and self-help books, staying current on the news, or books on your chosen profession or vocation. It could involve attending seminars or taking classes. With the Internet at our fingertips, the options for learning are seemingly endless.

If you aren’t interested in learning more about what you do or how to do it better, you should ask yourself why. Is it because you think there is nothing left for you to learn? There is. Is it because you aren’t really interested in what you do? If so, that is a deeper question you should spend time considering.

This learning doesn’t really happen by chance. You may randomly pick things up from reading required in your job or from working with others in the course of doing your job, but that is haphazard learning. It is better to come up with a plan, which may include asking others for opportunities to learn from them or receiving direction on other actions you may take to do so.

What you learn depends on what you do and what will help you do what you do. The first step you should take is to figure out what your options are. They may include reading a book about networking or taking a course online or at a local community college. The amount of options may surprise you.

Despite the plentiful options, it’s up to you to take action to stop the de-genius process. Challenge yourself and see where you can get by the end of the year.