I know, I know....

'Knock it off with the fancy words, mate'

It basically means being self-taught... And I self-taught myself that word, so it seemed appropriate to use it.

Anyways, there's a lot of debate these days about the best way of getting an education.

Tradition (and our parents) tell us that going to university is the answer.

It was in their day, BECAUSE IT WAS BLOODY FREE!

Some of the jammy sods even GOT PAID TO GO.

I personally, came out with around £10,000 worth of debt.

I felt like going breaking windows in the Houses of Parliament to get my money's worth... But by today's standards I was almost gifted an education.

If I was making that decision now, based around the resources that are available online, I would struggle be able to justify going.

Back in my day, between 2002-2005, we had the internet, but it was nothing like it is now.

You couldn't learn 'almost anything' for free... It was mainly for pirating music and flogging it on to your pals on burnt CDs from Staples, so I'm told.

But now, we have (almost) the entire collection of human knowledge at our fingertips.

You could go online and learn how to code a basic website, or you could watch a video of a cat punching an alligator.

Both are out there. It's up to you what you see.

Regardless though, whichever route you choose, you are going to be largely self-directed anyway.

At Uni there were a handful of lectures.. But for the most part you are left to find your own way.

The people who did well were the ones who could be arsed to put in the hours when the studio closed.

But I think the real benefit of self directed learning is that it is addictive.

Once you see that you have the ability to 'upgrade your mind' with books, podcasts, blogs and videos... You begin to question all the other 'content' that you consume.

I still think I have loads to learn, and I've been working commercially for over 12 years.

The next job is always going to be better.

There's someone out there who knows more than you who can help you to improve the way you work.

If you want to find it, you will.

If you don't, well, you'll be laughing at people falling off rope swings and wondering why the work isn't coming in.

Consume better content, and keep learning.

It's the only way.