After almost two weeks of traveling, I have a Friday night to reflect and write.

One thought that came to mind is about a short training session I was interested in. However, I need to gather at least eight participants with similar interests to start the training. So, I began asking around, and a colleague who agreed to join made the comment, “You’re quite eager to learn.”

Charles Darwin – I first heard the quote in primary school, and my father would repeat it almost every day. It was the Vietnamese version of this quote: Nhà bác học không có nghĩa là ngừng học. It means “Being a scientist doesn’t mean you stop learning.” The repetition of the word “học” (learning) in this version has stuck with me over the years. I couldn’t find the English version for this quote.

Motivation 1: Taking Responsibility for Learning

“You’re quite eager to learn.” – It’s true—I’ve heard this comment before, and I take it as a positive thing. Looking back, I’ve always been driven to learn beyond what was required academically. If I wanted to develop skills that weren’t tied to school grades, I had to figure out how to make that happen. It wasn’t that my parents weren’t willing to support me, but I felt it was my responsibility to pursue these extra skills.

For instance, I worked as a babysitter at a children’s school during the summer to earn money for basketball and taekwondo lessons. I even worked as a home helper and ice-cream scooper to pay for Chinese and French classes. After university, I applied for government scholarships but wasn’t selected. Although these jobs and classes didn’t lead to the results I had hoped for, they taught me one important thing—I’m in charge of what I want to learn.

I think my “eagerness” to learn started there. So now, in my current organization, which we often call an “everyday university,” where there are many free courses and training opportunities, why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?

Motivation 2: Inspired by Leaders Around Me

I’m also inspired by different managers I’ve worked with. For example, when I joined the Next Generation Leader Program, we were offered a free class called “Systems Change Masterclass.” I immediately blocked off 30 minutes a day to learn from the course, as it supported our project. Unfortunately, I didn’t stick to it as much as I’d planned, but what stood out to me during our learning circle was that at least two senior-level managers were able to manage their time to learn and even encouraged others to do the same.

That really inspires me—if they can find time despite their busy schedules, why can’t I? Their continuous learning is likely part of the reason they’re at that level. If that’s where I want to be, I need to prioritize learning, too.

Motivation 3: The 1st 20 Hours vs. 10,000 Hours

You might know the TED Talk “The First 20 Hours – How to Learn Anything” by Josh Kaufman. If not, it’s worth watching! This talk encouraged me to start learning new things after I was intimidated by Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000-hour rule” from Outliers, which suggests that mastering a skill takes about 10,000 hours.

I’ve built two concepts for myself: “20 hours” and “10,000 hours.” When I decide to learn something new, I focus on the “20 hours” first, which helps me overcome the initial fear of starting. Once I’ve committed those first 20 hours, I then look toward the “10,000 hours,” reminding myself to stay humble and open to learning more.

In my organization, different roles require different skills. I may need 20 hours to learn something new, but I need 10,000 hours to become an expert. Let’s take “knowing about my organization” as a general skill to master. So far, I’ve completed 97 courses and trainings, which took around 300 hours over the past two years (assuming three hours per course). If I need 10,000 hours, that means I have about 60 more years of learning ahead of me! It’s ambitious, but it’s good to have a goal—it reminds me that I still have a lot to learn.

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In summary, there are many reasons and motivations to keep learning, and I hope I can maintain this eagerness for as long as I can.