Just Google It, Dude: A One Step Guide To Curing Helplessness

Many people are still stuck in the rigid idea that going to college is the only way to become a successful person, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

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George Dolgikh / Shutterstock.com
George Dolgikh / Shutterstock.com
George Dolgikh / Shutterstock.com

Is there something you don’t know about and you want to find out how to do? Maybe it’s learning how to play the guitar, speaking French, or picking up women?  Is there something broken in your house that needs fixing and you don’t know how to do it? Do you need directions to a buddy’s house? Do you want to know when your favorite movie is coming to DVD?  I have found the solution to every single question in the grand specter of questions one can ask.

Just Google it, dude.

I am sick and tired of people pretending as if every answer to everything isn’t on the Internet. The Internet is a fickle friend indeed. It can be used for an infinite amount of learning, or it can be used to watch videos of cats, doing cat stuff.  For people who spend so much time on the web, it’s astonishing to see how helpless people act in our society. The only person who is stopping you from learning the things you want to know is you. Sure, it may take some time and energy, but you and that laptop can soar to the heavens if you work together.

In other posts I talk about the way education is viewed in our society. Many people are still stuck in the rigid idea that going to college is the only way to become a successful person, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. In some ways, of course, it helps to have a degree; but once you are out in the field it doesn’t matter as much what your background is. If you are able to perform the duties required in your industry you will get ahead. There are many resources you can use online to build expertise in any field. You can also earn a degree in practically any area of study online. My mother earned her MBA in an online course. These online courses offer the same exact content as the brick and mortar institutions, but for less money. You can take courses in your spare time and work around your schedule. There are also a growing number of free educational sites that give out content that used to be reserved for paying students only. There are no excuses for you not getting where you want to be in this age of information — it is simply too easy to find information nowadays for you to act like a helpless victim. 

The Internet is overloaded with content. Much of this content is useless, but if you sift through all of it you can definitely find golden nuggets of information. Watch Ted talks or YouTube videos from successful people. I have gained a ton of insight from listening to the words of professionals through YouTube videos. YouTube is also a great “how-to” guide on virtually anything you can think of. I recall a time where I had a calculus professor who was confusing to learn from, so I went home and watched a calculus course on YouTube. I received an A in the class.  There are YouTube videos on learning how to play instruments, languages, whatever you wish to learn.

I am going to keep this one short and sweet. My goal is to get you to realize that information is power, and there is information literally at your fingertips. Take advantage of it. The next time you are in the car trying to figure out how to get to a friend’s house, use Google maps. When you and your friend are arguing about who the MVP was in the 2003 NBA finals, Google it and end the nonsense right there. There is no excuse for you not knowing what ever it is that you want to know. It takes like 5 seconds to answer any question that you can think of. The next time you are in search of answers, perhaps you should use the most powerful informational tool in the history of mankind. Thought Catalog Logo Mark