A Passion for Learning

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In my personal quest to learn and grow in all areas of life I have found that if you explain to many people the habits they will need to gain and habits they will need to drop in order to truly design their lives their way, most people will not believe you. Sadly, the current and past two generations seem to hold this error in thinking. 

Imagine living a few hundred years in the past during a time when necessity alone  dictated the need for gaining new skills and abilities much larger than yourself after your formal schooling years had ended. It was the norm and a must simply to survive and everyone did it. If you were lucky enough you could be born into a family that owned books or maybe get a job working for a printer.  But wait, general schooling usually didn’t involve girls. Most females were not provided a disciplined classroom education.  But that doesn’t mean people without general schooling didn’t grow in education, intellect or ability.

Abigail Adams, the wife of the second President of the United States John Adams and mother to John Quincy Adams also a holder of the seat was just such an example.  How could a women who lacked any formal education become one of the closest advisers to a sitting president, manage a  farm, engage in various business enterprises, purchase land, deal with tenants and develop a talent as a correspondent that history shows awarded her a place in American Letters? 


Abigail's father, the Rev William Smith was educated specifically for ministry and graduated from Harvard College in 1725.  He kept a pretty sturdy library in his home and Abigail, being a ferocious reader studied the Bible, philosophy, essays, French, history and poetry.  It was thought that Abigail was too sickly to go to school and in truth, she never really mastered spelling and punctuation. (...hmm, neither have I...)

Because of his busy law practice and then later as an active member of the Revolutionary War, her relationship with her husband was always being tested.  With over eleven hundred individual letters passing between them, it was clear the effect her council had on her husbands decisions all through his career and into the Presidency.  

LETTER TO HER HUSBAND: “...and by the way in the new code of Laws, which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”

Abigail wasn’t shy about expressing her beliefs and political stances but never at anytime aspired to become First Lady.  Lucky for her husband she had the personal skills and self-education to accompany her husband overseas when John became U.S. Ambassador to France.  Here is when her self-education  learning French as well as teaching the language to their children really came into play and made her husband look good as a statesman.

Having a passion for learning through history lead me to explore the "IDEA" and principles the Founding Fathers both men and women spent their lives striving for. In my opinion, Abigail Adams is an example of self-development, determination and ability that lead to a strong and necessary position in American history.  Adams is an easy target to point out but she was not unusual nor an anomaly.  Everyone was in the same position.  Without a choice, either you grew to become more simply to deal with everyday life...or not.

We would do well to drop our entitled mentality that is so pervasive in this current culture and adopt the habits of those who came before and who clearly had rougher lives than any of us could imagine.


  • Do you have a personal  library? If not why?
  • How important is learning a 2nd language?
  • What are your thoughts on a home business?


Bruce P Collard -



You can be You, reach your Dreams serve God & still Enjoy Life




Now It's My Turn | Rise Above the Ordinary:
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