Recently, I overheard some students talking about life after college. One said he couldn’t wait to graduate and be done with school. He expressed his eagerness to sell all his books. Sadly, this attitude has been around for a long time. It was once captured in the ditty “No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.”

Reflecting on the rapid decline in learning after adolescence, early 20th-century orator G. E. Marchand once said, “Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60.” It’s sad when someone stops learning that early in life. Your college degree is meant to be a beginning, not an end, of learning. It should instill a love of learning and give you the tools to become a lifelong learner. That’s why we call the final event of your college years commencement, not cremation.

Why is ongoing learning so important? And what can you do to keep it up?

Ongoing Learning Is a Key to Success

Even after college, you know so little. Yet you’re about to enter the “knowledge economy.” Today, many jobs are knowledge-based. They rely less on physical labor and more on brainwork. To thrive, you must keep learning.

Your college degree is meant to be a beginning, not an end, of learning.

But even if you don’t do knowledge work, learning is the key to success in nearly every job, in every subject, and even in every hobby. Most successful people are dedicated to constantly learning. They have a drive to deepen their knowledge.

That’s true of wealth builders like Warren Buffett, who spends 5 to 6 hours a day reading about markets and companies, or George W. Bush, who aimed to read 100 books a year while he was president. Early on, Elon Musk had the habit of reading two books a day. Some of the most prolific evangelical authors of our time—like Keller, Carson, and Mohler—have averaged reading 3 to 10 books a week.

Leadership requires constant learning. In the words of a John F. Kennedy speech, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” My father often told me the same thing. He’d say, “Son, leaders are readers.”

Still another reason to be a lifelong learner is that it can help you either advance in your career or create a new pathway for a second career. If you hope to transition to a different profession later in life, you’ll need to acquire new knowledge and skills. If you hope for a better job, you’ll have to educate yourself upward.

Most importantly, Christians are learners by definition. That’s what the word “disciple” means. Being a student is a mark of being a Christian. We’re people of the book. We’re in the school of Jesus, who calls us to love the Lord our God with all our minds (Matt. 22:37).

How Do You Become a Lifelong Learner?

How can we keep learning after college? Here’s what college grads can do.

1. Draw up a life-learning plan.

Figure out what you want to learn—the topics you must master, the skills you must learn, the lives you must be exposed to, and the books you must read. Then set goals to get there. Decide on a number of books to read each year. Sign up for that course or cohort.

2. Schedule time for learning.

When you put learning in your calendar, it becomes a priority. Even if it’s only 30 minutes a day, know that what gets scheduled gets done. What doesn’t get scheduled gets squeezed out. Just as you plan time for exercise, plan time for daily learning. Schedule a morning or evening each week for reading, or even set aside a weekend for a reading or study retreat if you can manage it.

3. Hang out with people who love to learn.

It’s been said we’re the average of the five people we spend the most time around. Are you keeping smart company that inspires you to learn? To accelerate this, join or start a study group.

4. Read important books.

Set a time when you disengage from social media and do deep reading. This is a skill we’re rapidly losing in our TikTok culture. Include in your reading great books that have stood the test of time. Get to know a few historic lives well. Try to master three classics by the time you’re 50. Build your own small library, your arsenal of books—important books you’ve read that are worth keeping, as well as books you aspire to read. Include secular and spiritual classics in your collection. Fill your shelves with them.

Above all, read the Bible every day. It’s God’s Word. The Bible is unlike any other book. It reads you. It enlarges you by making you wise and teaching you about life, sacred history, human nature, the gospel, and God’s commands. Communing with the Lord Jesus in the Scriptures accelerates learning.

5. Remember there are other ways to learn.

Though reading is an essential learning skill, you can also listen to audiobooks, watch documentaries, or learn a language. You might listen to podcasts (but please, not to the exclusion of reading great books).

Your learning may even take you back to school in person or online. There are many virtual learning opportunities where you can work for a certificate, another bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, or even a doctorate.

Christians are learners by definition. That’s what the word ‘disciple’ means. Being a student is a mark of being a Christian.

Remember, you’re never too old to learn. At Colorado Christian University, we have students involved in our programs from ages 18 to 85. Isidore of Seville, who sought to preserve and transmit Augustine’s vision for the liberal arts during the medieval era, wrote, “Study as if you were to live forever. Live as if you were to die tomorrow.” That’s not bad advice for this year’s graduates.

Don’t be like those who die intellectually at age 25. Begin now to establish lifelong habits of learning. College should have given you the tools. But you’re the one who must keep learning.