Craig Andrews recently retired after 40 years in the insuranceindustry. The week before his retirement, he earned his tenthprofessional designation, Associate in Claims (AIC).

Why did he go through the trouble when he was nearingretirement? "I find that what happens is once you start takingcourses, it becomes a habit," he said. "It's energizing to learnnew things."

Andrews is among those who are lifelong learners, the type ofpeople who don't feel that they are ever finished with theireducation. No matter where they are in their career — a week intotheir new job, a week after landing that big promotion, or even aweek before retirement — they use learning as a tool to grow andachieve more. An active and challenged mind stays both sharp andflexible.

The key to career success

If you are looking for the key to career success, research hasshown that continued learning is the best way to reachgreatness.

You may have heard of the "10,000-hour rule," popularized in thebest-selling Malcolm Gladwell book Outliers. This rulenotes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become great atanything, whether it's singing, playing basketball orunderwriting.

Gladwell has since emphasized that the rule is less about thespecific number and more about the fact that high achievers takemuch more time improving their skills than most peopleappreciate.

That concept was based on research by Anders Ericsson, aprofessor of psychology at Florida State University. Ericsson'swork over several decades largely boils down to support one basicprinciple: Practice makes perfect.

In other words, while we often value natural abilities or pointto high achievers as born leaders, the evidence is that all thetalent in the world doesn't mean anything unless you're regularlytaking advantage of ways to learn and do more.

This truth, combined with the evolving regulatory changes,emerging trends and industry developments, makes it clear thatcontinuing education has never been more important to prospectiveleaders in the risk management and insurance field.

Barriers to unlocking career success

According to a recent report by the Pew Research Center, 73 percent ofAmerican adults say they are lifelong learners in some way, fromreading books to taking classroom courses to exploring museums.However, only 36 percent of adults say they seek out extraknowledge to improve job skills or seek career advancement.

The Pew report also noted that there is a growing imperative tolearn more in order to stay relevant and successful in the jobmarket. With the recent economic downturn, many Americans areconcerned about staying relevant in the rapidly changing marketenvironment. That concern, combined with more access to informationthan ever before, presents a unique opportunity for professionalsto advance themselves through improved skills and education.

A few barriers to continuing education remain. In some cases,your busy and complicated personal life gets in the way. In othercases, the proliferation of options creates a paradox of choice —too many decisions cause people to make no decision. Others mayoverestimate the time commitment necessary or underestimate thevalue of a professional designation or certification.

One other reason could be a lack of employer support. A report released earlier this year found that people areindependently pursuing professional learning and training more sothan they are with the direction and support of theiremployers. 

Pursuing knowledge

For Craig Andrews, lifelong learning transformed his career. Hefirst studied music and played in Las Vegas hotels before decidingto find a more stable career in the insurance industry. To orienthimself with this new venture, he set a goal to earn his CPCU.After learning so much about his new profession, he joined the CPCUSociety, became passionate about learning more and went on to earnnine more designations and certifications, including Associate in Risk Management and Associate in Commercial Underwriting.

"This is a highly technical business that demands current,in-depth knowledge," he said. "We have to maintain our knowledgeand that sharpness or else everyone suffers — our clients, ourcompanies and the industry."                                                                               

Craig Andrews is just one example of how being a lifelonglearner can carry a career to success. There are countless more,but all lifelong learners have one thing in common: a passion forthe relentless pursuit of knowledge.

To get started on your path to lifelong learning in theinsurance industry and learn about the profession's most respectedcertifications and designations, visit The Institutes' website atwww.theinstitutes.org.