STREET LIFE

Many friends of mine who were convinced they would never become computer literate are now conducting all their long-distance communication by e-mail and Internet phone calls.
Why must you begin using computers, if you are in a high-touch business, retired, or are not actively doing business at all? Because all the devices we plug in - computers, telephones, fax machines, radios, television sets, VCRs and even kitchen appliances - are emerging into a unified information machine. Very soon, a single device will perform all their functions and more.

Together with our appliances our credit cards, medical records, automobile registrations, driver's licenses, etc. will be hooked together. Scientists envision a small card on which our entire medical history will be electronically encoded.

We're on the threshold of the greatest exchange of knowledge and ideas in history. Who will own and control that intellectual property? How will it be paid for? How will the information transactions be monitored and secured? What impact will this have on future generations? The answers to these questions are anything but certain. But what is certain is that unless you are computer literate you will be illiterate. Unless you are online you will be in the unemployment line, or you'll be earning minimum wages. Unless you're networking, you probably will be not working. Unless you're comfortable with the information superhighway, you'll be road kill on it. Unless you join the generation of the future, you will be relegated to living in the past.

The biggest reason most people are hesitant to jump into the world of computers and the Internet, is that it is not in their comfort zones. Whenever we consider acquiring a new skill, whether it is flying a plane, snow or water-skiing, or going back to school, we procrastinate and make excuses, because we feel awkward and clumsy in trying something we know little about and something in which others, observing us, are more proficient in. In other words, we feel foolish in front of family, friends and associates, because we are adult rookies. It's o.k. for kids to try new things. Because they're not afraid of criticism or looking silly. They learn that in junior high, high school and college.

One of the most important ideas you can gain in this program is that winners risk being a fool in the eyes of others in order to gain expertise. There never was a winner, who wasn't, first, a beginner. Be willing to begin becoming computer literate.

The computer, once a formidable challenge for us, has become an invaluable tool, and has saved us time that we now spend together living a more balanced life. Plan to spend about 50 to 100 dollars a month, staying current, upgrading your equipment and software, and subscribing to computer publications. The best way to keep from falling behind is to keep abreast of the trends. Because the industry is changing weekly, you must assume that all you have learned will need to be updated every week. That's why there's no reason to wait. No matter when you buy a computing system it will be obsolete within a year, or need a complete upgrade. Voice recognition systems will be commonplace in a couple of years.

Excepts from D. Waitely on Computer Literacy