What do you do to continue learning and to continue improving in your craft?
Keep building things. That's really the only way I know how to learn something. Reading books doesn't really do anything for me. I have to see something applied in practice, on my own, before I can really internalize something and grow.
The issue at hand, was the General's use of reading as a way to ensure the things he is in charge of building (Marines), do not go to waste. Long in the making, quick in the breaking.
> I have to see something applied in practice, on my own, before I can really internalize something and grow.
This skill, reading, takes a while to develop. Understanding what is said and not said, and what it means in context takes practice and deliberate thought.
Learning while building works well only when your effective materials cost (as in software) is zero.
Keep building things. That's really the only way I know how to learn something. Reading books doesn't really do anything for me. I have to see something applied in practice, on my own, before I can really internalize something and grow.