Millions of young people and adults either have already or will be returning to school in the next couple of weeks. There is always something so exciting about this time of year; it is so ripe with possibilities. And it got me thinking that we all need to return to school on a regular basis. Whether school is a formal classroom, with teachers, books and homework or the school of life, we need to regularly recommit to learning and growing ourselves.

Do you need to return to school? Is there a skill you need to develop to advance your career to the next level? Maybe you've promised to improve your communication skills and are ready to join Toastmasters. Perhaps you need to learn how to buff up your resume so you can move to a new field or take your career in another direction. The subject doesn't much matter; the commitment to always be learning does.

Research has consistently shown that those who engage in some form of lifelong learning are happier, live longer and are more engaged in life. There is also some evidence that continuing your education as an adult can be beneficial in warding off mental decay and diseases like Alzheimers. My 84-year-old mother is living proof of that! Constantly reading, staying abreast of current events, she can carry on a conversation with almost anyone. She inspires me to be a student in the school of life!

I recently returned to the classroom to learn something I've wanted to do my entire life. Is it something that will have a payoff for me professionally? Probably not. Has it already given me an intrinsic return on my investment? Absolutely! I decided to hire a voice coach to teach me how to sing. And trust me, I had to overcome all kinds of internal resistance to get myself to walk through the door of the music academy and inquire. Here is a sampling of the internal chatter that went on before I took the bold step to feel the fear and do it anyway: "I'm too old." "I don't read music." "I'll feel foolish." "What if I'm awful?" You probably recognize some of the familiar lines.

But in the very short time I've been working with the voice coach, every excuse and reason for not doing it has virtually crumbled in the face of the biggest reason for doing it: it's something I've always dreamed of and I'm loving it!

As adults we get to choose whether or not to go to school, unlike children, who are required to attend. But as a new school year dawns, I encourage you to take the risk, dare to grow, choose to stay on the cutting edge by enrolling in a course--whether for purely personal reasons or because it will advance and enhance your career in some way.

And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go practice my singing. La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!