Andrias Harefa makes life his center of learning

Andrias Harefa makes life his center of learning
or
Andrias makes learning life-long challenge

Benget Simbolon Tnb.
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Are you someone who thinks that success is the sole preserve of
university graduates?

Well, if you are, your misperception will become apparent if
you meet Andrias Harefa, who failed to obtain a law degree but
has managed to achieve success as a writer, trainer and speaker.

The native of Nias island, who was born in Curup, Bengkulu in
1964, passed an admission test for entry into law school at Gajah
Mada University, Yogyakarta, in 1983 but did not finish the
course.

"I had high hopes in Gajah Mada University after learning that
I'd passed the entry test. It is one of the best universities in
the region. But then, when I saw its teaching system, I became
very disappointed," he told The Jakarta Post recently.

"Its system is more or less the same as that of senior high
school, where lessons are dictated by teachers to their students.
It was always one-way communication, from lecturer to student.

So, where is the dialog and discussion that should be
encouraged to improve debating skills and broaden our knowledge?
My disappointment peaked when I asked for consultation on my
undergraduate thesis with my supervising lecturer. My requests
were always rejected."

Despite that, his thirst for knowledge remained. He adopted a
self-learning methodology to expand his knowledge. He also became
involved in managing several magazines, including Antusias, which
was published by Dale Carnegie, an American human resource
training company.

The learning process, he said, cannot be reduced to that which
is undertaken by the universities. "Learning is life itself. Our
life is our school. It has to be pursued throughout our life and
within the context of our lives in order to better integrate
ourselves in society," said the father of two baby girls.

Life itself, he says, provides many lessons for people to
learn from. He cited as an example the lesson of professionalism
he learnt from a shoe-shine boy in Pulo Gadung bus terminal, East
Jakarta.

"There I happened to see a boy who got many orders, while the
others had none at all. I asked myself why, then discovered four
reasons why he was successful.

First, speed: He was very fast. Second, quality: His service
was better than that of the others. Third, enthusiasm: He was
always happy at work. Fourth, generosity: He gave more to his
customers and his friends. Because the others had no orders he
asked them to deliver the shoes he had already cleaned to their
owners. And for that he gave them some small change.

This is just one example. Our everyday experiences provide us
with many lessons. And we only need to open our minds and our
hearts to learn from them."

With that spirit of learning he has managed to record several
achievements. He has written 24 books, most of which have been
published by Kompas and Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Most of the books, including Menjadi Manusia Pembelajar (On
Becoming a Learner) and Berguru pada Matahari (Learn from the
Sun), are bestsellers.

He has also won a number of awards, including a creativity and
innovation award in 1995.

He said that when he left university in 1987, he came to
Jakarta with a vow never to apply for a job. "But by the grace of
God I met Soen Siregar of Dale Carnegie. When I was student in
Yogyakarta I routinely sent a copy of one of the alternative
media publications I managed to Pak Siregar.

By the time I met him he already knew me. And he asked me to
help manage Antusias, a management magazine ran by Dale
Carnegie," he said.

A year later he was a licensed instructor with Dale Carnegie.
He then became a human resource trainer and instructor. Most of
his training is concerned with encouraging people to pursue self-
learning.

In 1998, he quit the American company and then, together with
Jansen Hulman Sinamo and Agus Santosa, set up Darma Mahardika
Institute, a company whose operations are more or less the same
as those of Dale Carnegie.

The husband of public notary Ida Sondang Hutapea, said that
one day an idea came to his mind: What about those who cannot
attend human resources training? They might also benefit from
such training.

The thought then encouraged him to write books. "That's how I
started writing. Those who cannot attend human resources training
due to their limited time or lack of funds can also learn
something important from my books to improve themselves," he told
the Post.

He said that those who were not university graduates were the
target of his first book titled Sukses Tanpa Gelar (Success
Without a Degree). The book is actually a compilation of his
articles published by Antusias. The articles are about people
with no academic qualifications who are successful.

"With more and more youngsters unable to enter university due
to poverty and various other limitations, more people in this
country will be without degrees. Who will take the responsibility
to tell them that university is not the only route to learning,
or that they can still achieve success by pursuing self-learning
in their lives? -- That the scope of learning is much wider than
what is undertaken by schools and universities?. I felt it was my
calling to take on that kind of task," said Andrias.

For that purpose, he and several of his colleagues have
initiated the formation of what they call the Indonesian School
of Life, through which they encourage alternative learning.

"I want to return the meaning of learning back to its life
context -- that life is our school. Learning is really a calling
for human beings to further deepen their humanity and actualize
themselves in society.

For most people here the learning process is only linked to
schools or universities. They think that after completing their
formal education at an institution they will get something in the
future.

"I think this approach to learning is wrong: Learning should
be put within a context that enables us to further develop our
humanity and ourselves so that we can give something back to
society.

"It is not in order for us to get something from society," he
concluded.