I recently taught a class on marketing for professional services firms in the New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS). By its very nature, NYU-SCPS attracts people who want to get better. No one forces them to go to school; they arrive at class after working all day, hungry for new ideas that will help them improve in their current jobs and advance to better ones.

Truth be told, I get as much out of teaching as they do from learning. Self-motivated adult learners are curious and open. Their ideas, comments, and questions can spawn all sorts of possibilities. I invited some colleagues to be guest speakers at this NYU class. They are true professionals, who willingly and generously prepared content-packed sessions for the benefit of these students. The thing that struck me was how each of them solicited feedback the day after their session asking how they could have done better. One of them ended his request for feedback e-mail with, "You know us types - always trying to do better."

What a great message: The experts seek ways to improve! But that really isn't such a surprise. The greats always work harder to push to new levels of performance, whether they're top athletes, performing artists ... or successful businesspeople, who don't wait for their employer to send them to a seminar, but take their own initiative.

What do you do to get better? How do you stretch yourself to become a better professional? How do you meet and exceed your own standards?

If you'd like to make this a priority in 2007, here are some ideas to consider. None of these is inherently difficult; however, actually doing them requires initiative and effort.

• Take a class, go to a seminar, attend industry conferences. As a meeting planner, aren't you in the business of organizing lifelong learning opportunities for others? You need to do the same for yourself. Getting new professional insights almost always sparks ideas that you can apply immediately on the job.
• Participate in a panel. One of the great ways to stretch is to be spotlighted as a content expert. By presenting to peers, you'll be on top of your game as well as polishing your presentation skills.
• Get comfortable speaking to groups. You may have great wisdom to share, but if you're terrified (real or imagined) to get up and express it to a group, you'll miss opportunities.
• Become a better listener. Many of us are surrounded by so many distractions that our listening suffers. Be present and listen proactively so you hear not only what is being said, but what isn't being said.
• Read. Yes, read! According to a Gallup survey, about half of Americans read and about half have read five books over the course of a year. Commit to regularly read a newspaper and one book per month and you'll be way ahead of most people you know.

The challenge with pushing yourself to be a continuous learner is that it takes time in an already time-compressed world. This is true, and simply put, the only way around this dilemma is to make it a priority. If it's important to you, you'll make the time - and you'll reap the benefits.

° Lisa Aldisert is a New York City-based management consultant and professional speaker specializing in strategic business growth and leadership development. Her latest book is Valuing People: How Human Capital Can Be Your Strongest Asset. You can e-mail her at lisa@businessgrowth.com or visit her Web site at www.businessgrowthcenter.com.