Knowledge is a valuable commodity. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some late night TV sometime. The latest fad diet craze, that new exercise phenomenon, or music that makes you smarter, You’ll find tons of people pedaling their ideas, thoughts, and opinions for $29.95 (shipping and handling extra). Willing to go even further? Head over to your local college or university. People pay thousands of dollars a year for very knowledgeable people to share their knowledge. That knowledge is bottle up and binged upon by college students at about a rate congruent to PBR at the neighborhood watering hole. It’s then regurgitated back to the professor and forgotten at about the same rate as… well, you get the idea.

I remember in college that I really didn’t learn all that much in class. Now, I’m not going to license anyone not to go to college, or attend class for that matter. That’s your decision entirely. But, more than anything, I remember the late night gab sessions in dorm rooms, apartments, late night cafes, and the occasional Wal-Mart. Those are the places where my ideas were questioned and challenged. It opened my eyes to the thoughts and ideas that others had and gave me the chance to see the other side of an argument. From then on, I made the decision that I wanted to know the what, how, and why behind just about everything. I wanted to know everything about everything. I wanted to open myself up to learning.

Now, I’ve always had a fascination with technology. Computers, mobile devices, social/digital media, and pretty much all shiny new Apple Products have been my kryptonite for some time now. It’s something that I’m very passionate about. And because I’m passionate about technology, it’s nothing for me to read about and retain tons of information very quickly.

The same can hold true about your Twitter experience. People love to share their information using Twitter. Great tidbits of information that you may have missed throughout your day. Businesses and Brands are likely to share information about their products using Twitter and other social mediums. By following the people and subjects you’re interested in, you’ll have no trouble finding great information and learning from that information.

So, for myself, this translates following people who share information about technology and social/digital media. Co-workers (like @dosjon), friends (like @dartdog), colleagues (like @acnatta and @wadeontweets) and industry leaders (like @chrisbrogan, @vaynermedia and @thisissethsblog) are just a few of the people who I read their tweets on a regular basis. I find value in their tweets and I’m constantly learning new things from them. I dare say that I’ve learned more about my favorite subjects because of them than I could have ever learned on my own.

Now, I’m sure by now you’ve hear the phrase, “It takes all kinds”. And in this world of nearly 6.7 billion, it does. Not everyone can be a CEO. Not everyone wants to be CEO. Not everyone is that ambitious. Heck, I even recognize that I’m a Woz and not a Jobs. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful. You just have to measure your success differently. One of the ways I measure my success is being a resource of knowledge for my co-workers. I enjoy the fact that they come to me because they know that I’ll give them a quick and definite answer that they are confident to present to clients. They know that I’ve taken the time to research and commit the answer to most of their questions to memory. They trust the knowledge that I’ve taken the time to learn and shared with them. If knowledge is power, then learning is the vehicle that gets you there.

My point is this: Commit to being a life-long learner in your area of passion and you’ll always be successful. You don’t have to use traditional methods as long as you’re willing to work for your goal. Success shouldn’t be a measure of money, but of how trusted you are in your community. Trust that can be built on being knowledgeable. So, I ask you, How do you measure your success?