What motivates me to study on my own?

My nephew asked me on what motivates me to study on my own and pass the actuarial examinations? I did not attend any classes or sign up for a correspondence course.

I told him that I have a sense of curiosity. I am interested in subjects that are important to ordinary people - money, investing, finance, probability of loss, law, accounting, computer programming.

For each topic, I can learn on my own by following my sense of curiosity. I learn each subject up to a certain level, i.e. the level that I can understand. If it becomes too complicated beyond that level, I do not pursue the subject further.

My level of knowledge will be better than most ordinary person. Usually, it is enough for me to deal with every day issues that I have to face.

Sometimes, I know more about the practical aspect of a subject that the professionals and experts. The professionals tend to go too deep into the subject that they become confused and are not able to see the big picture.

Using my approach, I enjoy learning about these subjects. I am able to understand the important topics and to apply them. I am able to deepen my understanding by applying what I learn and learning from the results.

This is how I was able to pass the actuarial examinations, which was a big hurdle for most other people. During the 8 years that I took to complete the examinations, I took time off to learn law, accounting and computer programming. Why? I was interested in these subjects as well.