To draw better you need to learn how to see.

I was reading The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. She said that drawing well doesn't have anything to do with hand coordination. It has everything to do with sight.

"When you see in the special way in which experienced artists see, then you can draw."

I thought that was such a great idea. It applies as a larger metaphor for life as well. The more clear we see things the more success we have.

Educating yourself is learning a new way to perceive or see the world. Painters and artists train themselves to use their eyes in a different way. Edges become beautiful. Negative spaces become beautiful. Shadows become beautiful. All this means that simple objects become fascinating.

Above are two drawings I did. A before and after. The before was my first drawing since grade school. The after, is about a week later after reading a third of the book.