Following from last month's
exploration of the virtue
(value) of excellence, I'd
like to take a look at the
value of knowledge in this
newsletter. Living in an era
in which the acquisition of
knowledge is as easy as
hitting a key or two on our
computers, it is difficult
to imagine that in the not
too distant past knowledge
was reserved for a chosen
few and that those,
unfortunately, more often
than not would use their
privileged position to keep
the rest of humanity in the
darkness of ignorance.
Clearly the chosen few were
very aware of the truth that
KNOWLEDGE = POWER.
Knowledge equals power in
thousands of ways. I just
want to highlight a few:
Knowledge dispels ignorance.
The dictionary defines
ignorance as meaning
unawareness. Being unaware
robs us of opportunities; of
developing our talents; of
recognising possible
choices; of learning,
growing and changing and -
last but not least - of
realising our potential.
Knowledge gives us power of
choice. We can
only make informed choices
about anything about which
we have sufficient
knowledge. The greater our
knowledge, the better
informed our choices will
be.
Knowledge raises our
self-esteem.
Offering our thoughts and
opinions and feeling
recognised, respected and
appreciated for our input
enables us to feel good
about ourselves.
Knowledge is the foundation
of expertise and excellence.
Expertise and excellence can
only be developed through
the combination of knowledge
and consistent application
of this knowledge.
Knowledge gives us the power
to influence.
People tend to look to those
whom they perceive as being
more knowledgeable than
themselves for counsel,
mentorship and advice. If we
wish to be influencers, we
must be knowledgeable!
Knowledge creates
confidence. If
you've ever found yourself
in a position where you were
supposed to make intelligent
comment on a subject on
which your knowledge was
fairly limited, you'll know
how humiliating and damaging
this can be to your
confidence levels. If you've
never been in such a
situation, count your
blessings and take my word
for it - it's so horrible
that all you'd wish for is
the ground to open and to
swallow you up right there
and then. Not an experience
I can recommend!
Knowledge is the foundation
of wisdom. Whilst
not all knowledgeable people
are wise, wisdom most
certainly requires
knowledge.
OVERCOMING THE KNOWLEDGE
HURDLES
So, given that knowledge
equals power, why doesn't
everyone jump at the
opportunity to acquire as
much of it as possible?
Well, here are a few reasons
and some possible steps to
help you get over the
knowledge hurdles:
Information overload.
As limited as
information (knowledge)
might have been for our
forebears, as overwhelming
it is in this day and age. I
don't believe that any one
of us can absorb even a
fraction of the information
with which we are bombarded
on a daily basis and I
suggest that you don't even
try.
Be selective.
Once you've acquired a
suitable amount of general
knowledge, carefully select
the areas of your particular
interests and areas in which
you wish to excel, and keep
your learning focused on
these.
Being a 'know-it-all'.
Don't you just want to run
and hide when you encounter
one of those? They seem to
take great pleasure in
lecturing - usually on
topics that hold no interest
for you whatsoever - and all
you feel you can do is try
and escape at the first
possible moment.
Step outside the box.
Believing that we know it
all confines us to living in
a very small box. If you
think that the description
of a know-it-all might 'fit'
you, you'll benefit greatly
from opening the door of
your heart to a little
humility. Nobody knows it
all and most of us don't
feel any shame about this
when we recognise that the
majority of people don't
even feel comfortable around
'know-it-all's'. A few
suggestions would be to
speak less and listen more;
to explore why you feel that
you should know it all
(what's that all about?) and
try to experiment with being
open about your limitations.
Realising that learning is a
gift that never stops giving
as well as a privilege and
pleasure that we can enjoy
until the day we die, will
help you overcome this
hurdle.
Lack of motivation.
Preferring to do anything
rather than something that
might involve effort;
feeling like you just can't
be bothered; that it's all
too hard; that it just isn't
worth your while.
Lack of motivation is a
choice.
When you understand that
only those who are prepared
to make an effort will
succeed and become truly
convinced that knowledge is
indeed power, learning will
become a pleasure rather
than something that seems
too much of an effort.
Fear of failure.
For some people - usually
those who found their school
years to be a real struggle
- acquiring knowledge may be
intrinsically and painfully
linked with the feelings of
failure they experienced in
their childhood years.
If you fit this category,
you need to make the
decision not to allow your
past to define your future.
Just because you struggled
with learning in your
formative years, does not
necessarily mean that you'll
have the same struggles now.
Your maturity as well as a
major change in the way
knowledge if offered today,
will help you get over this
hurdle in no time at all and
you will recognise that
there is only one failure
which is the failure to try.
In closing, let me remind
you that knowledge equals
power. The more power you
have, the more opportunities
will come your way. The more
opportunities come your way,
the greater your choices.
The greater your choices,
the greater the likelihood
that you can live the life
you want - A LIFE LIVED ON
PURPOSE.
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EXEC U TIPS
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WORDS OF WISDOM
The more extensive a man's
knowledge
of what has been done,the
greater will be his power of
knowing what to do.
(Benjamin Disraeli)
*****************
My people perish from a lack
of knowledge. (Hos. 4:6)
*************************
Only the curious will learn
and only
the resolute overcome the
obstacles
to learning. The quest
quotient has
always excited me more than
the
intelligence quotient.
(Eugene S. Wilson)
****************
Our deepest fear is not that
we are inadequate. Our
deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure. To
read the entire quote,
click here
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CONTACT DETAILS:
Sonja Ridden
331 Mona Vale Road
Terrey Hills NSW 2084
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