Invest in Knowledge

“If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the highest return.”

—Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father

A client recently shared with me a book titled Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals by Tom Corley.

From Corley’s years of research into hundreds of rich and poor people, I learned that of the wealthiest people:

  • 88% read for 30 minutes or more each day.
  • 63% listen to audio-books during their commute.
  • 94% read about current events.
  • 50%+ read biographies of successful people.

In contrast, only about one in fifty of those struggling financially engaged in daily self-improvement reading.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you invest the time and resources in your personal and professional development efforts to lead an even more richly rewarding life?

drowning in information

“We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”

—Rutherford D. Rogers, Deputy Librarian of Congress

Image of keyboard, hands, coffee, and watch

Image from Unsplash by Catheryn Lavery

Did you know that the average person has five social media accounts, and spends one hour and forty minutes browsing their networks each day?

The average adult also spends more than twenty hours online, and watches over thirty hours of television per week.

How does your usage compare to these statistics? To what degree are you drowning in information?

Unfortunately, many of us simply assume that is “the way things are,” and that we simply need to keep up with the pace of life and swim for our lives.

EXERCISE:

Estimate what percent of the information you take in through social media and other sources is truly valuable and worth knowing.

Begin today, through a more discerning perspective, to remove or eliminate at least one such source until your head is fully above water.

common knowledge

“The uncommon application of common knowledge will pave the way to extraordinary success.”

-Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI

Image from Flickr by Dennis Skley

Image from Flickr by Dennis Skley

Do you have paper clips in your office or home?

When you consider their use, how many options come to mind beyond clipping pieces of paper together or sealing a bag of chips you haven’t quite finished?

Take a moment to brainstorm five or more uses, or get a group of friends together to see how many possibilities can be discovered for applying uncommon usage to this very common item.

EXERCISE:

Check out this YouTube video on binder clips, and this website on uncommon things you can do with a paper clip.

How can you use this exercise in either your personal or professional worlds to pursue new levels of success?

“The measure of who we are is…”

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”

-Vince Lombardi, American football coach

Photo from Flickr by Jeff Kubina

Photo from Flickr by Jeff Kubina

Readers of The Quotable Coach series have learned, over the years, of my passion for cooking. I have been described, from time to time, as an “army cook” who can take a variety of ingredients from my fridge and make them into something tasty.

Recently I learned about a number of websites and apps that do the same, with an almost unlimited number of tasty combinations. On myfridgefood.com, you simple select the items you have on hand, press enter, and find yourself with a handful (or more) of options to try.

EXERCISE:

Examine your “cupboard” of knowledge, skills, abilities, and talents. How can they be combined with the spices and seasonings of your other positive qualities? What tasty recipes can you come up with for your professional and personal success?

“Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just gargle.”

“Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just gargle.”

– Robert Anthony, PhD and Hypnotherapist

Photo from Flickr by Martina Yach

Photo from Flickr by Martina Yach

During coaching sessions, I often refer to the reasonably extensive collection of books in my office.

I highlight, underline, and do a good bit of writing throughout the pages of these books, to enhance my ingestion and digestion of these nuggets of knowledge.

For me, a good book is not only an investment of $20, it is an investment of many hours of my life. It is time in which I intend to embrace the considerable value each author hoped to share with readers such as myself.

EXERCISE:

Notice where you drink and/or gargle from the fountain of knowledge. What small or large adjustments can you make to these efforts to impact your life for the better?

Pay particular attention today to your engagement with all forms of information, including everything from the great works of fiction and non-fiction to the wide variety of social media choices available.

“Knowledge is like climbing a mountain; the higher you reach, the more you can see and appreciate.”

“Knowledge is like climbing a mountain; the higher you reach, the more you can see and appreciate.”

– Unknown

484Image from Flickr by kiszka king

When I first read this quote, I immediately wanted to change the word “knowledge” to “wisdom.” After all, most of us have images of wise prophets and sages living on mountaintops, bequeathing us mere mortals below with the wisdom of the ages. However, the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge is still part of the process.

Exercise:

Consider replying with your definitions of “knowledge” and “wisdom,” and how they are related.

What new sights have you been able to see and appreciate during your climb to the top?

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

– Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

The people who know me best know how much I love to learn. Learning is part of my fundamental fabric and is one of my signature strengths. Perhaps that is why, over 20 years ago, I was so attracted to the profession of coaching, where personal and professional growth and development is a top priority.

Not only do I enjoy learning new things each and every day, I find sharing this learning and supporting others on their own growth journey amazingly satisfying.

Exercise:

Select one or two things you would like to learn about today. Ask others around you to teach you things – or simply tap into the web and dig in.

Share what you learn with others in your world to compound your interest.

“We know more than we know we know.”

“We know more than we know we know.”

– Unknown

One of the coach’s most powerful tools is the open-ended question: you know, those questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”.

Who could have imagined that the six simple trigger words of who, what, when, where, why, and how could bring forth a level of knowledge and wisdom in others far deeper than we see on the surface?

Exercise:

Imagine yourself and others as an iceberg where what we know we know is only the observable part above the surface. (With icebergs, this is typically only one-eighth of the whole.)

Practice asking yourself and those around you more open-ended questions to discover how much more we actually know that lies below the surface.

“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”

“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”

– David Bohm, theoretical physicist


On / off, right / wrong, black / white are examples of polar opposites or, some might say, the duality of a situation. Knowledge, although highly prized and valuable in our world, often points us in the direction of the “right answer” and can often lead us to a somewhat limited view on a particular subject.

Bohm suggests that being open to various perspectives and having the ability to think differently is more important than knowledge in our world today. We need the wisdom to evaluate things with a full spectrum of colors and multiple shades of grey.

Exercise:

Where in your personal and professional life are you limited by knowledge gained and your need to be right? How can you exercise your “try it on” muscle to explore opportunities and possibilities beyond your knowledge of things?

“The unfed mind devours itself.”

“The unfed mind devours itself.”

– Gore Vidal, writer

We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” Perhaps this is also the case with our thoughts.

When we feed ourselves positive, affirming ideas and thoughts, our lives expand and become better. When we feed ourselves negative and critical thoughts – which often occur when our minds are not enriched – we tend to regress, becoming smaller and far less fulfilled.

Exercise:

If the phrase “thoughts become things” has some truth to it, plan your future cerebral meals carefully to include only the choicest morsels.

  • Consider purchasing a copy of John Maxwell’s Maxwell Daily Reader to chew on each day.
  • Read a passage from the Bible, Torah, Koran or another inspirational book.

Of course, please keep reading and sharing The Quotable Coach with others. I will do my best to make it worth your time.

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