Knowledge is Not Power

There is an old saying that "knowledge is power." Everyone has heard it before I'm sure, and probably believe that it's true. I did too for a while...but I've come to realize that this saying is incomplete. Knowledge is not power, the use of knowledge is power. It's a small distinction, but a very important one. Say the smartest person in the world (we'll call him Bill) was able to instantly memorize every bit of information that is put in front of him through books, lectures, videos, or any other form of communication. But this person always kept to himself, and never actually did anything with all of his knowledge. He never wrote any books, invented anything, drew anything, or even talked to anyone else. Do you think that person has power? I don't think so.

So let's look at a different scenario. What if a different person (we'll call him Bob) who was always thought to be a slow learner, and in fact it took him until he was 10 years old just to learn how to talk, dropped out of school in the 5th grade at the age of 16, and started working at a grocery store stocking groceries. He worked there stocking groceries for the next 10 years, in the same store doing the same job over and over. During this time, he also became good friends with the store manager and others employees as well. One day, he mentions to his department manager that he noticed that customers would often go to the canned food aisle after they picked up bags of tortilla chips even though it was at the other end of the store. He suggested that they move the salsa to the snack aisle, and the manager made it happen. Over the next week, their salsa sales doubled. The manager asked Bob if he had any other ideas, and Bob told gave him a few more suggestions. Almost every suggestion Bob gave the manager ended up increasing sales or customer satisfaction. So the manager made Bob the manager of the grocery department. Bob was a simple man who still learned slowly, but by using the knowledge he did have, he was able to help the company increase sales and customer satisfaction.

Which of these men have more power? I would suggest that it is Bob. Even though he's not nearly as smart and doesn't have nearly the amount of knowledge that Bill does, he still has more power than Bill does because he actually uses the knowledge that he does have. Wouldn't you agree?

So here's another question for you. Do you use the knowledge you have to increase your power, or do you not do anything with it? What do you think you should do? I know this is a stupid question at this point, but I am trying to get you to really think about it rather than just reading these words and dismissing it as obvious without thinking about what you do in your own life. I am betting that you have a lot of knowledge that you don't do anything with, or that you rarely use. Why? Everyone has a lot of knowledge that they can use in their everyday lives. Whether it was gained through education or experience doesn't matter. The amount of knowledge you have doesn't even matter. What matters is what you do with the knowledge you do have. Find ways to use the knowledge you possess in your everyday life. That is one of the best ways you can increase your influence and power. Start today!!!

Learn How To Learn Quickly and Well

This will be one of the most important posts I write in this blog because I think this subject is one of the most important and beneficial things you can do in order to lead a life of success. The message is simple (though not short). The application of the message is simple (though not necessarily always easy to apply). The potential impact this message could have on your life is enormous. So please read this with an open mind, and even more importantly, use it. You may even want to print it so that you can use it during times when you are not at your computer, and it will be beneficial to read this multiple times.

Learning how to learn quickly and well will serve you for the rest of your life. In these modern times, the information age, the ability to learn quickly and well is essential. There is so much new information available every day, technology is advancing at an incredible pace, and industries are being transformed into completely new ones each year. If you are not continually learning, then you are not growing. In fact, even if you are continually learning but doing it slowly, then you are only barely keeping up at best. You must continually learn quickly in order to get ahead and stay ahead. You must learn well in order to be able to stand out in the crowd and become a successful person. So how can you learn how to learn quickly and well? All you have to do is read, understand, memorize, and use the steps below:

1. Get into a relaxed, ready to learn state of mind. You can do this by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths and consciously letting go of any tension you feel in your body (especially in your face, neck, and shoulders). Picture yourself taking in the new information in a relaxed mood, understanding it easily, and finding it easy to remember. Then picture yourself using the information later on with very little effort. Tell yourself that you will understand this new information, and that you will remember this new information, and make sure you really believe it before you begin.


2. Take in the new information in a multi-sensory way. Everyone learns best when they use as many of their senses as possible to take in the new information. Seeing it, hearing it, AND doing it/using it will help you understand it much more easily and quickly, as well as to remember it more easily and quickly. So take in the information by reading it or watching it, listening to it or reading it aloud, and writing it working through example problems or doing/using it somehow.


3. Explore the new information with your seven intelligences. The seven intelligences that every person has are visual, audio/linguistic, bodily/physical, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical/artistic. Try to explore the new information in as many ways as you can by using these seven intelligences because everyone learns best when they learn a certain type of information using a certain combination of their multiple intelligences. Figure out what is the best way for you to learn each new type of information, and if you don't know just use as many as possible so you will cover them all! For instance if you are trying to learn a new language then you could explore the new words by reading them and linking the words to a picture that represented that word (visual); reading them aloud and listening to native speakers pronouncing them (audio/linguistic); do what the words mean (walk around as you repeat the word "caminar," or pick up and/or eat an apple while you say "manzana" if you are learning Spanish for example) which would be exploring the information with your bodily/physical intelligence; categorize the new information (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.) or put it into an order that makes the most sense to you (logical/mathematical); talk about the new information with some other people (maybe ones who speak that language already) and see what they think about it or how they say it compared to what you think about it (interpersonal); think to yourself if any of the words you are learning sound like a similar English word or how they relate to other Spanish words you know already (interpersonal); and finally you could listen to classical music (or any other music you like, prefferably without words so you aren't distracted by them), draw or paint a picture of what the words you are learning represent, or make up a poem, song, or rap with the new words.


4. Memorize the key elements of new information. Imagine that you will need to give a report on it or teach it to someone else. Rewrite the information from memory after having learned it. Create a learning map/memory map of the new information which is one of the most effective ways to memorize new information (google it if you have never heard of a learning map or memory map). Also take regular breaks every 20-30 minutes because that's the average amount of time a person can actually focus on something and because studies have shown that people remember what they remember better what they learn at the beginning and at the end of a learning session than what was in the middle,...so the more beginnings and endings you have, the more information you are likely to remember. Review the new information after an hour, a day, a week, a month, after six months, and after a year. If you do this, you are 4 times more likely to retain the information in your long-term memory so that you can use it for the rest of your life.


5. Show that you know the new information, demonstrate that you know it. Test yourself with flash cards, by creating new learning/memory maps strictly from your memory and compare them to the one you made while learning the information, practice the new information by role playing or doing whatever it is you just learned, etc.


6. Reflect on what you did and how you learned the new information. Think about how well you learned it, how easy it was, and what you could have done differently or better in order to learn it more quickly and/or more easily. Keep this in mind when you go to learn similar information in the future so you will learn it more quickly and easily.

If you follow these steps when you go to learn any new information, you will learn it more quickly and easily than before. You will remember it better and longer and will be able to use it more effectively. By the way, this isn't an exhaustive list of how to do each step. Use your imagination and intuition and do what works best for you in order to apply each step in the ways that work best for you! Try applying these steps to something simple today and you will see how well they work. The more you use this system, the easier it will get, the more quickly and effectively you will learn new information, and the longer and better you will remember it.

Don't Quit!

One of the most important traits for a person who wants to be successful to have is persistence. Every book I've read, audio program I've listened to, and every seminar I've been to about success and how to achieve it talked about the importance of persisence and determination over and over again. Almost nothing is more important or a greater factor in determining whether or not you will succeed at any given task or goal you set out to achieve.

There are so many stories about how people have had a dream or goal that they really believed in, faced incredible opposition along the way but pressed on anyway, got knocked down over and over but kept getting back up, and had road blocks put in their way but they found a way to get around them or break through them until they finally achieved their goal...and every time someone asked them whether it was worth it or not, or if they would do it again if they knew how hard it would be from the start, they always said that they would still have decided to do it.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)

How many times have you been told that you shouldn't quit. Now how often have you actually thought about what that means or why you shouldn't quit. I'll tell you why... it's simple. If you quit, then it's impossible for you to achieve your goal! That's it. As long as you are still trying, you still have a chance, however small that chance may be. But when you quit, you have absolutely no chance anymore. For instance, if your goal is to sell a bunch of a certain product so that you make $100,000 in one year, and you have a hard time selling any of them for the first couple of weeks, would you quit? What if you really believed in the product, and that you actually could accomplish your goal if you just found the right market (people) to sell them to? If you kept trying and only accomplished half of what you set out to achieve, you still would have made $50,000!!! But if you had quit, how much would you have made? That's right, NOTHING! Which one would be better? Plus if you didn't quit, then you would have also learned how to be a better salesman which will help you accomplish even more during the rest of your life. If you had quit, you wouldn't have learned anything on top of the fact that you didn't make any money!

I know it's hard sometimes. I know that you may feel like crap, or that it's not worth it, or that you can't actually accomoplish your goal because it's too hard or you're not smart enough or good enough at something. Believe me, I've been there more than once. But if you persist, you will eventually accomplish anything you set out to achieve...I was able to, and I will continue to. If you really believe in what you are trying to accomplish, then there is always a way. All that it takes is time in order for you to find the right way, and the appropriate amount of effort to make it happen once you do. Don't quit! Be persistent and keep your sense of determination. Often times it's right when the going gets toughest that people quit when if they would have just stuck it out for a little bit longer, they would have acoomplished their goal.

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. 

-Thomas Edison