With knowledge and a little common sense, you can achieve almost anything
No matter which century we are living in, the acquisition of knowledge will remain an important part of human growth and development. Unlike any other time in human history, we must continually keep up with expanding knowledge and perpetually develop new skills to stay relevant and sustain our lifestyles. This is something you, as a reader, already know and accept and the fact that you’re here reading this article means you are aware that it is your responsibility to develop yourself.
Long back, acquiring knowledge was very daunting and time-consuming. You needed to be in a certain place, at a certain time for you to be able to get the knowledge you wanted. Spend so many hours in the library, flipping from one book to another, checking for what you need. In this age with the advent of technology, most hurdles of learning have been rendered archaic and learning has become so much easier. You can learn from anywhere, at any time, and at your own convenience. All the knowledge you need is available at your fingertips, with just a search on Google, for example, you get all the information you are looking for and more.
In this modern age;
Learning has become cheaper and less time-consuming, you don’t really need to go to a library or be flipping the pages of a book unless if necessary, just as you scroll down your phone, you can actually be reading eBooks or whilst even driving or doing your chores you can be listening to an audio-book.
But surprisingly enough we still have a generation of people who choose to live ignorantly. A lot of time is spent in vain pursuits of things that are not self-enriching. Instead of utilizing technology to their advantage, people have become slaves of technology. Moving from one social update to another and glued to vain things all day, wasting so much precious time.
Advantages of the modern world
This is the age of information where personalized learning has now been made possible. Tailored content can be availed to you exactly at the time you require it, chatbots and virtual assistants can help you in categorizing the information you need for decision-making, and augmented and virtual reality simulations can provide a multi-sensory experience to speed up and embed learning. There is really no excuse for ignorance in this age. If you don’t invest in the knowledge you will be left behind in a world that is constantly changing.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” You need to spend at least an hour a day on deliberate learning. Most people spend so much time on money pursuits that they even forget the single investment that pays off more than anything else. An investment in your knowledge. It is easier to acquire money with a knowledgeable mind than with a blank mind. Knowledge is not limited to education, knowledge extents to experience.
Benefits of reading;
Call me old school but I think there is something very upgrading about reading books. Boos can take you to places you have never been and give you ideas you never thought of. It stimulates your imagination by causing you to enter into the realm of the story, gives you access to some of the greatest thinkers and writers in the history of the world, sharpens your critical thinking skills, and helps you synthesize new ideas. Successful people read. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Charlie Munger, three of the richest men in the world, each read for several hours every day. Making reading a habit will transform your mind in powerful ways.
How skills can help you
Taking new courses and learning new skills is also very upgrading. Courses can teach you brand-new skills, help you get a promotion in your current career, or even help you identify, qualify and pursue another career path. You could enroll in your local community college, or online classes, sign up for a course, attend a talk conducted by an expert, watch TED talks, etc. If you don’t upgrade you will quickly become obsolete in an ever-changing world.
The more we learn, the more we realize that we have a lot more to learn. Educating yourself and gaining knowledge on a variety of things will empower you with tools that will make you and others become better.
The Author Brandi L Bates said “Wrote my way out of the hood…thought my way out of poverty! Don’t tell me that knowledge isn’t power. Education changes everything.”
Why Education/ Acquiring Knowledge is the best investment one can make
- It’s a zero-risk real security and a safe investment
If you want to protect your money from others, then convert it into knowledge.
- It’s an eternal Investment
Once you acquire knowledge, it stays with you forever. You can lose everything but not your knowledge. With the rapid demonetization happening, a lot of products and services are going down in value to the extent of sometimes becoming free and knowledge is the only product that can never be demonetized.
- It’s an investment that can be shared without losing value
If you share money, you will be left with less but if you share knowledge, you will increase in knowledge.
- It’s a liquid investment
Wherever you can go, you can always carry your knowledge and turn it into something even money. The more you learn, the more your earning chances increase. Knowledge liberates your mind and gives you wings to fly. Knowledge empowers you and acts as a ladder to your success.
- It’s a circular investment
Your knowledge can help you in a lot of different facets. It can help you to acquire money, it can help you to live a healthier life, and it can help you to make better-informed decisions, among other many things. Knowledge creates opportunities for you.
- It’s an ageless investment
Knowledge is not age bound, it can be acquired and used at whatever age. Your education should be a work in progress until the day you die. AS Dalai Lama says, “Invest your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.”
- It’s a universal Investment
Your knowledge is not limited to a particular geographical location, it can be used in any location. The more knowledgeable you become, the better decisions you make and the quality of your decisions will shape the outcome of your life. The better the decisions you will make in whichever area you want to grow, be it spiritually, mentally, physically, or financially, only knowledge will help you grow.
Your knowledge acquisition should be a continuous process
There is value in continuously becoming more knowledgeable. You have to keep improving yourself on a daily basis. As Albert Einstein said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”
Joe Paterno once said, “If you are not getting better, you are getting worse.” And Abraham Lincoln also said, “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” Through all these great minds, we learn that you need to keep learning and improving.
Tips to help you utilize knowledge efficiently
1. Be decisive about what you want to read
Technology has made it very possible for anyone to access anything at their fingertips with just the press of a button. Whereas traditionally it was difficult to find certain information if you were not getting a formal education in that area, these days accounting information can be found by anyone from a doctor to an astronaut, and medical information can also be accessed by anyone from a lawyer to an engineer. Therefore you need to be decisive about what you need to learn and stick with it.
2. Stop downloading unnecessary things!
I don’t know how I can overemphasize this but just STOP! Because of technology do not fall into what most people do, the trap of cluttering information through huge downloads that never get utilized. I speak of it because I have once fallen into that trap. Read what you need and when you need it, stop downloading a lot of unnecessary stuff that you do not need. This will only make you feel overwhelmed by information and actually drain your energy from absorbing it. You need something but you definitely don’t need everything. Organization is the art of Efficiency
3. Dedicate time to your knowledge acquisition
You cannot read as and when you feel like reading. Make a conscious effort, and dedicate a couple of minutes or hours every day to learning.
4. Use the knowledge you acquire
It’s not enough to acquire knowledge, if you don’t use it, you are as good as someone who didn’t acquire it. Whatever you have acquired knowledge in, use it! Education becomes perishable unless you use it/apply it.
5. And finally update your views effectively
Beliefs are hypotheses to be tested, not treasures to be protected. Stop patenting your beliefs and regarding your thoughts as truths
Self-education is the most important form of education, as Jim Rohn said, “Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.” Schooling is only a small part of your life education.
Whatever you have to do to acquire knowledge, do it!
- Read articles,
- attend training, seminars, and conferences,
- sit behind a desk if you have to,
- listen to audios and watch videos,
- go through biographies and podcasts,
- talk to people,
- do internships,
- volunteer at an organisation to gain knowledge.
- enroll in a course or follow an online course
- get a mentor
- read a physical book (it’s not out of fashion)
- or do all the above
In Conclusion
In this information age, acquiring knowledge is no longer a luxury, it’s a survival strategy. I am not for degrees, I am for education. Education is hard, be it learning a new skill or know-how about a certain thing, learning is tough. Especially as you grow up and responsibilities pile up but never deprive yourself of the time to learn. Thanks to the information revolution, now you can learn at your convenience, and prioritize learning.
Make it a deliberate effort to learn something new every day, the more knowledgeable you are, the smarter you become, and the more your luck at success increases. Read read read, I can’t overemphasize this enough, but just READ! I personally haven’t yet found a better way to keep an open mind than through reading! Reading helps you keep an open mind. When you learn more, you achieve more, and when you stop learning you stop growing!
Francis Bacon (1597) said that knowledge is power and As Thomas Jefferson postulated in 1817, Knowledge is Power, Knowledge is safety and knowledge is happiness!
As Erasmus said, “When I have little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
Resources to use
Skillshare offers more than 19000 online classes in different subjects like business, photography, and branding, among others. Treehouse will teach you to code. Khan Academy offers classes in math, economics, computer programming and animations, and dozens of other subjects. All the above examples are just to show you that there is an unlimited number of learning opportunities that you can utilize out there.
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