In a previous post, I wrote about how the difference between where you are and where you want to be is a function of the books you read (knowledge), the things you do (skills), and the people you meet (network). A couple of posts covered skills like this one here so this post will cover knowledge.
“For it is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he has a conceit that he already knows. ”- Epictetus
One of the most beautiful things about life as a human being is we were bestowed with the ability to imagine a world that we can then go out and build. I’m pretty sure amoebas don’t get to do that…
But building the life that you imagine for yourself is not as easy as it seems or everyone would be rich, thin and famous.
Gain more useful knowledge
This could be through reading, taking Udemy courses, watching youtube videos… the idea is to understand how you process information, then go out and seek more knowledge in the area you want to grow in.
Since I’m biased towards reading, I’ve written a post on how to incorporate more reading into your already busy life here. And for new readers who don’t know at what rate to begin, start with one book per month.
Books to start with;
1. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
2. The 5-Second Rule by Mel Robbins
3. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris
Ask more questions
As we become adults we start pretending that we have all the answers and that we’ve already figured everything out. That makes us afraid to ask questions others might deem stupid. I’ve personally learnt the value of reaching out to people and starting with, “I have a stupid question…” or “Tell me more…”
Because you’re not always going to have all the answers, so as long as you’re able to swallow your ego, then you can learn more by asking questions.
Do more
Knowing more through reading or asking questions is never enough. At some point, you need to stop reading this article (not now…once, you’re done), and go do something with the knowledge you’ve just gained.
Plan for failure
The thing is, life is not like school. You could read all the articles in the world, and follow every advice to the letter but in a real-world test, you’re still more likely to fail than succeed.
So build a shock-absorbert system in your life; that’s the element in your life that makes you realize that no matter what happens it’s going to be okay. For some people, it’s their families.
For others, it’s their cats.
Repeat
Read, Do, Fail and Repeat.
When you’re in a transitional experimentation phase in your life, you’ll have to learn to fall in love with the process of starting over, because chances are, things will crash and burn more often than take off.
Think of Elon Musk and how many of his rockets have sadly exploded in the past few years. Nothing great ever comes so easily.
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