Knowledge Is Power

The Power of Acquired Knowledge

One of the many favours you can do for yourself, especially within the scope of your career is to acquire knowledge. 

This world revolves around information. 

It is the same reason why people subscribe to a daily news paper, follow the latest technological, medical as well as industrial advancements. Add to that, it is the same reason people pay for enrollment into colleges and universities just so that they can deepen their knowledge reservoir of a particular field.

"Almost all income inequality is a result of a knowledge and skills gap" - Gary Becker

A specialized trade tends to be more rewarding than a general one because the deeper you dig, the more likely you are to find the hidden gems as compared to someone who just scratches the surface.

However, there is a catch to it…Not all knowledge unlocks doors to opportunities. There is a canyon between what you know and what you ought to know. 

What you know is responsible for whatever level you are at. What you ought to know on the other hand is the knowledge required to be at the level you want to be at. 

Now, the knowledge in reference here is what you ought to know because it is pointless being a moving library of knowledge yet possessing very little information of what is critical to your own growth.

Acquiring information is NOT about becoming a dump site of whatever news floats in the air, it is about sieving out the 'junk' and keeping to yourself a particular portion that will be beneficial to either your current undertaking or future ones.

Information comes as a mixed bag of useful and useless information, know the difference.

Knowledge helps you get into some places hard work alone may never have taken you. It is pointless to be a hard-worker without possessing any valuable knowledge. Actually, it is self injustice. Because without knowledge, you are likely to work twice as much as you would if you had taken time to gather useful information.

With hard work alone you may never achieve any of your goals because hard work is not the idea or the brain, it is merely a vessel used to carry an idea from the imaginary realm into the real world. So hard work is indeed important and should never be overlooked but it can only be fully effective under the direction as supplied by knowledge.

Hard work is just a vessel in which the imaginary is carried into reality..

For example, in sport, hard work and effort alone is not enough. A team has to gather information about their opponents before the encounter. They gather all there is to know about the opposition; strengths, weaknesses, weak links etc… 

This way, they can then productively channel their hard work to their opponents’ weaknesses during the match. 

In the end, victory will be achieved with much less effort than would have been used playing blindly. Added to that, an informed approach to the match produces much more emphatic results than a non calculated approach.

It is the same in business, a calculated and informed approach always tends to produce better satisfying results than those produced from merely optimism without relevant information.

“Knowledge is power” is not just a catch phrase, it is a life empowering tool. 

It is a tool that can only be put to use once you realize its true value. It is pointless having a hammer in your tool box when you do not know where or how to use it. 

It is the same thing with knowledge, some people use it to acquire academic certificates but others go further and use it to innovate, design and invent. It is one thing to get understanding and another to apply your understanding. 

Anyone and can acquire knowledge. Actually, every day we all acquire some piece of information. The major difference between individuals is the use to which that information is used. It is no surprise that an idea generating millions today (for example Facebook) may have been thought by someone else before but was just not put into action.

In simple terms, knowledge is a non tangible entity and so without an action it can never come into the tangible realm. So the phrase ‘knowledge is power’ can only be useful when you realize its true value and go on further to put it into action through application of the acquired knowledge.

Knowledge is non-tangible and will remain so only until an action is taken to bring it to reality.

Without any application, the words "Knowledge Is Power" are merely components of a phrase... A phrase that would probably look good on a T- shirt too!

How much better would it be wearing a T-shirt branded “Knowledge is power!” with a true understanding of what you are advocating and actually reaping the benefits of the message you carry around.

These words will only take full effect in your life the moment to choose to make them a principle under which you operate. 

When you operate under such a principle, they seize to be a string of structured words but become a character, your being and self identity. 

It is always easier to work from inside out, expressing your own character than it is working from outside in, artificially emulating a different character to yours.

Building a character

A character is built on consistency. Study shows that you can build a characteristic behavior by repeating the same thing over and over for 66 days. After which that behavior becomes a part of you that you might actually have a hard time undoing.

It is the same principle with acting on knowledge. You have to teach yourself to be an ‘actor of acquired knowledge’; someone who always acts on what they know without hesitance. After all, as has been iterated before, an idea that is not acted on will only remain a thought without any tangible value to it.

In conclusion...

Everyone is open to receive information. Whether or not you end up receiving the information is all a matter of perception, laid out goals and personal ambitions and visions.
When you set your goals straight and seek information for progression in that particular field, opportunities will seem to avail themselves more times than they did during the periods when the wind determined your direction of movement.

Lastly, remember that it is not all information that is useful. Distinguish between what you know and what you ought to know. What you ought to know is the information that will take your next level, what you know is reason for wherever you currently are.