Knowledge equals Power? No
by Michael A. Thomas
There is an old adage that I learned in my younger years in reference to the educational system and thoughts about learning. It was the notion of “Knowledge is Power”. As I grew older, I realized it was a part of a major marketing campaign (a pretty good one at that) to give adolescents the incentive to read books. But I also learned another truth about that notion.
The statement is only half right.
You see, learning new things is empowering, but does not grant you power. As the best-selling book Think and Grow Rich states, Knowledge is only POTENTIAL POWER.
Knowledge equals power, if and ONLY if it is intelligently directed toward a goal.
Great deals of so-called book worms are great examples of this half-truth. They will give you a lot of facts and figures, but hardly ever tell you how to apply the knowledge they’ve received. Many will say that a one should journey to find applications for that knowledge, but that is generally a cop out. They give that excuse because in most cases, they DO NOT know how to successfully apply the knowledge they have learned.
Shame, isn’t it?
Now, this doesn’t mean that reading is not fundamental, or that you should burn you book collection. It does mean, though, that you should always be looking for ways to relate what you have learned to your life and situations. What I like to call “connecting the dots”.
Having general knowledge helps with common sense, but learning and applying specialized knowledge will grant you power.
==========================================================
Recommended Resource:
If you want to learn more about the concept Specialized Knowledge,
check out Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
==========================================================
