Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Knowledge is NOT Power
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
“Knowledge is power” is a very common sentiment that many people support. I have always been a strong supporter of this statement, and have therefore spent the last few years in particular studying, learning, reading, and expanding the breadth of my knowledge.
However, I have been thinking about productivity, accomplishments, and considering the difference in people who really make it in life, and those who don’t. One might begin to conclude that a pursuit of knowledge is at the source of those who reach success. I have concluded recently that knowledge is not even that high on the list of reasons behind success. The top reason: Action!
Knowledge is like a loaded gun. It’s an opportunity for powerful action. A gun in and of itself, does not kill people. Now I don’t want to start a heated sociological debate here, but in broad concept, here me out. If you took the entire US military arsenal and put it on a deserted island in the Pacific, you would be amassing the largest concentrated arsenal in the world. All those weapons, all that power, all in one place. Yet, if no one ever visits the island, if no one ever picks up those weapons and fires them, they accomplish nothing. They are meaningless and irrelivent. Hitler didn’t nearly conquer the world by building the largest arsenal, he did it by attacking. He took swift and decisive actions. The actions are what create results. The tools and the knowledge are only a basis for the action.
Amassing large quantities of knowledge is worthless. No power is attained by learning every piece of knowledge in Steven Hawking’s head. Putting that knowledge into action is where the magic happens. That is how power is attained, that is where success is born.
The point here is this: while spending time, learning, reading, amassing knowledge – as we all should be doing – do not forget to take action!
Entrepreneurs often learn this the hard way. It’s principles like being first to market, and releasing software in beta. The point is to take action. In order to succeed in a business, you must take action, you must sell your product. If Microsoft spent 10 years developing Windows 3.1 so that it would be the best operating system anyone could imagine, they would have gone out of business before release. Stop worrying about the blue screen of death and take action – sell the product.
Taking action leads to success. Knowledge creates a basis for better decision-making surrounding that action. It allows us to think on our feet quicker, make better decisions, and ultimately, achieve even greater success.
In many ways this blog is my start at taking action. I have been studying design, marketing, and digital communications for years. I have been practicing, and thinking and reading. Now it is time to apply these principles. To take action on what I have learned, and to learn more, through doing. This blog provides an outlet for my thoughts, and forces me to organize ideas into valuable chunks of information. My web designs are the fruit of my labor. They are the action I am taking to advance my skills, my career, and ultimately, my success in life.
So take that hobby or career move, or business you’ve wanted to start, and stop learning, stop thinking, and take some action.
Do at least one thing, everyday, that is an action towards your longterm goals.
Action leads to success. Action is power.
Posted in Business | View Comments
