Do You Have a Grip on Your Greatest Asset?
How often do you focus on “what you have to lose”? Yes, we all have a long list of things we can lose that are really important to us:
- Money
- Home
- Love
- Family
- Our business or job
That puts great stress on us – and takes up a great deal of our energy because we worry about losing it all. You know I think we can put that energy to better use building a future, but that is a topic for another day.
Today I want to talk about something no one can take away from you:
Your knowledge.
Once you learn something, no one can strip it from you. It is an asset you take along with you everywhere you go and you can use it to re-build if you lose anything on that list above.
Take a moment and just think about that.
I’m sure you have heard that many people are paid for what they KNOW.
Remember the story of the old mechanic who is called to a ship because none of the technicians could fix the problem with the engine, clunking and sputtering. He stood next to the machine and listened for a couple of minutes, pulled out a little hammer and made two taps. Like a miracle, the machine clunking was transformed into a steady whir, humming along perfectly.
The old mechanic presented an invoice for $10,000. The owner balked at the cost and argued that all the mechanic had done was make two little taps with his hammer.
“True,” said the mechanic. “The taps cost only $1.00 each. The knowledge to know where to tap costs $9,998.00.”
The owner sighed and wrote the check. He knew exactly what he was paying for – the mechanic’s knowledge.
“You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.” – Buckminster Fuller
If we are smart, we all learn from our mistakes. The school of hard knocks teaches us a lot. The thing about that is that that learning is CIRCUMSTANTIAL. It is haphazard and sporadic, which means that there are a lot of people who miss out on that learning.
The powerful suggestion I make to everyone I work with as a coach, especially, is to be determined in your learning. Establish habits and patterns that will result in the regular, focused and purposeful increase in your bank of knowledge. How do you do that? Here are a few suggestions:
- Read a minimum of 10 pages a day of a book that stretches your mind
- Listen to podcasts and audios
- Engage in discussion
- Participate in groups such as book studies and masterminds
- Attend seminars, workshops and lectures
- Participate in webinars and other virtual groups
- Engage others in forums and chat rooms
- Interact with people on social media
Some things you will learn by just being present, other things you will learn because you seek out the knowledge. And that point is important. Ask yourself these 4 questions:
- What is it that you want to know?
- What is it that you want to do better?
- What is it that is constantly dogging and impeding your efforts?
- What do you want to avoid or vanquish in your life?
That’s when you will learn best – when you are looking for an answer; when the knowledge you seek is most relevant to your business or life.
Ignorance is something we all possess
We don’t know what we don’t know, right? How often have you learned something and wondered how you ever got along before without knowing that bit of information? Quashing our ignorance makes our lives better and easier … we don’t have to just accept it as the way life is for us.
Make a plan to start your own “knowledge acquisition” plan – okay – just plan to consciously plan to learn something …
Once you do, you will see that yes, it IS amazing to have something that you just can’t lose!
I have all sorts of learning programs and groups that would feed your desire to learn. For example:
- The foundations of successful behaviors,
- How to make more sales,
- Marketing strategies, or
- Methods of using speaking to grow your business.
Your success is a reflection of your investment in learning and applying what you learn. Go get it – however you decide to attack your ignorance will be rewarded. Try it for 30 days – dedicate yourself to learning something new every day.
You will feel empowered! And resourceful, confident and UNSTOPPABLE!
To your success!
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