three-benefits-of-knowledge

THREE BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE

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Knowledge is the treasure of a wise man – Anonymous.

The dictionary defines knowledge as facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education. If you know how to swim, you would probably have learned how to float, breathe underwater, move your whole body in a coordinated manner forward or backward, etc. If you did not learn by yourself, someone must have taught you. If you go to a pool, you can immediately differentiate the people who know how to swim from those who cannot. Those who cannot swim will not know how to float, breathe underwater, or move their body in a coordinated manner. In life, before you can do anything, you must know something!

If you look closely at those who excel in their fields, you will observe that they know something more than others. Professional singers know how to pick the right key and pitch, just like experienced teachers know the correct information to provide to their students in a stimulating way. Professional cooks know how to mix the right ingredients for the right taste; doctors diagnose illnesses and prescribe the proper medication. In all the professions mentioned, you will observe that the difference between them and the average person is their knowledge over time. I will highlight three benefits of expertise below.

 

KNOWLEDGE IMPROVES THINKING

The knowledge you have about a subject serves as raw materials for thinking. I once had an experience in a paint factory where a small fire broke out. We use a lot of chemicals in making paint, and most of them are highly flammable. A small fire caused by a bit of carelessness can cause damages worth millions of dollars. A lady in the factory who knew the suitable fire extinguisher to use put the fire off. Why was she able to put the fire off and avoid heavy financial loss? She knew the correct extinguisher to use. She was able to put the fire off because she knew what to do in the circumstance. Just imagine if she did not know what to do at that time. Once your knowledge increases, your thinking capability will improve.

 

KNOWLEDGE EMPOWERS YOU TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

Knowledge is expensive because it empowers you to solve problems. As far as humans exist, there will always be problems to solve. And as far as you can solve problems for people, your pay cheque is guaranteed. All you need to do is empower yourself with the required knowledge to continue to be a solution provider. People will be willing to pay you if you can help them save time or money, take care of the things they cannot, allow them to be more organized, etc. Once you know this, you can investigate an area where people need help and provide solutions. You can start from the immediate environment. What are the challenges that people face? What knowledge can you get to be of service?

 

KNOWLEDGE BREEDS HOPE

Knowledge inspires hope in you because your perspective will be different from those who do not know. Have you ever wondered why people go to doctors when they are ill? Because doctors know about diseases, illnesses, and cures, people run to them when they are sick. What are they doing? They are hoping that the doctor will give them some medication to get well. Notice that the patient does not have to know the cure. But knowing a doctor who knows the treatment inspires hope of getting better.

What knowledge are you acquiring now? How will it benefit you and those around you? Let me know in the comments section below, or feel free to ask any questions you may have.

I wish you all the best. 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Besidone Ebule is the Project Director at B2SL, where he works to encourage personal development and build success networks. You can contact him at bessy.ebule@b2sl.org.

 

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the-need-for-knowledge

THE NEED FOR KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND WISDOM

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“All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to understanding and then ends with reason.” – Immanuel Kant

You will agree with me that you and most people around you believe they need knowledge, understanding and wisdom to accomplish great things in life. So the problem most times is not whether we know that we need these things, but how much of them we really need. Your need for knowledge, understanding and wisdom will forever be on the increasing order as you progress from one stage of life to another.

For example, when you were in primary one you were taught simple addition and subtraction. But as you progressed to primary two through to six, the way the same addition and subtraction were taught seemed to become more complex as you made progress from one class to the other.

With knowledge being the starting point of everything, understanding is simply getting used to the knowledge you are interacting with while wisdom is using the knowledge you have mastered to guide your reasoning in solving problems or delivering results. This therefore means that without knowledge and proper understanding you will not be able to demonstrate wisdom when it’s time to make decisions.

In looking at the life of the world renowned neurosurgeon Ben Carson, we will see how he was able to move from knowledge to wisdom in creating a successful professional career as a medical doctor.

In the University of Michigan Medical School Carson struggled academically at first, doing so poorly on his first set of comprehensive exams that his faculty adviser recommended he drop out of medical school or take a reduced academic load and take longer to finish. He continued with a regular academic load, and his grades improved to average in his first year of medical school. By his second year of medical school, Carson began to excel academically by seldom attending lectures and instead studying textbooks and lecture notes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

Studying so hard means Carson was acquiring the needed knowledge that will help him stand out later in his professional career.

Much later as a medical doctor Carson was the lead neurosurgeon of a 70-member surgical team that separated conjoined twins Patrick and Benjamin Binder, who had been joined at the back of the head. The separation surgery held promise in part because the twin boys had separate brains.

We can see wisdom in action here as the knowledge acquired over time and well understood was used to carry out such impossible surgery.

This is why you need knowledge, understanding and wisdom. With these three acting as one, you can also do the impossible like Ben Carson.

I look forward to seeing your comment on the comment section so I can know if this article was helpful or not. You can also ask questions if you have any.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Adimah is an entrepreneur and the Project Manager of B2SL INITIATIVE, where he manages the vision. He is a great believer that a prosperous Nigeria is a product of successful Nigerians. You can reach him via email at charles@b2sl.org.

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the-pursuit-of-knowledge

THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE

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“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin was one of America’s founding fathers. He had little formal education, which ended when he was ten years old. At twelve, he was an apprentice to his elder brother James, a printer in Boston. Franklin left his brother and went out to work as a printer in Philadelphia at 17. He went to England to work in the printing business for a few years. He later came back to Philadelphia to start a printing business that printed various items, including government pamphlets, books, and currency. Franklin was a voracious reader and went on to teach himself how to become a skilled writer. Franklin’s success in the printing business pushed him to the limelight and made him a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, and diplomat.

Lessons from Franklin’s story.

It takes humility to learn – Although Franklin had limited formal education, he did not allow that to deter his ambition. He was humble enough to understand the printing business from his elder brother and taught himself how to be an excellent writer. Notice that Franklin did not complain about his lack of education but instead looked for ways to educate himself. You may not have all the money you need now to pursue your dream courseHowever, if you are humble enough, you will find ways to educate yourself towards your goal. It takes humility first to recognize your limitations and then work to overcome them. The internet is a great place to gather resources that will enhance your capability to achieve your goals. Be humble enough to run after relevant knowledge and stop wasting time on content that will not develop you.

It takes time to learn– Learning is not spontaneous. You will need to dedicate some quality time to anything you are learning. One common trait of all successful people is that they all invest time into learning about their field. You can see how Franklin learned from his brother for five years and then went on to work for experience before starting his own company. You may not need to wait that long for you to chase your dreams, but you need some time to familiarise yourself with the knowledge you need to succeed in your field. There is no shortcut when it comes to learning. 

Knowledge comes at a cost– If you want to learn, be ready to pay the price. Knowledge never comes free. You either pay directly or indirectly. When Franklin did not go to school to pay fees, he learned under his brother. During that time, his freedom would have been limited. Even if you search for things from the internet, someone paid for the knowledge before they could share it with you. Remember that you also paid for an internet subscription before you could access the material. So, knowledge is not free after all.

Embrace the habit of pursuing knowledge because it is an investment that pays ultimately.  

 I will be looking forward to hearing from you in the comments section below.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Besidone Ebule is the Project Director at B2SL, where he works to encourage personal development and build success networks. You can contact him at bessy.ebule@b2sl.org.

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knowledge-is-the-key-to-a-successful-life

KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL LIFE

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“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” – Kofi Annan.

Welcome to October. Our focus this month is on knowledge which is key to every human success. Knowledge is the abstract ideas, intellect, and collection of information garnered by contact with events and exposure to real-life situations. To know means being exposed to information or having the abstract ability to say or perform something. One’s ability to talk, walk, or do anything depends on the amount of knowledge they have about the task or action in question.  

We are already two months away from the year 2022, and the world is still struggling to recover from the impact of the Corona Virus pandemic. Much effort has been put in place to combat and eradicate this pandemic, but human knowledge is yet to reach a breakthrough on finding a total cure to the COVID 19 disaster. This situation indicates that whatever we don’t know will always be more significant than us. However, this is not the only problem that plagues humanity begging for a solution. 

Most successful people in history became successful because they knew how to solve those problems. The Wright brothers, who solved the problem of an easy and faster means of transportation by inventing the airplane, are a good example.

We hope to gain from going to school the knowledge that will help us solve problems and live a life of significance within human society. The pursuit of knowledge makes you relevant and of more excellent value to your immediate environment because you will have what will make people come to you. We get paid for two things in life. The value we take to the market and the value we become. But we get paid most for the value we become. All of these cannot be possible if we don’t know how to produce what to take to the market, or we refuse to learn to add value to ourselves to become solution providers. 

What do you know that will make people come to you? Find an area of life and try to understand more about it. Begin to challenge yourself to be hungry to learn more because it will enable you to do more and be sought after the more so that your life will be more significant and valuable to the human family. In no distant time, you will become a force to be reckoned with and pave the way for you before great men.

I will be excited to know what you are learning or to know what questions you are asking in the comments section below.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry Ibrahim is the Content Creator at B2SL. He loves working with young people to help them discover their purpose in life. You can contact him at Ibrahim@b2sl.org.

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