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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