Knowledge Helps you Build a Living, Wisdom Helps you Build a Life.

I once read a quote that said:

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life”.

It seems like we go through life acquiring both knowledge and wisdom, but since wisdom can only come from time and experiences, I needed to find a hack!

Ray Dalio has a large repository of this wisdom stuff. After reading one of my all-time favorite books called “Principles”,?I was mouthing the words ‘wow’ more than a 5-year-old at a fireworks display. As I made my way through the tome, I jotted down 6 wisdom nuggets that I think can be of value to us all:

1.????Listening to uninformed people is worse than no answers at all:?Getting the wrong answer from someone who doesn’t have a clue has misguided me on many occasions. When taking advice, check the persons street cred.

2.????Everything looks bigger up close. This too shall pass:?Whether it be work, relationships or something else, everything seems gigantic in the present,?but time dilutes everything. There is also a lot of power in a smile.

3.????Prompt thinking over prescribed formulas:?Unless you are on the line at the Toyota Production Plant, you don’t always need standard work. Getting repetitions in decision-making leads to better, more creative outcomes. Decision-making is a skill that must be practiced in order to prepare your organizations for the uncertain future.

4.????Life is a game in which each problem is a puzzle. When I solve a problem, I get a gem:?The more gems I collect throughout life, the better I am going to get a solving its problems.?You can only really accumulate gems by putting yourself just outside your comfort zone.

5.????None of us are truly objective, we need to really on the input of others:?We aren’t talking about those uninformed people here. This is about acknowledging that we have a bias and we need to solicit input from people we trust to ensure we get to the facts. “Well, let’s think about this objectively” isn’t really a thing. This is yet another reason why creating your network is crucial.

6.????Struggling well makes the ups better and the downs less bad:?Tell this to the folks who have been divorced.?When we strengthen our resilience, we smell the fresh air at its purest and swiftly get through the times we are punched in the gut.?The greatest opportunities will come out of struggle.

Your Friend,

AJ

A.J. Kehl is the Fire Chief at Dover Air Base Fire and Emergency Services. He is the author of the book, “My Rich Uncle: An Informal Guide to Maximizing Your Enlistment” and well-known speaker. He holds a B.S. in Fire Science and M.S. in Organizational Leadership.