Reimagining Knowledge

Despite the many challenges; the past years has been rewarding. Amidst all the lockdowns; it's been an adventure. I've learned a lot; of the things I didn't know, and of the things I should have known. But more importantly, I learned concepts and ideas that made me question what I believed to be knowledge and truth. 

Below are ten resources that altered my thinking and gave a fresh perspective. The actual content is much more profound. The key takeaway is that to reimagine knowledge; you need direct experience. And these ten resources have helped me to get started. I've left a link (for most); in case you decide to go down the rabbit hole and expand your weltanschauung. 

1. The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. - Reinhold Niebuhr

I first heard about the Serenity Prayer from Garry Tan. Since then, his podcast has become one of my oracles. The Serenity Prayer is a reminder that we need to choose our battles.  

2. On Purpose

A real network is having people who will help you when it’s not convenient - Shellye Archambeau 

This is a good benchmark to evaluate potential partnerships or collaborations opportunities. It also helps you set boundaries for your support structure and guide your values. 

3. On Being Original 

What important truth do very few people agree with you on? - Peter Thiel 

There are plenty of articles that say you need to read 50-100 books a year to be successful; or that a certain successful person reads that amount of books. I would rather re-read Zero to One hundred times.

4. On Competence and Confidence 

Low ability people do not possess the skills needed to recognize their own incompetence. The combination of poor and low cognitive ability leads them to overestimate their own capabilities. - The Dunning-Kruger Effect

5. On Money, Wealth & Status

Wealth is assets that earn while you sleep. The purpose of wealth is freedom. It’s about being your own sovereign individual. Money is how we transfer wealth. Wealth is not a zero-sum game.

Status is your ranking in the social hierarchy. To be the winner, there must be a loser. So, status is a zero-sum game, but you play them because they’re a necessary evil. - Naval Ravikant

6. On Privilege 

There are many privileges in this world, and most of us have multiple privileges. Just because our some have better and different privileges than ours, doesn’t make their achievements any less. By targeting a specific group/person and belittling their/his/her achievement just because they had different privileges to you, doesn't help anyone.

7. On Leadership 

Resolving to the law or the legal framework should not be your first priority. You should always resolve to your values & ethics first. Values lead to your leadership principles. Leadership principles are the way you treat people. - Bill George

Highly recommend taking the above?? course

8. On being successful

Don’t just follow society’s definition of what’s important. Don't checkboxes because that's the norm and that is what is expected from you. - Chamath Palihapitiya

9. On Passion

Passion is an output, not an input. Passion is born AFTER we have experienced something that deeply resonates with us. You find something you believe in and doing it you experience passion. - Simon Sinek

10. On First Principles Thinking

You boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there instead of reasoning by analogy which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations. People don’t learn by understanding; they learn by some other way; by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile! - Richard Feynman

Knowledge is processed information. Just as too much processed-food isn't good for your health; one should not rely too much on preconceived knowledge. The goal is to improve our learning habits. To do so, we need humility to identify what we don't know and the curiosity to reimagine what we consider as knowledge. The moment you convince yourself you have understood or learned, you stop growing.