What do you really know?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Knowledge is power,” but knowledge loses its power if it falls on deaf ears (or blind eyes). All the wisdom and advice in the world can’t help you if you’re not ready or willing to receive it.

Being open to new ideas, and challenging your strongly held ones, are essential when you’re leveling up in life—especially when it comes to business.

When I think about the way we learn and advance our careers, I’m reminded of four popular sayings that have stood the test of time (and for good reasons!).

1. You don’t know what you don’t know.

To become competent at anything, you need to be brave enough to try something new and humble enough to become a beginner (regardless of your age or experience).

Author and motivational speaker Barbara Sher wrote , “You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up for you.”

Going from the corporate world to self-employment required me to embrace my own new beginning. But I’ll let you in on a (not-so-well-kept) secret: each time you begin, you learn a little quicker, and you become a little more resilient.

2. The more you know, the more you realize you don't know

As soon as you become competent at something, you’ll inevitably discover that you need to learn something new to continue advancing. Whether it’s a soft skill or a hard skill, there will be something you need to improve upon.

Author Mark Manson wrote , “In personal relationships, you will get further by addressing your flaws; in your career…focus on maximizing your strengths.”?

While there’s truth to that, you need both your EQ and IQ to effectively navigate your career. What Manson means is that when we want to improve our relational skills, we often need to improve upon our areas of weakness, vs. building on our current strengths, as we do with our hard skills.?

Keep in mind that, when you expand your responsibilities in the workplace, the knowledge or skills that you’ve developed in your previous or current position are not always the same ones you need to take on your newest challenges. If you’ve expanded your role to include managing a team, for example, you’ll need to add new relational and leadership skills to your portfolio of hard skills. Even if you’re not a direct manager, building healthy working relationships is essential to collaboration, teamwork, and enjoying your job! That brings me to the next saying…

3. It's not what you know but who you know.

Though Mason did distinguish between improving your personal and professional life, he also said in a Forbes interview , “People want to offer opportunities to people they care about. They want to help people they believe are good people or have shared life experiences with. So cultivating [personal relationships] in your life -- aside from just making you happier -- will likely benefit your professional life as well.”

Improving your relational EQ sounds simple, but when you run into interpersonal issues in the workplace, they aren’t always easy (or comfortable) to discuss, and doing so can get messy.

For example, if you haven’t fully developed the necessary soft skills to work through conflict, empathize with others, regulate your emotions, or communicate your shortcomings, you need to get intentional about learning them! You may need to develop and practice these skills with a corporate trainer, counselor, or coach. There’s no shame in doing so! In fact, I highly recommend it. I’ve gone through coaching to improve my EQ twice in my career, and it was hard, since is hard to learn and overcome obstacles. I’m so happy I did it. I’ve maintained friendships and business relationships that I cherish in my life.

4. You know more than you think you know.

While your knowledge, skills, and experience are learned and hard-earned, you also have innate abilities. These are the things that come naturally and seem almost effortless to you. Look for them in those moments when you’re in a “flow state” — when you lose track of time or feel like your skills, abilities, and purpose are perfectly aligned and you are working from a place of fulfillment and gratitude.?

For example, in my consulting business, I’ve discovered that my ability to recognize and adapt to different cultural norms is a superpower for my clients. When I’m on a video or phone call with people from different countries or regions, I can tell almost immediately when the communication begins to break down due to cultural differences. In these moments, I can intervene and quickly get everyone on the same page before the discussion devolves into confusion or disagreement.

I know you have unique natural talents as well! With that in mind, I’ll leave you with one question:

What innate or deeply learned abilities and expertise do you take for granted, and how might you leverage them to find your sweet spot—that place where knowledge, skills, experience, talent, and purpose align?