Your Knowledge Does NOT Matter
Ron Malhotra
??? Advisor To SERIOUS INVESTORS & BUSINESSES ??? Mentor To AMBITIOUS PROFESSIONALS ?? Coach To SUCCESSFUL EXECUTIVES ?? Trainer To LEADERSHIP TEAMS ?? International Speaker ?? Author of 8 Books
Most people have been led to believe that the intellectual comprehension of facts, data and information gathering will make them more successful.
We've all been conditioned to believe that "knowledge" is power. And yet you don't have to look far to see the most knowledgeable people on the planet are not the most successful.
If information was indeed the answer, most of us would find ourselves happy, healthy and wealthy.
On the contrary, despite the average person having access to more information than ever before (thanks to Google), there appears to be rising trends relating to depression, anxiety, obesity, divorce and bankruptcies.
We're all products of a system which taught us 'what to think', not 'how to think'.
The traditional academia model seems to be flawed. It rewards you for what you know. Life outside of academia rewards you for what you do. And what you do has little to do with 'what you know'. It has everything to do with 'how you think'.
Every employer and manager knows that people don't always do what they know they should do. In the U.S., billions of dollars is spent on professional development each year, with little corresponding increase in productivity, performance and employee engagement.
Most of us have been conditioned to think success comes from the outside in, when success actually only comes from the inside out.
When I speak about this concept at my events, a lot of people nod in agreement, but I believe that they grasp this concept only intellectually, they don't actually understand it.
If they did, they'd behave differently. They'd engage in processes to improve the quality of their thinking, like engaging in personal development, joining a mastermind, or getting a coach or a mentor.
Many people assume that any type of mental activity equates thinking, and the idea that thinking is an ability that can be improved doesn't even occur to them.
To expand the mind, raise self-awareness, to actively do something to up-level their ability to think beyond the existing conditions and circumstances in their business and personal life, is not something that most people ever think about.
Why? Because most people don't see it as necessary. And it's no coincidence that most people struggle, fail or spend their careers frustrated, working harder and harder for ever diminishing returns.
In many ways it's not their fault. We're all products of our environment.
If you're to improve any result in your life, you have to change your thinking. If you're to grow your business, to increase its profitability, to enjoy financial certainty and the freedom in brings, to take dominion over your business and personal life, you have to change your thinking.
Only then will you close the gap between what you know and what you do. Only then will you command the astonishing creative ability within your mental faculties. Only then will you know - by experience - the magnitude of your untapped power.
The thinking that got you to where you are now, will not get you to a different destination, this much I can guarantee.
- Ron Malhotra
Do you agree or disagree? Have a different idea? Please share your responses below.
Chief Medical Officer and Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Baptist Memorial Health Care
7 年Critical thinking leverages a lifetime of experiences; is this not the fund that one draws upon to solve difficult problems?
Senior Technical & functional Business and Process Analyst Med-Large digital transformations, stakeholder management, process improvements
8 年My favorite quote by A Einstein, learning from a system is like equipping you with the minimal gear to survive. To exceed you add inquisitiveness, exploration and new perspective.
Advisor Licensing | Onshore Outsourcing | Fintech | Wealth Management | Qualified Financial Advisor | Philanthropist
8 年Interesting article. Thanks.