Recovering Book Addict

Posted by parkejladd on Jul 2, 2009 in Entrepreneurship, Featured {Article} | 1 comment

Their success was not just of their own making.  It was a product of the world in which they grew up.  -Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

The great thing about the way in which information frolics about the universe today is that you simply do not have to know everything.

This recovering book addict–yours truly–used to read books solely in order to gain knowledge.  I believed that the more I read, the more I would learn, and hence, the better my life would eventually be.  Today, however, I read books for a deeper reason–to make connections and build relationships.  I’ve come to realize that the common ground held by multiple people or multiple groups, all of whom have a congruent knowledge base yet maintain their unique perspective, is more important to my gaining of understanding than any knowledge I may accrue from reading a book and keeping that knowledge to myself.  No longer is it about how much information I can process and store, rather; it is about the experience and information which I can share, teach and trade with others. I believe this is one of the greatest assets any avid life-long-learner can realize.  The personal gain acquired through reading and simply storing something revolutionary is far out-weighed by the joy and satisfaction gained from sharing your newly discovered insights and selections of wisdom.  Wisdom learned yet not shared, knowledge gained but never discussed, is of no benefit to anyone, and I believe that one of the most genuine ways to learn and to grow is to share and communicate what it is that you have gathered along the way.  That is why people write, why they communicate, why they spread seed and why they decide to tell their story.

You no longer have to know it all.  As Gladwell states, many times our successes are less dependent upon our own selves (the so called “making our own way” theory) and more dependent upon how well we utilize the environments in which we currently live, work, communicate and play.  For this simple reason, you no longer have to know it all.  Feel better?  More at peace?  Relaxed yet?  You should be.  There is little peace in knowing “everything” and there is rarely enough time to develop real relationships with others along the way.  And yet, it is the very relationships which we do develop which often times prove to be far more crucial to the evolution of our successful ideas than is the knowledge gained through the attempt to “know it all”.

Remember the kid in 4th grade who thought he knew it all and always walked into the classroom, head held high, believing that he really did?  I remember him.  I also remember that no one liked him. No one likes a know-it-all.  On the other hand, people do like those who seek out what they know, and who long to partner with them in order to benefit from their specific knowledge.  Great success is not about knowing everything. Great success is about putting the pieces together. He knows this, I need him.  She knows that, I need her.  We know this, they will need us.  Contrary to your popular belief, you are not the sole factor of your success.  The truth is, we need each other.  Why?  Because none of us will ever know it all, and we need each other to fill in our own missing gaps.

Success is not just about learning and storing as much as you can.  Success is also about spreading what you know, and partnering with others who know what you don’t.  It is not necessarily all about you, rather, it is about how well you utilize the environment of people all around you.