If you’ve signed up for my weekly newsletter, then I think it’s fair to guess that you are NOT an ignoramus, bonehead, donkey, numbskull or otherwise. Still, sometimes I think we all need a little reminder to get our heads out of the sand, and for me, this is what does it.
I read somewhere than a successful officer will devote 50% of his time to execution (work I suppose) and the other 50% to study (books?). This got me thinking about where I spend my time? What % was I devoting to study?
Later, I learned that during a business lunch with colleagues, Warren Buffet shared his calendar with the others around the table. You would suspect that like Elon Musk, Warren Buffett books in 5-minute chunks, he batches, and he’s BOOKED. Quite the opposite. He shared his calendar for the week, and there was next to nothing in it. He claimed that he leaves his days open for study. I don’t think any of us can afford to do that, but I also don’t think any of us can afford to completely ignore this approach either.
Recently I was listening to a podcast, and the host spends about 5 minutes going over this passage which I’ve now listened to and shared at least a dozen times. It’s simple, but it gets me so fucking excited. I’ve stopped a few people randomly and forced them to listen to it. It goes like this:
“Wisdom begins at the point of understanding that there is nothing shameful about ignorance. It is only shameful when a man would rather remain in that state than cultivate other men’s knowledge.”
I am pretty sure this passage was inspired by Ben Franklin’s quote “Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”
It’s pretty epic and gives me all kinds of pins and needles. The Podcast host goes on to quote:
“There is never any reason for why he should hesitate for it is better to be embarrassed from seeking council than to be found short for not having sought it.”
Boom!
By the way, you can find all this here.
And just like that, I am going to leave that in your lap. Do with it what you will.
Good luck out there homie!!
Adam
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