“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
American Writer and Humorist Mark Twain once said, “Do not let schooling interfere with your education.” We live in a world where we equate schooling with being educated, but the reality is that they are different. You can be well-schooled but not educated; as former American President Calvin Coolidge once observed, “The world is full of educated derelicts.”
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
A typical adult equates the end of formal schooling to the end of education. Meanwhile, education is supposed to draw out our latent curiosity and make us love learning even more. Education is supposed to be lifelong, from cradle to death. The word “education” is derived from the Latin words ēducō, educate, educere and educatum. It means to bring forth, to draw out, to nourish. education is supposed to draw out our hidden talent, which is latent in us, The challenge of our present schooling system is that it is not producing lifelong learners but individuals obsessed with avarice.
33% of high school graduates never read another book the rest of their lives and 42% of college grads never read another book after college. 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years and 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year. 1
For most of us, our education stops the moment we finish formal schooling. From age 2 to probably 25, we attend various citadels of learning such as elementary, primary, secondary, higher institution, graduate school, vocational training school, etc. We get indoctrinated, instructed, and programmed, our worldview gets shaped; we form lifelong relationships, and even meet our future life partners or business partners in these institutions. But sadly for most of us, our learning atrophies because we confuse schooling with education. 2
Reading one hour per day in your field will make you a national authority in three to five years. This alone can give you your 1,000 percent increase over the course of your career.
Three of the most successful technology companies of all time: Amazon, Apple and Microsoft were founded by individuals that let their curiosity lead them to their innovation. Jeff Bezos of Amazon read a report about the emerging growth of the internet. In 1994, While working at the hedge fund run by David E. Shaw, which used computer algorithms to discover pricing disparities in the financial markets.
Bezos came across the statistic that the web had been growing by more than 2,300 percent each year. He decided that he wanted to get aboard that rocket, and he came up with the idea of opening a retail store online, sort of a Sears catalogue for the digital age.3
Through a lucky accident and his eagerness to learn, Apple Co-founder stumbled on a magazine that lead him to fall in love with computers. In iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple 4, Wozniak recalls:
At about this time, there was another lucky accident. I found this article about computers in one of the old engineering journals my dad had hanging around. Back then, back in 1960, writing about computers wasn’t common at all. But what I saw was an article about the ENIAC and a picture of it. The ENIAC— which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer—was the first true computer by most people’s definition. It was designed to calculate bomb trajectories for the military during World War II. So it was designed back in the 1940s.
In Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft 5, Paul Allen writes about how curiosity lead them to the discovery of the early personal computer. He writes:
Few people took notice of the 4004 early on, but I was a college freshman that year and had time to read every magazine and journal around. It was a fertile period for computers, with new models coming out almost monthly. When I first came across the 4004, I reacted like an engineer: What cool things could you do with this?
What cool things could you do with this?
Award-winning science writer David Robson observed in his thought-provoking book, The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes, 6
Intelligent and educated people are less likely to learn from their mistakes, for instance, or take advice from others. And when they do err, they are better able to build elaborate arguments to justify their reasoning, meaning that they become more and more dogmatic in their views.
Perhaps the best analogy of intelligence is a car. A faster engine can get you places more quickly if you know how to use it correctly. But simply having more horsepower won’t guarantee that you will arrive at your destination safely. Without the right knowledge and equipment – the brakes, the steering wheel, the speedometer, a compass and a good map – a fast engine may just lead to you driving in circles – or straight into oncoming traffic. And the faster the engine, the more dangerous you are.
Intelligence can help you to learn and recall facts, and process complex information quickly, but you also need the necessary checks and balances to apply that brainpower correctly. Without them, greater intelligence can actually make you more biased in your thinking.
Develop a Growth Mindset
The growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others. Although people may differ in every which way—in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments—everyone can change and grow through application and experience.
The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.
When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if abilities can be expanded—if change and growth are possible—then there are still many paths to success. 7
Podcast
Akinwumi Adesina, 8 ans déjà à la tête de la BAD • RFI
It is always a joy watching Akinwumi Adesina speak French. I am a francophile who has been learning the language since 2010; Monsieur Adesina inspires me greatly. He is from Nigeria (an anglophone country), and watching him speak impeccable French gives me much hope and joy.
We are inclined to believe that when something is broken, it has less value, our instinct is to ignore or cover up our flaws, but what if we shifted our perceptions, what if we viewed our flaws with appreciation; even seeing them as appreciation?
Kintsugi – the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer or golden joinery. When a tea cup breaks or cracks, Kintsugi embraces the brokenness; the pieces are meticulously fixed back together, highlighting the cracks instead of hiding them.
Rather than trying to erase the hurt of a past relationship or cover up mistakes in a past venture. Why not approach our brokenness with a sense of reverence, mending pieces of ourselves with delicate filaments of gold.
Hold your grief with tenderness, your mistakes with forgiveness, and your frustration with patience.
Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – The Effect of Context
Context Effect – Factors in our environment affect our perceptions and how we relate to the world, often subconsciously. We all like to see ourselves as independent thinkers, as someone that direct our own minds and attitudes. To some extent, that is true but there are many things outside of us that direct and shape our ideas and thought process.
Conscious changes to your context can make a significant shift to your mood and attitude as well as the people around you.
All the Best in your Quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
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