What do you know?

I heard a few sayings today that I want to pass along:

“To know and not do is to not really know at all.”

“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”

“Learning is changed behavior.”

“The problem is not that people don’t know how to solve their problems, but rather the problem is the people don’t even know what their problems are.”

“You don’t know what you don’t know.”


Knowledge is not merely amassing a lot of facts and being able to spout them off at will. Knowledge is taking what you learn and applying it to your daily life. Learning facts and not acting on them leads to self-deception, so that you think you are wise when you really are a fool. Whenever you learn something, always ask yourself what you are going to do about what you learned. Find some small practical way that you can utilize the knowledge you have gained. Never leave the scene of learning without taking a small step forward in response to the knowledge gained. In this way, you will truly become a wise person.

Ignorance is not bliss; it can kill you, or at least keep you from experiencing life in all its fullness. One of the main reasons to study and gain knowledge is so that your ignorance and blind spots can be exposed. If you don’t even know what your problems are, there is no way that you will be able to solve them. Most people go through life thinking they know what is going on, but in reality, they are ignorant of the real issues. Constantly learn and expose yourself to new ideas, stretching yourself in many different directions, so that you become aware of your limitations, failures, mistakes; then you will begin to understand what your true problems are. Only then will you be able to begin to search for the solutions to your problems. If you don’t know what you don’t know, there is no way for you to even know what you need to learn in order to overcome your ignorance. So make life-long learning and growth an essential part of your life.