You’re being lied to. Constantly. Sometimes by yourself. We are all subject to an endless stream of misinformation about our constraints to our capabilities, and we receive this information so often that most of us have no other choice but to believe it. The problem is that these messages directly oppose your quest to become limitless.
According to Jim Kwik, there are 7 Limited Ideas Entertained (LIEs) in our minds that can stall us or steer us in a direction we don’t want. In the following posts, we will examine these LIEs, demystify the myths behind them and expose ourselves to the truth we should rather believe.
Knowledge is Power
The phrase “knowledge is power,” has been used a lot of times – I would say too many – in different contexts but Jim dwells on two main contexts the phrase has been used mostly.
The first is as a reason or motivation for learning – a context that Jim seems to find a bit laughable as he attaches a contrasting side note using the words ‘as if knowledge alone will give us power.
Another context by which the phrase is usually used is with the opposite intent. It is used as a reason to withhold information or knowledge from another person, say, in a negotiation so that the person will not get empowered.
Although the phrase ‘knowledge is power” is commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, the first known use of the exact wording was not written down until Thomas Hobbes – secretary to Bacon – used the phrase scientia potentia est, Latin for knowledge is power, in Leviathan in 1651.
Unfortunately, Hobbes’ original sentiments have been cut short over the years. In the original, Hobbes says: “The end of knowledge is power, and the use of theorems is for the construction of problems; and lastly, the scope of all speculation is the performance of some action or thing to be done.”
Put another way, knowledge is important, but it is “the performing of some action” that is required to make it powerful.
As discussed previously, we’re deluged with information on a daily basis. We have more access to knowledge than we have ever had in the history of humankind, and yet this glut of information makes it more and more difficult for us to act.
Jim lets us know that he was once a believer in this myth. According to him, after he was termed “the boy with the broken brain,” He wanted nothing more than to be able to learn like the rest of the kids in his classroom. But once He was able to do that, He quickly realized that possession of knowledge wasn’t going to differentiate him from the people around him — it was how he used his knowledge that would.
I have learnt that it is people who possess the most useful knowledge and the best skills – which is the applied knowledge being put into practice – that generally do better.
Here is the truth: Knowledge is not power, it only has the potential to be power. Without the motivation or ability to apply it – for whatever reason – it is useless.
It will be more accurate to say that the will and the ability to act on the knowledge that we possess is POWER.
Take, for instance, your decision to be part of this book review. You can read the book and learn everything in it, but if you do not take it and apply the knowledge, it will be useless.
All the books, podcasts, seminars, online programs, and inspiring social media posts in the world won’t work until you put the knowledge which you have gained from all platforms into action.
It is easy to talk about what we learn, but I want to challenge you not just to talk about it, but to show what you learned.
It is better well done than well said and not the other way around.
Don’t just promise – PROVE.
Your results speak for themselves.
So now we are all aware of this LIE (Limited Ideas Entertained) that has been brought into the light.
Knowledge alone is not power. Self-motivation, taking responsibility, and acting on knowledge gained is power.
New belief:
