Yesterday I shared my thoughts on wisdom vs. knowledge. I have a daily habit of acquiring knowledge, which I enjoy. I’ve noticed a pattern as I’ve been reading more long-form content, mainly books. Some books add considerably more value than others. I’ve been thinking about why this is the case for the last few months.

The most helpful books I read last year have a common trait. They were about how people took action toward a stated goal. The books explained their thought processes as they learned by trial and error, detailing their learnings and how what they learned changed their behavior during their journey. These books were about how people acquired and applied knowledge. They were books that contained the wisdom others had accumulated (often over decades).  

This year I want to refine my reading a bit. I enjoy learning about new concepts and ideas, but I want to focus more of my time on reading books that contain wisdom, not just knowledge.

As an early-stage founder, I was part of an entrepreneurial group that taught new founders about key business functions. Each quarter we went deep into a specific business function: marketing, finances, HR, marketing, etc. At the end of each of those sessions, I better understood functions that didn’t come naturally to me (e.g., marketing). I felt educated. But I still had a problem: What do I do with this new knowledge? How do I use it in my business? I’d learned what I needed to do, but I still had no idea how to do it.

This experience highlighted the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Knowledge is acquired by learning new information or being made aware of something. Learning about marketing is an example of acquiring knowledge. Knowledge acquisition doesn’t always equate to adding value. There’s another step.

Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge in a manner that aligns with the outcome you desire. Wisdom means changed behavior and improved decision-making—knowing what to do and when to do it. Wisdom is acquired from experience (yours or someone else’s). Growing your company through marketing execution is the result of wisdom.

Through trial and error and talking with other successful entrepreneurs (who shared their experiences), I learned how to apply the concepts I learned in those sessions to grow my business. My problem was solved.

This experience showed me that knowledge is important. You can’t apply something if you aren’t aware of it, which is why continuous learning is so important. But wisdom is what I value most because applying knowledge well is how I achieve the outcomes I desire.

Today a friend texted me about a company I follow and sent a screenshot of a news headline. He wanted me to be aware that the company may be going through hard times. I read the headline and laughed.

The headline included company financial figures that were wrong. I know they were wrong because I’ve read the reports issued by the company. The writer clearly didn’t understand the company and had confused the details. I pointed this out to my friend and shared the correct financial figures, which show the company’s doing fine.

This exchange was a reminder of the value of getting first-source data. When you rely on other people’s interpretations, you run the risk of basing your conclusions and actions on incorrect interpretations.

I’ve been learning about business models in different industries for a few years. SEC filings of publicly traded companies have been great for companies I’ve wanted to take a dive deep into, but I wanted an additional resource. One that would help with discovery of companies and industries I’m less familiar with. One that could help me efficiently learn about new business models at a high level.

This week I found the Business Breakdowns podcast and have enjoyed listening to several episodes. It breaks down public and private companies, which I really like, and covers a broad range of industries. Some of the companies profiled I would have never thought to research, or wouldn’t have been able to because they’re private. The episodes I’ve listened to have been helpful and have gotten me thinking more about various ways of charging for the value you provide to customers.

If you’re interested in learning how different companies generate revenue and think about their business, consider giving the podcast a listen.

Mark Twain is known for saying:

“History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

I was chatting with a friend about this quote, and he added something that stuck with me:

“The reason history rhymes is because human nature doesn’t change. People don’t change, but circumstances do.”

That’s why knowing history is important, he said.

I’m no history buff, but I do enjoy reading historical accounts of major business events and the journeys of people who achieved outsize success. I consistently read the latter and randomly read the former. This year, I want to be more intentional about identifying important events in business and monetary policy history and reading long-form content to better understand them and decisions related to them. Hopefully this will help me see patterns in human behavior that will help me understand and navigate similar future events.

I was chatting with a friend about this quote, and he added something that stuck with me: “The reason history rhymes is because human nature doesn’t change. People don’t change, but circumstances do.”

That’s why knowing history is important, he said.

I’m no history buff, but I do enjoy reading historical accounts of major business events and the journeys of people who achieved outsize success. I consistently read the latter and randomly read the former. This year, I want to be more intentional about identifying important events in business and monetary policy history and reading long-form content to better understand them and decisions related to them. Hopefully this will help me see patterns in human behavior that will help me understand and navigate similar future events.

Today I listened to a podcast on which the guest talked about her research on focus. The gist was that it’s getting hard for people to focus for more than one minute (yes, one minute!) while we’re working because of all the distractions we’re inundated with. That one-minute figure was based on a study she’d done over a few years. I knew focus was a problem, but the one-minute stat was surprising.

My college had a Center for Academic Success. Sadly, most students never used it. Honestly, I don’t think many people even knew it existed. Serendipitously, I met the center’s director my first semester, and she impressed me. I told her about my heavy course load that semester, and she urged me to visit her center. When I took her up on her offer, I learned study techniques that proved invaluable. A lot of it was about habits that help you focus. I’ve always been able to focus on things I’m interested in, but the things I learned at that center turbocharged my ability and taught me how to focus on things that are less interesting to me (which a lot of early college classes were).

My ability to focus has played a big part in the wins I’ve had in life. Learning techniques for focusing and practicing them took my natural abilities and habits to the next level. As I think about the one-minute attention statistic, I’m concerned about people’s diminishing ability to focus. If you’re aiming for outsize success, focus is something to consider learning about (just as you would any other critical topic) and practicing so you can develop or enhance your ability to focus. Being able to focus won’t guarantee you outsize success, but not being able to all but guarantees you won’t achieve success.

My learning survey is ongoing and I’ve learned some interesting things. One of them I shared in a post a few days ago. Today I had a good chat with a VC investor. I’ve known him for a few years and think highly of him, so I was curious about his learning habits. The best investors and entrepreneurs are frequently trying to figure things out that others haven’t, so they tend to make learning a priority.

Our conversation was helpful, and he mentioned one big thing in several different ways: he wants to learn more but doesn’t feel like he has enough time.

I hadn’t thought about this, but it makes sense. Investors are busy people with jam-packed calendars. Squeezing in time to find material that contains the knowledge you want and then consuming it is difficult.

Now I’m wondering if feeling like time limits the ability to satisfy a desire to learn is common.

I caught up with an entrepreneur friend this week. I’m doing my learning survey, so I asked him about his learning habits. That led to an interesting comment from him that stuck with me:

How I learned and how my kids will learn will be drastically different. I had to go to college to learn from people who possessed knowledge about jobs I wanted. My kids likely won’t need to go to college. The knowledge is more accessible now.

He went on to say this:

The jobs that my kids will have as young adults don’t even exist now. What people do for work will be so different from what prior generations did for work. How we learn and work is changing faster than people realize.

I’ve been thinking about this conversation because of my newfound curiosity about how people learn. The more I think about it, the more I believe my friend is right. If he is, then we’re likely to see disruption in education, which will create opportunity. These are early thoughts, and they’re subject to change. I want to think about this more and discuss it with other smart people.

I have a personal goal to learn something daily and a personal system for doing so. I recently shared my system with a friend, who told me my habits are abnormal (in a good way). He doesn’t believe the majority of people are learning daily, or even weekly for that matter. If they are, it’s because it was pushed on them.

This got me thinking. I wonder how people are approaching learning (if at all). How do they figure out how to solve unfamiliar problems? What tools are their default for learning? Are they proactive about what they learn or reactive to information pushed to them via social media?

I decided there’s only one way to find out: start asking people. I’m going to spend time casually asking friends and family about their learning habits over the next few weeks. I’m curious and excited to see what responses I get.

I heard someone reference a stat today about reading. Reading an hour or two a day puts you in the top 0.00001% of people. I did some digging and found the interview where this statement originated. It was from Naval Ravikant, an investor and entrepreneur who founded AngelList.

Here’s the full quote from Ravikant:

The reality is very few people actually read and actually finish books . . . . The reality is, I don’t actually read that much compared to what people think. I probably read one to two hours a day. That puts me in the top 0.00001%. I think that alone accounts for any material success that I’ve had in my life and any intelligence that I might have because real people don’t read an hour a day . . . .

He went on to say that establishing a daily reading habit is key.

Assuming that Ravikant’s stat is accurate, it’s interesting to ponder how far ahead of everyone else in society reading for an hour a day puts you when the compounding nature of knowledge is factored in. It’s even more interesting to think about the effect that reading the right books for an hour a day can have on an entrepreneur’s chances of success.

Amazingly, reading books is the superpower that’s accessible to all, but most people don’t take advantage of it.

To hear this section of the interview, take a listen here.