There is a triangle of success, and although one side of it is knowledge, the adage “knowledge is power” is dead wrong; there are many extremely knowledgeable people who aren’t nearly as successful as they should be. That’s because it’s not knowledge that’s power, it’s the application of knowledge that’s power; and that requires the second side of the triangle, which is skill.
Even after years of acquiring an abundance of knowledge, doctors, lawyers and accountants must serve rigourous internships before being allowed to deal with the public on their own. And there’s the wonderful story of the elderly lady in Florida who passed every Federal Aviation Administration written exam required to obtain a commercial pilot’s license, but who had never flown a plane. Only a fool would fly with her at the controls.
There are also people with a wealth of knowledge and an abundance of skill who don’t reach their potential. That’s usually because of a marked deficiency in the base of the triangle, which is attitude.
KNOWLEDGE
There are two ways to acquire knowledge: by study and by being around people who know more than we do; study being the more efficient. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body; those who don’t read are no better off than those who can’t read. The next best thing to knowing an answer is knowing where to find it. The person who knows how something is done will get a job, but the person who also knows why it’s done will be the boss.
SKILL
To achieve success we need the skills necessary to apply our knowledge and they must be continually honed by usage; and new skills need to be constantly developed. As with knowledge, there are basically two ways to acquire and hone skills: trying new things and doing old things in new ways. It’s always worthwhile to ask successful people to recommend areas for improvement. And it never hurts to ask for advice.
ATTITUDE
Attitude is a two-sided coin. One side is having a positive attitude about ourselves. That side is easy: it means having supreme confidence in ourselves but never letting it rise to the level of arrogance. It’s the other side of the coin that’s difficult because it’s about our attitude toward others.
There are two points to keep in mind in dealing with others. We first have to remember that everybody, simply by being a human being, has the right to be treated decently, so we should treat even people we don’t like as if we do. The second point is that we all like to be appreciated. And when it comes to appreciation, there are three things to keep in mind. First, to be effective, appreciation must be sincere. Second, if we can’t find a way to make a person feel appreciated it’s probably because we haven’t looked hard enough. Finally, if we actually can’t find some way to sincerely make a person feel appreciated, we should at least never demean them.
AND A COUPLE OF GENERAL THOUGHTS
Variety, as the adage says, might very well be the spice of life. So we need to take pains to be seen as interesting rather than boring and predictable. This requires having broad interests, being up-to-date on current affairs, and developing strong communication skills. It’s a good idea to ensure that at least one-quarter of our reading is outside our field of work. And a sense of humour (especially being able to laugh at ourselves) is a wonderfully helpful asset.
Success is never an accident. Whatever we are, we need to ensure we’re a good one. When we’re average we’re as close to the bottom as we are to the top. And as mentioned, it’s never just knowledge that will power us upward, we also need the skills required to apply the knowledge and the right attitude about ourselves and others.
Good enough is the enemy of best.