Converting Your Potential Into Power (and Profit) by Dolamu Badejo.
What is
knowledge? I have often heard a lot of
people say “Knowledge is Power”… and at so many early points in my life, I also
thought this was true. But as I began to
grow, experience life and expand the faculties of my mind through different
avenues including literature texts, I began to question the efficacy and the
truth in that statement. Is Knowledge
really Power? The answer is NO.
Knowledge becomes
Power only when and if it is organised into definite actions and directed to a
definite end, through cooperative efforts of other people.
I will give you an
example shortly.
But first, here is
a fact - Knowledge gained is only a potential; Knowledge purposefully applied
becomes Power. And success comes through
application of power.
What does this
mean?
Let me ask you a
simple question. Before that, I am of very strong assumption that I am talking
to a knowledgeable audience. So my
question is – What do you want or desire out of what you know? Many people just
like that they know something. Or like that they know what they know. But they
don’t desire anything out of the knowledge they have. So, they make nothing out of it.
Okay, lets look at
that first example now:
You can sing. In
fact, you can sing beautifully. You also know that you have an amazing singing
voice. But that’s it. You don’t intend to go into singing
professionally or make money in any form out of it. So that is a potential that has not been
converted into power or profit. And remember I said success only comes through
application of power. So this means, in
terms of singing, you are not a success. You only know that you can sing. But you have not applied the knowledge you
have, in terms of organising it into definite actions and directing it to a
definite end. Neither have you sought
the cooperation of other people with regards your singing. So all you have, as
far as knowledge gained, is only a potential.
But let’s look at
the flip side of the same example. You
can sing. In fact, you can sing beautifully.
You also know that you have such an amazing voice. But, through the cooperative efforts of other
people, you are seeking ways on how to nurture and expand your craft. You want to be known globally for your talent
(and that is a definite end), you want to become wealthy and successful with
your singing (that is also a definite end), and so you begin with attending
auditions, performing at family gatherings et cetera (these are organised
definite actions) and doing everything you must do in order to reach that
definite end. This is application of
knowledge! Just from our examples, we
are able to begin to understand a difference between a mere potential and the
conversion of a potential.
Let’s also look at
the folks who went through school for instance. You know, a lot of people
assume that because they went through some form of schooling, then, they are
powerful (because they have gained knowledge).
At least that is what the society makes true for us. But that is far
from reality. If that was the case,
every graduate out there is powerful.
But you and I know very well, that that isn’t the case. There are more jobless and confused graduates
than employees.
As a graduate,
what you have only acquired through all years of schooling is an ordinary
‘potential’… just like everybody else.
And that you went through school doesn’t make you the only educated
persons.
I am also sharing
this for someone who might think this conversation about converting potential
to power is not for him or her… and would say, “Oh… but I don’t have the head
for school, I am not educated. I haven’t gained any knowledge… so I can’t
become powerful or a success.” In fact,
the real uneducated person is the one who thinks that the man who never went to
school is uneducated.
It was Napoleon
Hill who described an educated man as the one who has developed the faculties
of his mind, that he may acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without
violating the rights of others; You
don’t need to go through school alone in order to be that type of person. You only need to know where to get knowledge
when you need it, know how to organise it into definite plans of action.
Look around you, there
are countless powerful men, billionaires, who never went through or finished
school. And they are no less educated people
like myself who did go through school.
They know where to get knowledge when they need it, how to organise it
into definite action plans. They know
the cost of employing a cheap employee is far greater than the resources saved
on employing an expert. In fact, knowing that you need to outsource something
you don’t have, for you to get what you need, is ‘specialised knowledge’. And
that is potential successfully converted as well.
So let’s get into
serious talk now. In order for you to
make money and loads of it, you must know that you need to convert potentials
into power, which can be acquired through properly organised and intelligent
direction of specialised knowledge. You
also don’t necessarily need to know how to do that by yourself; you can employ
the services of the ‘persons carrying the knowledge of how to get it done’. In
this case, your only job here is to know how to direct and organise these 'knowledge carriers' that you have acquired or employed, to bring you good
fortune.
Having said all
that, you need to remember two things:
