Be Doers of the Word(s)

"Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only" is a popular scriptural injunction - one I have found it to be as relevant to building a business or to building a life as it is to building faith. We have often heard that readers are leaders. The most successful people in the world spend a significant amount of time learning their craft. Much of this learning comes through reading.

 We are told that Warren Buffet spends up to five hours per day these days just reading within his field. Yeah, maybe you're right. He can afford to. But what if you found out that he's been reading profusely since age seven? If you followed Mark Zuckerberg's facebook page last year, you would have seen his 30-book challenge ( https://www.facebook.com/ayearofbooks/); and   is there anyone around who doesn't know of Oprah's book-club? There's sufficient evidence amongst these highly successful people for us to conclude that this is not merely correlation.  

What's important, though, is that these intellectually elite have learnt that knowledge is not an end in itself. It's good to set ourselves reading goals, but even more important is the need to find ways of implementing the learning. Noted business philospher, Jim Rohn often said, "better than knowledge is applied knowledge." Change does not not happen with increased knowledge. Change happens when we begin to do the things we have been taught. We are often too content to pat ourselves on the back for achieving the lofty goals of 'hearing the word.'

It was Maya Angelou who said, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now I know better I do better." The fact is, knowing better... knowing more, and not acting in accordance with this new frame of reference renders us ineffective...on par with the man who never reads, even as we deceive ourselves of our superior standing. As we watch others around us with a lesser intellect and fewer resources make great strides toward their goals, the effect upon our psyche and sense of self is devastating. The truth is, we do ourselves greater harm by 'hearing the word,' acquiring the knowledge and taking no action towards applying that knowledge to our own life circumstances than not 'hearing' at all.

So what will it be? I'm not advocating that we stop 'hearing' the word. I'm suggesting that we find strategies to implement the learning...one discipline at a time. Don't read another book until you've made your mind up to practice what you learnt. Bridge the gap between learning and application, between who you are and who you want to become. A hundred books per year may be a feather in your cap, but implementing the lessons learnt may just be your ticket to the next level.