May 19, 2010
A message to you wisdom seeker:
If you know hip hop then you have heard of KRS-ONE. This old school cat had one thing right and he locked it into his name. Knowledge (does in fact) Reign Supreme Over Nearly Everybody (KRS-ONE). The things we are aware of and ignorant of have helped us to shape our world.
Think about it, where did you invest your funds last week, last month, last year or for the last decade for that matter. You invested it where you knew you could invest it. If your wardrobe grew you invested it in clothes. If you know technology, you invested it in an ipod or droid or a computer of some sort. If your library grew, well then you invested in information (books, cd's etc.). If you know stocks and bonds then you invested it there. Or maybe you handed over your hard earned curreny to someone who invested it for you. Either way what you knew and know drove your actions. Also what you did not or do not know also is a driver.
Therefore, it is imperative that you expand your knowledge base and not wonder through life on mental autopilot. The newspaper is a source for knowledge. Pick your paper and pick your info flow. The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Amsterdam News, Chicago Defender, LA Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post or the Washington Informer are all credible sources for certain types of information from certain perspectives. If you need more specificity then read Magazines directed to your field of interest. Forbes, Black Enterprise, Barron's, Fortune and Inc. can provide you financial insight. The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Journal of Black's In Higher Education can provide you with insight about the faculty, staff, students, administartors and Board of Trustees of America's colleges and universities. The web is a great source of information. I encourage you to seek out qualitative, referenced sources on the web not merely anything that pops up at you.
Another great source are books written by credible informed authors. Most authors have done some degree of research whether oral research or written research. Oral researchers engage in conversations and inquire of others to derive insight and information that they pass along in a written form. Written researchers, more commonly known for their reference to written materials, review the works of others and interrogate this knowledge to add on to the marketplace of ideas. Great researchers and writers add value to the marketplace of ideas. These researchers may agree or disagree with other books, you must read inorder to know for yourself.
The oral tradition can be a great source for information. When you see a speaker conveying information you are witnessing the oral tradition. The spoken word has the power to inform and move people emotionally. As a listener one should be careful to exercise critical thinking while listening to speakers. I find it helpful to take notes or at the least make mental notes of things you agree and disagree with inorder to follow up with questions of the speaker or inquiry of others you deem credible on the subject matter.
In the words of a motivational master Zig Ziglar, "You are where you are, you are who you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change where you are and who you are if you change what goes into your mind." Zig also likes to say that a message can go around the world in a nanosecond and yet sometimes it can take years to get through that last quarter of an inch.
When I was in undergraduate school I worked with the Southwestern Company. One of our favorite sayings was "the difference between you now and five years from now are the books you read and the people you spend time with." I challenge you to read books and seek out speakers of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. I gaurantee you it will change your life.
This is Dr. Dennis Rogers encouraging you to be more aware of what you know and what you need to know to get to where you need to and to get what you want out of life. For believe me time is moving right along.
Be Well, Be Prosperous & Be Your Best Self!
