Pursue Knowledge, Value will Follow

What has separated humans from the rest of the animal kingdom is our curiosity beyond meeting life’s basic requirements. Curiosity has led humans to evolve. If you look back at history, societies that tend to advance are the ones that have excellent education systems in place. Generally, there is a direct correlation between education and wealth creation. Firms that invest heavily in innovation, engineering, and R&D tend to perform exceptionally.

When I grew up, my parents gave me a lot of freedom to do whatever I wanted, whether it was playing games, spending time with friends, or watching movies. They had only one requirement: I must come first in my class. I could do as I pleased if that condition was met. My mother insisted on this and believed that knowledge is not just reading books but making sense of the text.

There is a vast distinction between the two, with an overarching emphasis on training the mind how to think. Hence, pursuing knowledge should be our primary purpose in life and business. Everyone must focus on learning.

Having a curious, evolving mind is tremendously vital over the long term. Think of it like this: Given the option to hire two candidates, one with ready answers and the other with tremendous curiosity but no answers, I would go with the latter. Why? Simply because when building a business, we have more unknowns than knowns. It involves constantly adapting to new challenges.

People who adapt generally are the ones who have that innate desire to learn. Those who adapt and change are the ones who thrive. When we pursue knowledge, value will follow.