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New belief: There is no such thing as failure. Only failure to learn.

LIE NO. 4: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

We’ve all heard the phrase “knowledge is power,” usually as a reason for learning, as if knowledge alone will give us power. You might have also heard this phrase used with the opposite intent: as a reason to withhold information or knowledge from another person, say, in a negotiation.
Although the phrase “knowledge is power” is commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, the first known use of the exact wording was not penned
until Thomas Hobbes, who acted as secretary to Bacon in his younger years, used the phrase scientia potentia est, Latin for “knowledge is power,” in Leviathan in 1651. He then expanded on the idea in De Corpore in 1655. Unfortunately, Hobbes’s original sentiments have been cut short over the years. In the original, Hobbes says: “The end of knowledge is power; and the use of theorems is for the construction of problems; and, lastly, the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action, or thing to be done.” [Emphasis added.]²¹
Put another way, knowledge is important, but it is “the performing of some action” that is required to make it powerful. This is where we get stuck as a culture. As discussed, we’re deluged with information on a daily basis. We have more access to knowledge than we have ever had in the history of humankind, and yet this glut of information makes it more and more difficult to act.
I used to believe this myth. When I was the “boy with the broken brain,” I wanted nothing more than to be able to learn like the rest of the kids in my classroom. But once I was able to do that, I quickly realized that possession of knowledge wasn’t going to differentiate me from the people around me
—it was how I used my knowledge that would.
Here’s the truth: Knowledge is not power. It only has the potential to be power. You can read this book and learn everything in it, but if you don’t take it and apply the knowledge, it will be useless. All the books, podcasts, seminars, online programs, and inspiring social media posts in the world won’t work until you put your knowledge into action.
It’s easy to talk about what we learn, but I want to challenge you not to talk about it, but to show what you learned. It’s better well done than well said. Don’t promise, prove. Your results will speak for themselves.
New belief: Knowledge × Action = Power