Use it or Lose It

Proverbs 18:15 “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Jim Rohm said many things well in his four decades of being a personal development speaker. One of thing that sticks out is his saying,”Formal education will get you a job…self education will make you a fortune”.
I believe Jim was paraphrasing the above Proverb.
Many of the most successful people in business made their fortune BEYOND what they learned in the classroom.
Steve Jobs with Apple…Bill Gates with Microsoft…Michael Dell…Sam Walton.
One of the saddest decision people make when they complete their formal education, whether it be high school, college or an advanced degree, is to believe they are done with the learning process.
With us living in the digital and information age, many tend to grow less mentally stimulated by endless hours in being entertained.
W. Clement Stone once challenged one of the people he mentored to give up an hour of TV per night to study something in depth. That works out to 365 hours in a year…the equivalent of 9 work weeks! Most of us could enrich our lives and those around us by making this simple commitment.
One of the best ways a family can grow in wisdom and knowledge is to use the book of Proverbs for a daily Wisdom Search. Read the chapter that corresponds to that date, today being the 18^th, and make note of these incredible collection of wisdom nuggets.
What can you learn in this book?
God’s wisdom on relationship…communications…partnership…diligence…hard work…industry…choosing friends and much more.
Note this…education is not a matter of the will, the mind or just a formal system. It is a matter of the heart. When students go to school we should pray that their HEART is set to acquire knowledge. Not to just sit and absorb, buy to acquire it and take possession and put it into practice.
Charles “Tremendous” Jones said it well.
“You will be the same in five years in you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
Simply put…use it or lose it.