TN50#177_Knowledge Vs. Knowing_15 October_2024
Hi Team,
So I’m out on a little warm up run before some power cleans and pull ups this morning and I’m listening to one of my Go To podcasts for the type of business that I am in, and the guest says, “well you know James, there’s a difference between knowledge and knowing” and I IMMEDIATELY think – we should talk about this.
Happy Tuesday and welcome to The Next 50 #177. I like to think of personal performance in 3 components: physical, mental and emotional. My framework focuses on 4 Buckets: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think. This blog is my sandbox for sharing information that you might find useful for your personal performance.
Ok so right out of the gate if you look up the actual definitions of knowledge and knowing you won’t necessarily get what this podcast guest meant; but I know what he meant so I’ll lay it out for you. He meant that there is a difference between:
- Reading a book on creating a story brand – Knowledge
- Reading a book on creating a story brand and actually using the story brand framework to talk about your business – Knowing
Or
- Reading a book on how to optimize the circadian clocks that we humans have – Knowledge
- Reading a book on how to optimize your circadian clocks and actually applying the principles to improve your overall human performance – Knowing
Or
- Reading a book on operating with a neutral mindset – Knowledge
- Reading a book on operating with a neutral mindset and actually working day by day to develop your own ability to operate with a neutral mindset and to acknowledge (and correct) when you don’t – Knowing
So there are 3 examples from my “Favorite Books” bookshelf (pictured above).
Now that we’ve framed it with examples from my bookshelf here is the best definition of “knowing” for this thought experiment I actually did find: knowing – reflecting knowledge. As in, I have this knowledge and anyone paying attention can see that I am operating in a way that demonstrates that I have this knowledge.
I’ve also heard it said the following way:
- If you own a book that describes how to improve yourself that’s called – Shelf Help.
- If you read a book that describes how to do improve yourself, AND you execute on those instructions, well that’s called – Self Help.
So which person are you? Are you the one with the shelf full of really pretty books overflowing with knowledge? Or, are you the one who has a head full of knowledge, and you are executing on that knowledge, as in “knowing”
I will be the first to admit that I have business “knowledge” that I need to turn into business “knowing”; just like my clients who have performance knowledge that they need to turn into performance “knowing”. Often times it’s nice to have a guide that can help you with the knowing part of this discussion. I personally come along side my clients and help them operationalize a Better Basics Framework that focuses on EATING, SLEEPING, MOVING AND THINKING – BETTER. In most cases my clients have heard some or even most of the basics that I help them incorporate into their daily routine. That’s right, I help them with the “knowing”.
As I’m writing this the whole “knowing” concept keeps spinning my mind back to my favorite quote from Viktor Frankl – 119104:
“The immediate influence of action is always more effective than that of words”
KNOWING = ACTION
Final question: Where in your life are you sitting on “knowledge” that you need to turn into action? Seriously, let me know: alex@fpp.llc
Who do you know that could use this information? I bet you can think of a couple folks before you click the next email, please share the post with your team and anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think!
Have a good one,
Alex
PS. If you need help with the ACTION part of how to improve your personal performance, let me know: alex@fpp.llc
PPS. If you’re new to First Principles Performance Coaching, here’s a one stop shop for all my stuff.
PPPS. Ready to perform at a whole new level? Email me so I can introduce you to my new BBP – Coaching opportunities! alex@fpp.llc
