Learning and using what
you learn are required for success
The will to win, succeed, prepare, invest in yourself, develop confidence,
and realize the dream of “owning your potential” will all be impaired by the failure to learn.
By William T. “Doc” Hold, Ph.D., CIC, CPCU, CLU
Salt, an enduring element for centuries in the history of human civilization, continues its importance today. Almost every aspect of human condition has been affected by the existence and use of salt. It actually preserved life in ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, China, and many other parts of the world.
Salt not only served to nourish the physical side of the human body, its importance to “life itself” significantly influenced political power, world trade, and religion. For example, in an oft-quoted Bible verse, Jesus tells his followers, “You are the salt of the earth.” This verse symbolizes that, like salt, his followers will in a positive fashion preserve and add value to life.
These words are echoed every day when we eat and are told “don’t add too much salt” or “this needs more salt to give it some flavor.” It’s still all about salt!
Even in the ancient world and the early days of Christianity there was an understanding that existing knowledge of salt was inadequate. The beneficial elements and positive impact of salt on entire world populations needed to be more fully appreciated and communicated throughout the known world.
Light of the world
In yet another example from the Bible, Jesus tells his followers that “you are the light of the world.” To paraphrase Jesus, men do not light a lamp and place it under a basket but place the lamp on a stand so it can give light to many. In a broader context, simply knowing is not enough; knowledge must be communicated and learned to achieve its ultimate potential.
Perhaps one of the most vivid examples of continual gathering and precious little sharing is the Dead Sea. While water has flowed in for centuries, the main outlet for the water is evaporation. The result is that the water in the Dead Sea cannot support any significant life. The most important consequence is that the full benefits of the water or salt will never be realized.
Before we dismiss the above as a poor example or “out of touch with today’s world,” we need to ask ourselves how many “little Dead Seas” we deal with on an almost daily basis. For example: a department, office, division or fellow worker within your own business who is reluctant to communicate important information or help others understand or learn because they want to look smarter or be one step ahead of you.
Let us never forget that a few “little Dead Seas” can in relatively short order become a “dead ocean.”
Fighting the devil in the dark
Several of the greatest impediments to success include fear of failure, lack of faith in oneself, failure to prepare, and a lack of understanding or knowledge. Learning is the key to fighting “the devil in the dark” because we know that ignorance will make cowards of us all. The will to win, succeed, prepare, invest in yourself, develop confidence, and realize the dream of “owning your potential” will all be impaired by the failure to learn.
As with salt, learning provides nourishment to both body and mind to preserve the will and strength not only to stay in the fight but to gain confidence and strength during the fight—and provide the foundation to prevail in future fights!
Working out versus playing the game
Unfortunately, the act or process of learning alone doesn’t always bring success. An excellent example is the football coach who visited the gym to observe his players working out. He saw that they were working hard to become stronger and look better. However, he noticed that they were spending time admiring themselves in the gym’s mirrors.
After some discussion, he began to realize that while they wanted to become stronger, they were not anxious to become “sore.” Getting strong but not getting sore means never getting on the field and playing the game. Going through the motions of learning and looking good at the beach does not produce scores or a winning record. The lesson is this: Learning and using what you learn are required for success. Again, salt and the light are inseparable.
A lifetime journey of mountains and valleys
Learning and using the knowledge you gain is a lifelong journey. It is not an afternoon at the beach or a two-day hillside camping trip. There is always another mountain to climb or river to cross. And when you climb to the summit or ford the river, you will receive a receipt indicating your success and a ticket that allows you to stand at the back of the next line to climb or cross the next mountain or river.
A detailed exposition of this long, rewarding, and often difficult journey is far beyond the scope of this writing. However, there are important elements that have been relatively constant over the centuries. There has been dramatic growth in the amount of new knowledge, the tools available to gather and utilize that knowledge, and the environment in which we live.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has and will have an important impact on the learning journey, both positive and negative. There is no question that it is a powerful force in the gathering, analyzing, and understanding of massive amounts of information.
There is also little question that it has transformed significant numbers of people from “writers and learners” into “copiers” and has provided new avenues for creating and disseminating misinformation on a never imagined scale.
Climbing the mountain—watch for falling rocks
The value equation. Given the importance of insurance and risk management to American and world communities, why are more people not involved in climbing “knowledge mountain”? The reason is not a lack of learning opportunities at any level of sophistication or difficulty.
The fundamental reason or the most “dangerous falling rock” is the existence of competing forces for a business or individual’s time and financial resources/money. Time and money; it’s just that simple! The perceived value of education received has to equal or exceed the value of the resources (time and money) spent.
Picking the path to climb or the place to ford the stream. Balancing the value equation can be simplified by having a clear answer to the following questions: What do you want to know? Why do you want to know it? How will the knowledge received be used? What will the return be in terms of time, money, and related resources? Because every path or journey has a destination.
Who do you trust? It is not uncommon for an individual to indicate that they cannot or will not participate in a learning effort because their employer will not pay the costs.
In many cases a lack of trust underlies the cost issue. The employer may not believe that the individual will successfully complete the educational effort or simply give up or change jobs. The employer may not trust the organization or individuals managing the learning effort. The employer may not trust their own process for making a good decision.
Perhaps the most voiced impediment to beginning the “journey” is we are simply “too busy” or “we can’t have people out of the office that long.” An important underlying but less openly admitted rationale is that the individual is just too old and you “just can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
In responding to this rationale, an experienced West Texas agency manager noted that “no one appreciates a new trick more than an old dog.”
The mountain top or the valley
We are all travelling on a journey with an uncertain timetable and a map of faintly described locations. We can preserve and enrich our lives and the lives of others through learning and providing the light of shared knowledge.
Will our journey end seated at a banquet of tasteless food on the shores of a sea of ignorance and confusion? Or will we find ourselves on a mountain top illuminated by the light of our journey—a light symbolizing the difference we have made in the lives of others?
The author
William T. “Doc” Hold, Ph.D., CIC, CPCU, CLU, is chairman emeritus of The Risk & Insurance Education Alliance, which he co-founded in 1969 as The Society of CIC. Under his leadership, The Alliance has grown to become one of the most prestigious insurance education organizations in the world. In this column Doc shares his personal insights and opinions, which are not necessarily those of The Alliance or its board members.
