Specialized Knowledge

Specialized Knowledge

The 4th Step toward Riches

I am still making my way through Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I am on the 5th chapter titled Specialized Knowledge. Napoleon says this is the 4th step in ones road towards riches. Just to remind you the:

1st step is Desire – The starting point of all achievement.
2nd – Faith – Visualization of, and belief in attainment of desire.
3rd – Autosuggestion – The medium for influencing the subconscious mind.
And now we are on the 4th Step – Specialized Knowledge – Personal Experiences or observations.

Napoleon says there are 2 types of knowledge, 1st is general knowledge. That is the most prevalent type. General knowledge is what you get in your regular education classes in public school or even your general education at the college level. The 2nd type is Specific Knowledge. This type is specialized, it has more power. It is focused on a specific topic and is more in depth than the general. I call it being laser focused.

Knowledge in and of itself will not attract money. It will only attract money if “it is organized, and intelligently directed, through practical plans of action, to the definite end of accumulation of money”. This is one of the problems most college students face. They go to college, work hard, earn good grades, get their diploma and end up flipping burgers at McDonalds. They had the false notion that the degree would bring money and it doesn’t.

I have always held the philosophy that college is a waste of money unless it is a means to an end. There are certain professions a person cannot attain unless they have a college degree, master, or higher. You can’t be a doctor, lawyer, school teacher, certified public accountant unless you have that piece of paper telling the world you have a specific specialize education. I personally have a degree in Accounting and I have passed the CPA exam. That would qualify me to work in a CPA firm and do Accounting if I so chose. I don’t, but I could. My daughter is a teacher, and that too required her to finish college and get her teaching certificate. BUT there are a lot of other professions that don’t require a college degree. A person could theoretically start at the bottom and work their way up. I am not saying not to go to college if you are of the mind set to, but if you are thinking it is your ticket to riches you will be terribly disappointed.

There are a lot of people who are going through life suffering from an “inferiority complex” because they are not men of education. The funny thing is that many of them are making tons of money. They know their field but don’t have that one piece of paper. It is really sad the way the world has placed so much value on something like a piece of paper.

Thomas Edison only had 3 months of formal schooling in his whole life and Henry Ford had less than a 6th grade education. Both of them excelled in their fields of expertise. Yet both of them had specific knowledge to help them accomplish what they were able to. Some of the richest people I know don’t have college degrees but have succeeded far beyond the norm.

I am an avid reader. I read a couple books a week. Not all are specific knowledge books but I am continually filling my mind with new material. Napoleon says that “the person who stops studying merely because he has finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”

This is one of the awesome things about Empower Network. They encourage daily learning. They have 8 core commitments and 2 of them have to do with learning. One is to read something every day and the other is to listen to a motivational audio. I love to learn. I can’t get enough. I love the wisdom and knowledge others in Empower Network impart to everyone. If you are interested in being a better person, I highly suggest continuous learning. One of the best ways I know of is to tap into all that Empower Network has to offer. Just click on the link and see all that they have to offer. I am sure you will be pleased.

Me, I am off to do some more reading.
Until next time,
Chow,
Charyl aka mom8isme
Empower Network