Wisdom Where Are You?
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Wisdom Where Are You?
What do you feel is the state of the world when it comes to wisdom? Are people confusing information or knowledge for wisdom?
Just like most people are unable to know the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks when it comes to time management, more and more people are unable to find the nuggets in the flood of information.
“The problem in the world today is that we are drowning in information yet dying of thirst for wisdom. Become the solution.” – Eiji Morishita
2 Sources of Wisdom: Mistakes and Mentors
Wisdom saves you time and energy by learning from personal experience and the experience of others who have walked the path before you.
“To know and not to do is not yet to know.” Having theoretical, conceptual, or book knowledge of flying an airplane does not mean you know how to fly a plane. Get experience from someone who is wise in the field you want to excel in.
Wisdom is useful knowledge that is gained through experience which reminds me of a story told by one of my mentors, Tony Robbins. If you haven’t attended any of his live events, I highly recommend it because the tapes and audios do not do him justice to what he delivers on stage.
Years ago at the FedEx Memphis Hub all the machines and conveyor belts stopped working.
This was disastrous to business for 2 reasons:
1) All FedEx packages goes to Memphis first and then gets shipped out all over the world
2) FedEx guarantees that it will be there when you need it the next day.
FedEx’s reputation and hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars were on the line. So they called a technician to come in to see if he can fix it.
The technician comes in and glances at the facility and goes to the center beam and turns one screw a quarter inch. And like magic everything starts working again.
Now the founder of FedEx, Fred Smith was ecstatic and asked technician, “what do I owe you?”
The technician said “$10,000.”
Fred replied “What $10,000? You were only here for less than 5 minutes.”
Technician replied back “Yes, it’s $10,000.”
Fred asked “Can I see an itemized receipt?
“Sure, give me a napkin.” said the technician and wrote an itemized receipt on the napkin.
Fred Smith looked at the napkin, nodded his head and smiled and went straight to his office safe and got him $10,000 in cash.
On the napkin it stated: Turning Screw $1, Knowing Which Screw to Turn $9999
I invite you to come see our Wisdom Webinars.
Wisdom Webinars will not show you how to turn screws but instead show you which screw to turn. Every Wednesday this month, we will host Wisdom Webinars here.
It will also show you things you have seen before over an over again in a new light. Can you find the arrow in the FedEx logo? For some of you, it will be a big AHA and you will never see the logo in the same way again. =)
Love to hear your thoughts and definitions of wisdom in the comments below. Please share any nuggets of wisdom you’ve learned along your journey and also what topics you’d like to see covered.
To Your Genius,
Eiji Morishita
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Eiji Morishita is CEO of Genius Squared and Founder of Six Figure Speaking Secrets and Genius Millionaire Academy.
"We believe you have genius inside you, a unique gift, and a powerful message the world desperately needs to hear."
If you're an entrepreneur, coach, author, speaker, or service professional, we help you DEFINE your uniqueness, DESIGN your message, and DELIVER your gift to add an extra six figures to your business in a year, weekend, or even a day.
We measure success not only by the results you achieve but by the number of lives you impact.
HI Eji
What a great story!! We have many opportunities in our life to be smart, but we also have just as many opportunities to be wise.
Someone very WISE in my life taught me recently if there were one thing I could do in business…it would be to take time to THINK. Thinking develops this inner wisdom that we need day to day to know which screw to turn!!
Thanks for the wonderful insight
Laura & Larry Morris
.-= Laura Morris´s last blog ..TSA- The Best Kept Secret On The Internet =-.
Hi Laura,
Great to see you again. Thank you for your comments. You have very wise people around you in your life. =)
Scheduling time to think is so important. Instead of react to life, we would respond to life.
Our brains average 60,000 thoughts per day.
How many of that is by conscious choice?
Taking time out to choose our thoughts can have a dramatic impact on our life.
Thanks again!
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Hi Eiji,
We do not need to know everything, but it is important to think and make a wise decision.
Love the post.
rebecca
Thanks Rebecca!
I’m curious to see if you or anyone else found the arrow in the FedEx sign for the first time?
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Just like information should not be mistaken for wisdom, money is not a measure of the intelligence of an action.
Your example, however, shows that information that is obvious to one person, can be impossible to figure out for others. The key is to recognize the importance of your very own knowledge and share it with others.
.-= social bookmarking´s last blog ..Which social media sites should you be using =-.
Karin, you are absolutely correct. Money is not a measure of intelligence of an action and simply an exchange for value received.
I appreciate your comment. One of my missions is to empower people to unlock their Personal Unique Genius to share their message of wisdom that the world desperately needs and wants to hear.
4 Types of People in the World
1) People who don’t know they have a message
2) People who know they have a message inside but don’t know what it is
3) People who know their message but don’t know how to share it to the world
4) People who know their message and currently sharing it to the world
Thanks for stopping by!
To Your Genius,
Eiji
This technician is definitely a smart one. This is one thing i read in the book the “The science of getting rich”. It is said: give to your customers a use value more than the cash value you take from them.
The technician may have taken $10 000 but that is nothing in relation to the amount of money that the company would have lost if he didn’t know which screw to turn.
Thanks Loic! The Science of Getting Rich is a fantastic book. It is one of the free gifts I give for subscribing to updates here on the site.
Yes, it was costing FedEx hundreds of thousands of dollars for every hour that it was shut down.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Genius Profile – Mahatma Gandhi =-.
Eiji,
I really liked this post. You are dead-on when you said that knowledge/information and wisdom are NOT the same.
As far as the story about the screw and which one, that should be taught in elementary school! A simple story like that can put a lot of things in perspective.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks S. Ali for stopping by! Yes, it would be great if we shared these types of stories.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Hi Eiji,
I really enjoyed that story. Hey! I finally saw the arrow in the FedEx . I have heard people mention the arrow before but I could never see it.
.-= Melodie Kantner´s last blog ..What Economic Crisis =-.
Thanks for stopping by Melodie!
I’m glad you saw the arrow. It’s interesting how somethings standout once it’s shown to us. Now you will see the arrow everytime you see the FedEx logo.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Eiji…such great thoughts…thanks so much! I completely agree with you in that Wisdom is key to life. In the Bible Solomon was given the chance to ask for anything at all from God. He asked for Wisdom. God was very pleased with this. He is said to have been the wealthiest man to ever live. His wisdom in ruling and business was known the world over.
My wife has always prayed for what she calls “wisviction” (wisdom with conviction).
I would say it slightly different…wisdom with action. As your story about the FedEx breakdown…the tech knew what to do and how to do it…but someone actually had to take the action as well.
Anyhow…thanks a ton for the great thoughts!
.-= Bruce Backman´s last blog ..The Birthday Miracle-God’s intervention to save a mother and her daughter =-.
Thanks Bruce for the story about Solomon. Wow first time I heard “Wisviction”, very interesting. Thanks for the reminder to up my conviction.
Yes, action is the bridge from conceptual to functional. Without action then wisdom is purely knowledge. One who knows the correct path but does not take action is not wise.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Celebration Training – How to Celebrate 2 =-.
Hi! What a great blog post! In all your getting, get Wisdom!
PS: Yes I did see the arrow!
All The Best, Dale Werner
Thanks for stopping by Dale!
Great work finding the arrow. Most people don’t see it until it’s pointed out.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Celebration Training – How to Celebrate 2 =-.
Hello Eiji,
Wisdom has so much value when it comes to progress. It takes a little while to find or learn but once you have the experience behind you, wisdom is invaluable.
Cheers,
Lynn
.-= Lynn Glaser´s last blog ..Business vs Busyness =-.
Hi Lynn, great to see you here again.
What’s great is that once you figure out a problem, it’s never a problem ever again.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Genius Squared May Update =-.
Hi Eiji,
I love the story, and what a great way to show the importance in processing information rather than the technical part of a job. If we use understanding, perception, and imagination, we will know the path to take. Your Wisdom seminar sounds interesting – I’ll look into it.
Thank you,
Jennifer
.-= Jennifer Akers´s last blog ..Does Cheap Radio Advertising Really Exist =-.
Thanks Jennifer for dropping in. Love how you include perception and imagination on the path you take. It is so critical.
There’s a saying in leadership.
“Anyone can steer the ship, it takes a leader to chart the course.”
Love to hear your thoughts on the Wisdom Webinar at http://geniussquared.com/wisdom-webinars
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..Wisdom Where Are You =-.
Eiji,
As Walter Lippman says, \"It requires wisdom to understand wisdom. The music is nothing if the audience is deaf.\"
Can\’t see an arrow in the FedEx sign. Can you help me out here? Thanks!
Hi Darlene,
Thanks for stopping in. Great quote by Walter Lippman.
Part of the wisdom comes from understanding the problem enough to ask yourself questions to solve it. If you know enough to ask the right questions, you know enough to answer it.
I sent you an email showing where the arrow is there.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Hi Eiji,
What a fantastic quote you wrote at the top of the post!
“The problem in the world today is that we are drowning in information yet dying of thirst for wisdom. Become the solution.” – Eiji Morishita
There is just SO MUCH information out there… people need to learn, but much of it is just fluff and confuses people rather than helping them.
If there was one way, one system, one book, one everything that someone could go through, it could be just as valuable as trying to learn hundreds of things and not being very good at any of them.
Gavin Mountford
.-= Gavin Mountford´s last blog ..Twittertastic Laundry List For Network Marketers =-.
Thanks Gavin for the compliment of the quote.
That is the secret of Geniuses is that they are the best in one thing and horrible at millions of other things.
It’s the curse of being talented is that we will be good at many things but not the best in any one area.
Appreciate you stopping by. You have great content on your blog.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
What a great post! I love the FedEx story. Wisdom really does save you time and energy by learning from mentors, our past and educating ourselves. Thanks so much for sharing this!
.-= Angela´s last blog ..A Cool Free Seo Tool For Your Blog Posts and Articles =-.
Thanks Angela for stopping by. I’m all for people saving time and energy.
Hope you get a chance to check out the Wisdom Webinar on Time and Energy Management at http://geniussquared.com/wisdom-webinars.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
Eiji,
I have to admit. I could not find the arrow in the FedEx logo because I was trying to find it in the entire white space. I was expecting it to be somehow shaped my the outer rim, so my mind could not locate it anywhere else.
So, I cheated. I googled FedEx Arrow. And finally I saw an example that had been colored in. So now I have finally seen the arrow.
That’s an example of how a message can be right in front of you, blatant and clear, but you have to be in the correct mindset to receive it, comprehend it and put it into practice.
Erica
Hi Erica,
Thanks for sharing your experience with the arrow.
Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know until someone points out its there.
Just like the impossible, it only takes one person to make it possible for us to believe its possible for others.
Great to see you here again.
To Your Genius,
Eiji
.-= Eiji Morishita´s last blog ..How to Be Productive in 2 Hours a Day =-.