Knowledge is power, it is said, and this power must be searched for on a daily basis, a truly continuous process.
Ever heard of the law of accumulation? It works in the same way. The more you accumulate, the more it grows. The more the principal builds up, the greater the power of the compound growth. Then you begin to move from addition to multiplication, but the key is to continue adding on a regular basis. Daily growth, daily and consistent addition of knowledge.
We are living in an era where everyone seems to have the urge, appetite and desire for fast things! Reading and appreciating what we read is fast becoming a practice of the past. And it is worrying.
There is nothing that satisfies like a good book! I saw a documentary on North Korea, which emphasised the life and role of the former Korean President, referred to as the ‘Great Leader’. One instruction the Great Leader gave to his country struck me, to wit: “A child should always have a book in his hands. He must read always. He should never be without a book, not even for a single day.” I agree with him.
In secondary school (I became a Christian in Form 3), we devoured Christian literature, the works of great writers and inspirational books and novels as if they were hot, spicy kele wele (fried plantain).
These books were the commentaries we had of the Bible, second only to Daily Guide and Daily Bread. Those books shaped my life. I will never forget how the book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, changed my outlook and comportment. I bought and read so many books and grew thereby on the spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:2).
Nothing can replace a good book − nothing! Unfortunately, this discipline of reading is dying in these times. We just don’t read anymore. We don’t study anymore.
We are not adding knowledge, at all! When was the last time you read any good book? It is with difficulty that we even read and meditate on the Word of God. We need to grow and grow, and we need to read and read if we are to grow. Read every day, if you want to grow.
The great men of our world have been readers; they have been learners. Jesus read, and it showed in His sermons. Paul was well read. Nkrumah read. Martin Luther King Jnr read.
Abraham Lincoln didn’t have what you would call a formal education, but he taught himself through reading. He actually studied law books he found at the base of items he had bought at an auction, and he became a great and effective lawyer and President of the United States of America.
Lincoln talked of his love of books: ‘The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.’ One of the all-time great Presidents of America, Theodore Roosevelt, read. He was reported to have died with a book under his pillow.
Solomon, the man touted as the wisest man that ever lived, sings this tune with me: ‘A wise man will hear and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.’ Proverbs 1:5,6.
What legacy of knowledge acquisition are we leaving our children? Cicero noted that ‘To add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.’ I read somewhere that you can gauge how much a man loves knowledge by comparing the size of his library to the size of his television!
Make a pledge today that you are changing your ways. Make a commitment that you will read at least a book every two months. Monitor your progress, review your status and keep at it. And, by all means, bequeath that discipline to your kids.
Remember, little drops of knowledge make a mighty man or woman.
Action Exercise
Make a pledge today that you are changing your ways. The fact that you are reading this book is a good first step. Make a commitment that you will read at least a book every two months. Monitor your progress, review your status and keep at it. And, by all means, bequeath that discipline to your kids.
Remember, little drops of knowledge make a mighty man or woman.
Quotes
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal ideas from many is research – Anonymous
All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books – Thomas Carlyle
The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall, nations perish, civilizations grow old and die out, and after an era of darkness new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on, still young, still fresh as the day they were written, still telling men’s hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead – Clarence Day
When I get a little money, I buy books; if any is left, I buy food and clothes – Desiderius Erasmus
Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other folks lent to me! – Anatole France
Were I to pray for a taste which should stand me in good stead under every variety of circumstances and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness to me during life and a shield against its ills, however things might go amiss and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste for reading – Sir John Herschel
I would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading – Thomas B Macaulay
To desire to have many books, and never use them, is like the child that will have a candle burning by him all the while he is sleeping – Henry Peacham
Knowledge is free at the library. Just bring your own container – Anonymous
What I don’t know isn’t knowledge – Henry Charles Beeching
I love to lose myself in other men’s mind. When I am not walking, I am reading; I cannot sit and think. Books think for me – Charles Lamb
Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few are to be chewed and digested – Francis Bacon
Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man and writing an exact man – Francis Bacon
Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star – Confucius
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By: Nana Awere Damoah
Author/Facilitator