I remember when a friend was studying history and he spent a long time on World War II. I mentioned that he must be an expert after the amount of time he’d spent on it, and he replied, “It only made me realize how much I didn’t know. Because in order to understand WWII, you have to go back to WWI. So now I’m studying WWI, and I’m sure I’ll have to go further back to understand
how WWI came about. It will be a never-ending process.” This guy was a real scholar, but he mentioned that studying history had made him very humble—because he knew he’d never know it all no matter how much he studied.
I always remember what this guy said, about learning how much he didn’t know, and how every time you learn one thing, it leads to another thing and so on. He went on to become a highly respected historian, but I can assure you that he isn’t resting on his many laurels. The humility that studying history has given him keeps him young and eager to learn more, no matter how erudite he is considered to be. He’s a great example of remaining a student— every day is another opportunity to learn something new.
Sometimes we are so zealous to become successful that we forget about what is significant. The background for success should include some intrinsic values as well as monetary values. We should
be aware of our culture and other cultures, our history and their history, and we should not live in what has been termed “a cultural vacuum.” Someone once said that not knowing history was like being a leaf that didn’t know it was part of a tree.That’s an interesting visual and it applies to many people.We are individually responsible for our education, and that applies whether you’re in
school or not.
If I sound tough on this subject, I am. I see no value whatsoever in believing ignorance to be an attribute. It isn’t. It’s good to start each day by saying to yourself, “What can I learn today that
I didn’t know before?” It opens you up to more information and net worth as an individual. Why live restricted lives due to lack of knowledge when there are so many resources available to us today? Another interesting aspect of history is that it will lead us to seeing that we are all a part of it. History isn’t just in the past—it’s happening now. How can you know what you’re a part of if you don’t know what it is to begin with? The world didn’t start with your birth, and it won’t end with your death either. That doesn’t mean you’re not a part of the scheme of things. To the contrary, it
means that you are.
Back to the leaf image. What if you know you are a leaf, but you’re not sure what a tree is? I’d say the best thing to do is to find out what a tree is. It’s pretty simple. It reminds me of an Apprentice task that’s enough of a challenge to set the apprentices out to discover and research some things before they jump in to the task at hand.
I was listening to some Europeans once and they seemed to agree that Americans didn’t seem to know their roots. Of course, their roots go back for many more centuries than ours and may be easier to decipher because many of us have ancestors from different countries. But it gave me a reason to think about what they said, and I realized in many cases they were right. I recently went to Scotland, as my mother’s side of the family is of Scottish ancestry, and I’ve spent time studying that country and therefore my heritage. It could even explain why I love golf so much—it originated
in Scotland.
I found that I enjoyed learning about Scotland and it has broadened my horizons as well as my interests as a businessman. I am building a golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, that will be spectacular, and I very much enjoyed my visit and meeting the people from that culture and country. I also realized I still have a lot to learn, which will no doubt lead me into more interesting ventures
as well as adventures.
Take my advice and never be a know-it-all. First of all, it’s impossible to know everything, and second of all, it’s just no fun—for you or anyone else. And third, you will be missing out on some great adventures. So remember to think big by expanding your horizons at the same time you’re expanding your net worth. That’s what significant success is about.
