STACKING KNOWLEDGE (Vol. 1)
The best free education you can get is the one YOU give YOURSELF.
This is a new series I’ll be dropping every so often; random knowledge and tidbits of information to help you out… wherever you are in the world.
“My people perish from lack of knowledge“
Stacking knowledge is imperative. The more you know, the better. Knowledge is fundamental to all success and forward progress. Every day you wake up, you should strive to learn something, no matter how big or small. Use resources that are at your disposal. Most knowledge is free to obtain (money wise) but not free to obtain (time wise). Understand that to gain knowledge you MUST SPEND TIME. If you lack the funds, you must get creative and more than likely… spend more time getting to what you want to know. But understand this, KNOWLEDGE IS WORTH THE TIME SACRIFICE. Without knowledge, you perish. Once you get some funds, PAY AN EXPERT TO TEACH YOU. This will save you PRECIOUS TIME.
TIME CANNOT BE CREATED, IT WILL ALWAYS KEEP ON TICKING BY
You can get more money. You cannot get more time. And what about energy? I know you feel yourself aging. Everyone does. So don’t let time pass you by because you can’t get ANY of it back. Time wasted or spent is time gone FOREVER. So if you know all of this about time… and you know what you know about knowledge… understand they are only 2 parts of this equation.
TIME — MONEY — ENERGY
These 3 can factor into each other in many different ways, here’s how I see it:
Time spent x Energy spent = Money earned (Going to work)
Money spent x Time spent = Less energy used (Think hiring an expert vs teaching yourself)
Money spent x energy spent = more time to yourself (think working hard early on in life to retire early vs having to work hard late into your retirement years due to poor planning and not investing in self)
It is not always like this but these are a few scenarios where time, money, and energy relate to each other. Always ask yourself “is the time/money/energy I’m putting into this WORTH IT?”
SO WHAT ABOUT EDUCATION? HOW CAN I LEARN IF I DON’T HAVE THE FUNDS???
This is what the Stacking Knowledge Series will be about! Helping bridge that gap. As I’m working on FSO (the website), I’m also figuring out better ways to continue to grow FSO (the community) in the meantime.
FREE WAYS TO LEARN
YouTube University is one of the best free educational tools you can use. If you follow the right channels, you can learn ANYTHING… gardening, fitness, nutrition, holistic health practices, car maintenance, emotional intelligence.. Whatever you need.
Reddit: one of the best free resources on the internet. You can ask any question here and I bet you $100 someone else has already asked about it there and 3-4 people have given different POV answers to help you out. I find posts from 10 years ago on there that I still find relevant to my situations today. REDDIT ISN’T THE ONLY FORUM. Whatever topics you’re looking for, google that + “forum” and see what you find. You’ll be surprised. There are also subs on Reddit dedicated to finding outside forums. Don’t sleep.
Building your own digital library: an old used iPad and a bunch of free PDFs will take you FAR in life. This is a lot cheaper than trying to build a physical library full of books. A used iPad is like $150-$200 tops (doesn’t have to be fancy, just good enough to use as a reader). Finding books on the internet is free. A physical library full of books you can access is the best thing you can have and a digital library is the 2nd best thing smoking. Some will argue that the iPad library is better because of convenience and the ability to take it anywhere. Others (like myself) think the physical books are better because you don’t need to charge them in an emergency, info is always there. Your preference is on YOU. For me, I build both. I keep books on my iPad that are important. But I also have a healthy variety of physical books that if I lose the iPad, I’d be ok either way. Knowledge is power. Skilling up is a necessity.
USE THE INTERNET. IT IS FREE NETWORKING: Never has it been easier to connect with CEOs, recruiters, scientists, political leaders, finance managers, doctors, etc. The list is endless. I can @ a neurosurgeon and a plumber and have a full conversation for free to gain insight from both on a topic that intrigues me. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. Everything is constantly falling behind a paywall (even some FSO posts iykyk).. what makes you think places like Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, etc will always remain the same… FREE AND OPEN. Find someone in a position you want to be in (not their whole life) and emulate. If you want to be a tradesmen, find a few tradesmen and figure out how they got from A to B to C and etc. You want to get into tech? Follow some tech giants on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Engage with them and digest all of their content. Figure out the A to B while they’re dropping blame for free. Want to start a garden or a new hobby? Never been easier to have access to the experts in WHATEVER. As time goes on and life gets more expensive, even the experts won’t have as much free time as before to teach or help (or may not be as willing). Don’t bet on them being there as available in 10 years. Act now.
Stacking isn’t just about money. It’s about knowledge and skills as well. They all go hand in hand. In order to stack money you need knowledge (skills) to apply yourself so you can get paid… so you can stack (save). Sprinkle in discipline and things like living frugally and you will elevate yourself to levels that you probably only dreamed of. It’s not about one piece of the pie, it’s about ALL pieces. Leave no crumbs.