36. ACT LIKE A KNOW-IT-ALL

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Open your mind and heart to learning

The most common source of mistakes in management decisions is the emphasis on finding the right answer rather than the right question.

—Peter Drucker

To know is to arrive; to ask questions is to embark on a quest. People whose lives are characterized by a question mark rather than a period, who look for learning opportunities everywhere they go, are generally happier, are more creative, enjoy better relationships, and attain higher levels of success.

To be a lifelong learner is both fun and functional, and all we need to travel along that path is a humble heart and a curious mind. Every person we meet—a student or a teacher, a friend or a stranger—can teach us something; each experience holds within it an important lesson; in every moment is a message waiting to be discovered. When we embrace the spirit of inquiry and curiosity, we embrace life. How wonderful it is that this life is an inexhaustible source of wonders. How exciting to learn that the excitement of learning can last a lifetime.36

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The Analects is a collection of short books capturing the words and deeds of Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher. They emphasize the importance of keeping an open mind and an open heart. In chapter 15 of the third book, Confucius enters the Grand Temple and proceeds to ask questions about everything. One of those present comments that this behavior is inappropriate form: A great scholar should not ask so many questions about trivial matters. Confucius overhears the comment and says, 「This, too, is correct form.」 The Great Master understands the importance of opening one』s mind and heart, and humbly exemplifies this behavior.

Kung Wen-tzu, a contemporary of Confucius, was crafty and sought power in his life, and yet was given the title Wen—meaning 「cultured」—after he died. In book five, one of Confucius』s disciples asks why such a person was given that honor posthumously. Confucius responds that it was due to his love of learning and his openness to learn from all people, regardless of their rank.

Less than one hundred years after Confucius, the great Greek philosopher Socrates displayed a similar openness to learning, when he acknowledged that his wisdom is predicated on the fact that he knows that he does not know.

Open your heart and mind to the wealth of knowledge that is all around you. Ask questions, listen, learn.

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