I have been looking forward to the announcement of the 2025 Nobel Laureates, and while watching the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physics, I began to contemplate how research is literally what has created the world as we know it today.
My reflection on the award reminded me that, although there may not be widespread applications of these discoveries at the moment, a time will come when their application will shift humanity to its next level.
As a builder, in your pursuit of knowledge, it is expected that you remain in research mode, the systematic pursuit of methodical knowledge. This is how you build a treasure trove of usable insight.
You know how in school, you’re expected to study before exams, not during them, right? In the same way, there are many things you need to know ahead of time, before they are required of you.
There will be things you don’t understand simply because it’s not yet your season. The knowledge you currently possess determines what season you’re in, just like how some courses in the university are prerequisites for others.
At every point in your life, there should be a knowledge project you are actively working on, and it must be categorized. For example, at some point in my life between 2024 and 2025, I learned more of history relative to where I am headed. At another time in the past, my knowledge project was finances.
You must define what project you’re undertaking; this is partly how you define your season and avoid being swayed by every shiny but unsubstantial thing.
Personally, I have seasons of intensive learning and seasons of intensive execution and failing. I apply the Pareto Principle to these seasons: in my learning season, it’s 80% learning and 20% execution; during my execution season, I flip the ratio.
I’m sharing this not for you to copy if it doesn’t align with your design and circumstances, but to exemplify how systematic your pursuit of knowledge should be.
The goal is not just to acquire knowledge but to convert that knowledge from raw material into a form that inspires action.