Two basic conditions for Success

Basic conditions for success

(Proverbs 19:8)  Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.

From the quote above, there are two basic conditions for success.

1. Learning all you can.
2. Remembering what you learn.

If you....

I've been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. 

In primary school, I'd read story books with my best friend Steven. We didn't have worries or responsibilities. Oh, those were the good days. I dreamt about owning businesses like Lex Luthor (the enemy of Superman). 

Secondary school.

Although I no longer had my reading partner Steve, I kept reading anything that interested me. Of course, I kept increasing the magnitude of my dreams. Now, I wanted to own cities - just like Luthor.

Just after secondary school, I read two books that changed my life forever. They were given to me by my Dad. He just came back from work one day and handed them over to me. He said, "Read them. We'll discuss them when you're done."

Read them I did. I carried the books along with me for chores, errands, even to the bathroom... until I'd guzzled them completely. I was excited. I could see myself succeeding if I just followed the principles I learned from the books. Dad didn't review them with me but I didn't mind.

University came - computer science at Covenant University. I kept on reading books. I remember finding a black-covered text book on Computer Viruses in my university library. I skipped a couple of classes, food, cartoons... to make sure I finished the book. 

It took about four days but I finally finished it. Oh... when I finished, the world looked different! Stories like how computer viruses spread through the air, or create  themselves... were completely false. 

I got confident, deleted my antivirus software and began successfully hunting viruses down. I got so good that I could tell if a computer was infected with just a glance at the screen. Cool right?

Now I've forgotten where I was going with this. I remember. 

My life hasn't exactly turned out the way I pictured it yet. It always bothered me. I began to question myself, "What if I don't become as successful as I'd dreamed?" "What if I end up jobless?"... 

For years, I did not have an answer. I had no explanation for why I couldn't develop the skills I needed. Now, I have a part answer to my questions.

I'd fulfilled the first condition for success - I learned all I could. However, I failed the second condition for success - I quickly forgot what I learned.

Forgetting the principles from the many books I read kept me in chains. It's like having a gun in my house but not remembering where it is. If an armed robber comes, well... use your imagination.

With many lost opportunities, my self-confidence suffered.

Yes, to forget is Human. We are not computers. We forget. I should have fought the forgetting curve by re-opening those books and spend countless hours re-reading. 

I don't know about you but, I really don't want to open a book I've just read. It's boooooring! There were so many books and too little time that I didn't want to spend any of it, rereading the old stuff you know?

So what can be done about this forgetting thing? Luckily, I have found a neat tool that helps me remember almost everything that I learn. 

If you know what SRS and Anki are, then congratulations. Good job. 

Otherwise, I'll continue this post soon. To my 2 visitors. Don't know who you are but I appreciate it. Thank you and keep visiting.