Yesterday’s post was “Want to learn mastery? Learn from masters in other fields“, then I soon saw a post from Chip Conley, reproduced below. Chip is a very wise friend and someone I always learn from whenever we (all too rarely, sadly!) spend time together (including the Wisdom pyramid shown above). Several nuggets in here, but the one that resonated most strongly for me is: “Wisdom is a Practice:
Mastery and Wisdom are closely linked and, yes, both are a practice.
Thank you Chip, and thank you Master Jeff x
Wise or Otherwise?
I’m a “wisdom rebounder.” I hang around wise people and soak in their turns of phrase. Someone like MEA co-founder Jeff Hamaoui.I’m the beneficiary of his bon mots like Dennis Rodman was for a Michael Jordan basketball shot. “Wisdom is not taught, it’s shared,” “Long life learning,” “Wise or otherwise?” and all kinds of other phrases come gushing out of his mouth and soul.
His most recent wisdom was, “Skills are to knowledge as practices are to wisdom.” Yes, that’s deep. Let’s unpack it.
Knowledge workers accumulate skills. Some of these skills grow obsolescent, while others are evergreen. But how does the knowledge worker understand which skills are actually needed at any particular time? Is it wisdom that helps discern which tool in the toolbox should be used?
So, once you’ve gathered your skills, it’s time to build your wisdom. But, wisdom is a practice, it’s something you develop holistically. A skill could be a conduit to a practice. Learning to be a great listener as a skill could, over time, develop your practice of intuiting humans.
Jeff says, “You cannot ‘know’ wisdom. You can only practice it. In our second adulthood as we aspire to change and transform from ego to soul, there is a very real possibility that everything we do, every way we show up in the world, at work, at home or in our communities should be treated as a wisdom practice.”