I am NO expert. This I can assure you of.
I first learned this as far back as in the early 1990’s, when I was immersed in the world of Finance. I was freshly out of University, and very confident of my knowledge and understanding of the world of finance. So much so that I “suffered fools badly”. I didn’t have much time for what I might have referred to as “stupid people”. I had very strong opinions indeed. I was 24.
I had been blessed in my last few years of University to enter a sort of co-op program in finance where we were mentored by “experts” on both the buy side and sell side of investing, i.e brokers and fund managers. Included in the package came a summer in Toronto working for an established brokerage, and the next summer in Vancouver working for an established fund manager. So by my last year of University, I, and my colleagues, really thought we knew a thing or two. Those two summers, while short, shot us miles ahead of our fellow students in terms of real-world knowledge and understanding. And it made going to class a very interesting experience, as we came to quickly realize that we also knew a great deal more than a number of our “professors”. Not all. But many.
I wasn’t until I began taking my CFA a few years later that I realized that although I thought I knew a great deal about investments and finance in general – I actually knew nothing. As I used to love to say back then – the more I learned – the more I “knew” – the more I knew the less I knew.
My “spiritual awakening” occurred shortly after 9/11. After the initial period of going back and forth between thinking this was all very surreal, to fearing for my life that the attackers and bombers weren’t done yet and where were they going to attack next – I woke up.
As you all know, waking up is a process. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight. And during this process there were some concepts and ideas I willingly threw away immediately and started looking for the truth. While there were other concepts, ideas and beliefs that I still, at that time, tightly clung to. Partly because I had that inner knowing that if I were to throw every belief I’ve ever had away all at once – it would simply be too destabilizing. When I did try to move too fast, I would quickly find myself outside my comfort zone and become completely lost. Unable to navigate on the earth plane. Unable to relate to people. Unable to go outside. I realized, over time, that some “outdated” ideas and beliefs were not simply attachments, but they can be a bit of a security blanket to rest on while the rest of one’s world is torn to shreds.
Another concept I am still learning every day, is that it is imperative to not force my “truth” on anyone else. In fact, the only way to go out into the world and interact comfortably with the rest of humanity, is to allow others to just “be”. Whomever they are, whatever it is they believe. Search for areas of resonance, and focus on that. Find topics and areas to discuss that one has in common. Don’t waste time focusing on the illusions. It will get you nowhere. And, in fact, it can work in reverse.
As I stated above, I found, for myself, it was much better to work through the awakening process in baby steps. Focus on one “destination” at a time. I realized that I simply can’t eat every single candy in a candy shop at one time. I just can’t. I must choose. I realized that the fewer options I selected to “ingest” at one time, and the more I could savor that particular option. The more I was able enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is. And the more understanding I would gain about it.
Another solid “rule of thumb” I have adopted when working through a process is to find multiple different perspectives. Look at issues from different angles. There is never a single “truth”. Each perspective has its own truth. Using the example of travelling; in order to get a full understanding of the climate and culture of a city, I would include not only getting a “birds eye view”, but would also speak to multiple different people “on the ground”. The more I would broaden the base of the types of people I talked to or interreacted with, the broader my understanding would become.
I have also learned, through trial and error, that for me, it is far better to seek out the “Big Picture” before diving in to a situation. I love getting that “birds eye view” from flying over a city. I love seeing the full picture. Where the rivers are. Where the bridges are. How the traffic flows. Where is it busy? Where is it quiet and peaceful? Where are the traffic bottlenecks? Why? Where do the roads go? Why do people go where they go? If I can’t get up in a plane, I am more than willing to hike up a nearby hillside, or take a ride up an elevator in the tallest building in town in order to get that perspective. It is always worth it.
While it is incredibly helpful to see a city from the sky, a “bird’s eye view” tells you nothing about the “lived experience” of that city. In order to do that, you have to go down and insert yourself into the culture and the climate. There is no other way to gain a thorough understanding. As the expression goes – sometimes you have to “get a little dirty” in order to get the job done. Sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and do some actual work instead of watching from the sidelines. I refer back to my experience in University – the only professors I had any respect for in the end were the ones who had actually held a job outside of the University system. They had lived experiences to share which were invaluable. The rest were simply parroting textbooks that someone else wrote.
As a colliery to the point above, I have learned through time that in order to solve any problem in life, or to gain any understanding of a situation, looking at the issue superficially will never suffice. One must dig deep. Really look at it. Feel it. Touch it. Engage one’s senses and emotions. Once one gets a real “feel” for the issues at hand, solutions come much easier. And the odds are much greater that one will only have to fix the issue once as opposed to a dozen times.
Often when I am in new city I will take the bus tour that points out all the tourist spots I might want to consider, and also gives me a good layout of the area and how to navigate from the ground when I am planning my day trips on my own. While this is a great idea for an overview, the tour guide only tells the information that is in the script, and rarely diverges too far from the script. Sometimes their job description does not allow them to stray too far from the script. For good reason. They are ambassadors of the city. They must retain a certain posture and perspective. They are certainly not going to focus on any negatives when their whole job is to “sell the city”. This is not wrong. It just is. While paying attention to the Experts can be quite helpful, know that even the “Experts” are missing half the picture.
I always get more out of the experience once I “get out of the bus” and meet some of the locals. Interact. Learn their perspective on the area. A tour guide can tell you a lot about an area, but that is nothing compared to meeting that inhabitants and learning about their lived experience first hand. I usually check out all sorts of different venues, from local bars to sponsored events to getting a hair cut. Everyone has something a little bit different to say.
While digging in, and digging deep can be very rewarding, It is very important to not lose oneself on any one issue in life. Come up for air. Change the scenery. Focus on something else. Take a break. Don’t get stuck on any one “destination” for too long. It is important to look around. Get a “feel” for a place. But don’t get stuck there. Like that Eagles song. Don’t get stuck in Lodi. Move on. You can always come back and explore more.
Something else I have had to learn over time is to take time to celebrate. I had, in the past, often been in a hurry after completing a task. Wanting to simply move on and start the next task. However, I was reminded of those times in my life where I did in fact celebrate milestones and victories. And these are some of the fondest memories. I remember back in University when we would go to the pub after completing a three hour exam. And we would sit there and discuss every answer. I learned more in those sessions at the pub than I learned the whole year. That event would crystalize the whole set of knowledge that I had been exposed to. Without taking the time to celebrate and to recap the experience, I’d have missed the best and the most important part of it all. Nothing can compare to celebrating accomplishments. And nothing can cement new knowledge and understanding more than acknowledging and expressing it.
A final point I will make in this discussion, is that we tend to learn much faster if we go in a circular pattern – more a spiral than a circle – because everything is related. I like to pick an issue I am curious about, focus on it for a period of time, but when I have exhausted my ability to absorb, it is time to move on to a new destination. A whole new set of experiences await. As I move on, I eventually come back to the original issue I was focusing on – yet by now I have learned so much more that I see this original issue from a whole new perspective. As we learn, it is helpful to “circle back” to earlier concepts and ideas with the new knowledge and experience that we can apply.
Where does the spiral stop? One of my mentors once asked his guide that very question. Where does it stop? He replied that he had no idea. It appears that this spiral is infinite. As I am learning; the more I know- the more I know the less I know.