Learn something great today

This post is a guest post by a good friend of mine whom I call 'lil bro'. I've had the pleasure of watching this guy develop into a well poised sharp young man. Take a look at what the young scholar Themba Nelson has to offer us.

Learn something great today.

When you look at a cobbler shine a shoe they move in circular motions.  To me this means understanding the complete area around you before moving on.  When a shoe is deemed polished, the complete shoe (from heel to toe) is covered with a fresh new coat to shine.  This means having a full understanding of different areas of life will allow you to be an active voice wherever you are.  This skill is widely understood but seldom practiced.

When I came to graduate school I knew the exact career field I wanted to pursue and maintained blinders with respect to that particular career field.  From the beginning of my second semester I’ve changed my focus several times because I was not satisfied and wanted to know more.  This process is very depressing but also very rewarding.  I’m a “glass is half full” kind of guy so my focus is on the latter.

With an understanding of areas that span military administration, finance, culture relations, and standard business transactions you begin to learn so much about how the world operates in its individual sectors, and full circle, how so many starkly different auxiliaries actually work together.  This in turn shapes how you view your place in it.

To know everything about everything kind of like how your grandfather and father know everything is being a polished scholar.  Sun Tzu said it best.  “Know your enemy and know yourself and you won’t be defeated”.  You can’t know one without knowing the other.

Take this week to understand an aspect of society.  Find its power players, log it and reread your notes at the end of the month.  You might find yourself closer to the water cooler at the next gala you go to.

Reading for the month: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

-TSN-

Themba is a 2nd year law student in the J.D. program at Michigan State University. He is also a 2008 graduate of Hampton University.