Ignorance Prevents You From Making Good Decisions

Hey team! Here we are again, continuing to march through the list of words I shared with you. Words that, if you pay attention to them, focus on them, and put intention behind them, can help you mature and grow into the person I believe you want to be.

The next word is ignorance, and it prevents you from making good decisions. Ignorance can prevent you from making good decisions. Now, I’m not talking about the fact that you failed a math course or that you didn’t do well in history. Although history is important. If we don’t pay attention to it, we’re doomed to repeat it. Some of you might have heard that famous quote, and I really believe it’s true. I think that if you look back through history, you can see time and time again where the failure to learn from past situations has led to more problems over time. Historically, in the way societies have done things, this kind of failure has often caused setbacks.

Let’s talk a little bit about ignorance. Ignorance is when someone is unwilling to learn. Sometimes this goes back to other words we’ve discussed, like anger, envy, pride, or ego. Those traits can contribute to ignorance because they make you unwilling to learn. For one reason or another, you choose not to grow or learn—maybe you think you can’t, or maybe you don’t believe you’re “book smart.”

Most of you know my story. If you haven’t heard it, I went all the way from kindergarten to high school, graduated, actually caught up after being held back in the second grade, and graduated a year early as a junior. I only went to three years of high school. I took a bunch of college courses. Some of you might think, “Oh, well then, Chad, you must be really smart.” I had some intelligence, but I was also not intelligent in other ways because I never read a book from cover to cover.

I probably had a fourth-grade reading level when I got out of high school, and that level of ignorance, the unwillingness to open a book and learn from the written word, held me back. It prevented my growth, and I believe it’s only by the grace of God that a series of events took place in my life that made me realize I was ignorant and desperately needed to learn how to read.

Now I read lots and lots of books every year. I’ve probably talked about this in leadership classes, but it’s an important principle: leaders are readers. If you want to be a great leader, you have to be a good reader. You’re going to have to read books; you’re going to have to grow. I’ve seen that growth happen within our own company. In just the last six months, or even in the last couple of years, I’ve seen a number of people start reading books and embrace the idea that they don’t want to be ignorant. They want to learn things they don’t know, whether it’s from someone else, someone above them, someone in another company, or a book that inspires them to be a better learner, a better person, or develop better habits.

There are many ways to learn, and reading is a big one. There are thousands and thousands of books on a vast array of subjects—lots of ways for you to learn and grow. I watched my brother build a shop last fall. He’s built a tiny house, a ton of different things, and he learns through the internet. He goes on YouTube, watches videos, and has even put in an electrical system. He’s built a whole house by himself without formal schooling. Now, I think he has God-given talent and abilities, but again, he dedicates his time to building his knowledge and intelligence in specific subjects.

I see the same growth in Greg, our Director of Logistics. I’ve seen him grow tremendously in so many ways and save us money in the process. Intelligence is an important factor; it can prevent you from truly being able to grow if you don’t have it. Intelligence is important.

So, as you go through the rest of this week, month, and year, ask yourself: What can you do to grow? Don’t wait for a New Year’s resolution. Don’t say, “Oh, I’m going to start reading 10 pages a day or 20 pages a day like Chad said. I’m going to read 12 or 20 books this year, and I’ll start on January 1st.” You won’t make it through January. Start today. Go out, get a book today, and start reading 10 pages a day. By the end of December, you’ll already have read one and a half books, most likely. At 10 pages a day, it only takes about 30 days to finish a book. At 20 pages a day, you get it done in 15 or 16 days.

Some of you might be sitting there doing the math. Most books aren’t more than 200 to 350 pages. You can grow. When I first started, I was reading 60- and 80-page pamphlets, little books, thin books, with only 60 or 70 pages, but it counted. It covered something I needed, and I read it from cover to cover. I grew, my reading comprehension improved, my understanding of other subjects expanded, and my intelligence grew.

Your intelligence needs to grow. As you go through the rest of this week, think about that. Ask yourself, “How can I grow my intelligence today, for the rest of this year, and for the rest of my life?”

Something for you to think about. All right, God bless you guys, have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you next week. Remember, let’s be valuable because nothing less will do. See you guys next week!