June 27th, 2007

The More You Know, The Slower You Grow

I read this quote from one of Don and Nancy Failla book. They are the renowned author of ‘The 45 Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life’. I used the quotes from one of their book for my Inspirational Network Marketing Quotes article series.

On the latest series, one of my reader challenged me to elaborate on what ‘The More You Know, The Slower You Grow’ really means because he feels that quote is brain-washing up to a point that he compared it to Bush’s administration work principal.

I was on my way out of my apartment when I read the comment. I have so many points to share with him and then I realized my thought on the subject is worth an article to itself instead of having it buried in a footnote of an article.

When I first read the quote, I have to admit, I did try to understand what it really means. When I found my answer, I have to say I could not have agreed more with the quote. Well, Don and Nancy might have a different opinion but this is my version.

I remember a saying that goes something like this (I am paraphrasing here because I don’t remember the exact wording) “The more you know, the more you know there are so much more that you don’t know”.

In short, in pursuit of knowledge, when you learn about one new thing, you will learn there are a few more things you will need to learn as a result of knowing that one new thing. And when you learn about those few more things, there are even more things you will need to learn as a result and so on.

To me, “The Slower You Grow” doesn’t mean the pace of your learning. It doesn’t mean you are slower when you know more. It’s a symbolism. With all the new things you need to learn as a result of knowing more, you just can’t learn fast enough to catch up because there are always new things you discover along the way.

Just because you are growing slower does not mean you are growing less in term of the value you bring to your life. It merely means you have a lot more learnings to do as a result of the knowledge that you gained.

Think of it like this. Your learning grows linearly and the things you need to learn grow exponentially.

(Update 06/29/2007)

After reading the comments from Mike and Emmi, I think they might not have gotten the message I am trying to send. So let me try to say it LOUD and CLEAR.

“Learn as much as you can as fast as you can because if you don’t, you will never catch up to the things you need to learn.”

Related Posts

under: Marketing

8 Comments

Mike S Said,

June 28th, 2007 @10:32 am

Well, the article still did not answer how this quote is applicable to the Network Marketing.
In any case, I believe I’m not alone on this one, but I’d rather know 2 things and realize that I don’t know 10 things than know 1 thing and be misguided to think that this is all to it. Knowledge is power, especially when you realize that there are so many unanswered questions, because human nature is such that pushes a person to discovery of the unknown or clarifying the unclear. The more you know, the faster you grow, at least intellectually.
But I strongly agree with the Faillas that, in the context of Network Marketing, the quote “The more you know, the slower you grow” is highly appropriate. The more you know the more you start questioning about the nature of the business, the product, the sponsors and their quotes. And as more questions go unanswered, your confidence in the whole model is shaken. Without proper level of confidence and belief in the product and the company, you can’t make a successful sales pitch. And Network Marketing is nothing more than sales. Sure, you don’t sell the product as actively as conventional sales company, but you do sell the idea of “I want to be able to do whatever I want do whenever I want to do it” even more than product itself. Heck, that’s the foundation of the whole schema!
And that’s the bottom line: don’t question anything, blindly believe in whatever you are told and only maybe then you’ll achieve the goal, which is conveniently provided as well.

Emmi S. Said,

June 28th, 2007 @11:23 am

I think that knowing less does not mean you are ignorant of all the things you should know… that would be the case only if you were really dumb.

I think that your article defends ignorance which, I do not recall in any literature in the world, is portrayed as a virtue. Maybe the defenders of anarchies publicize that…

I think that people are always pleased to here you opinion if you tone it with your own limits. If you expose your thoughts about something in a categorical way and close your mind to learning, they will not be interested in communicating with you anymore.

Everything you do, hear, read, is an occasion to learn something new. Human beings have that gift that not a single other species on Earth has: self-consciousness and criticism. So use it. Use it at your best. No one will ever blame you for that.

I really think that the saying from Don and Nancy Failla (“the more you know, the slower you grow”) is applying to business in general. I take it as, the more you know the more reasons you can find against taking action, which is again human nature. So stop wondering for a second, and jump the fence. Go ahead and start doing what you want to do and it might work for you. I really don’t think that they meant to be ignorant and only then you can succeed in Network Marketing…

Also, if I quote you: “that’s the bottom line: don’t question anything, blindly believe in whatever you are told and only maybe then you’ll achieve the goal, which is conveniently provided as well”. That, my friend is the street definition of dictatorship. So I really hope that you were joking…

Joey Rosario Said,

June 29th, 2007 @3:01 pm

Emmi, at no point the article talked about closing my mind to learning, in fact it was the exact opposite.

And when you said the more you know the more reasons you can find against taking action; that was NOT the message I was sending. If that’s the message you receive, then there’s a miscommunication somewhere.

And Mike, the quote doesn’t apply only to Network Marketing, the quote applies to everything in life. If it helps, the second part of the quote should not have been taken literally (thanks Craig) … but try to analyze the meaning behind it.

I couldn’t have agreed more with what you both wrote about the fact that we need to keep learning; because that’s EXACTLY the message I was sending.

Reading both of your responses, I have no doubt in my mind that you have misunderstood my message.

Mike S Said,

June 29th, 2007 @4:04 pm

Inspirational Network Marketing Quotes:
1. The more you know, the slower you grow

You should have named the article as ‘Inspirational Quotes by Network Marketing gurus that apply to Network Marketing as well as to everything else in life’.

And just for the sake of the argument, give me and Emmi a solid example when ‘the more you know, the slower you grow.’

I think both I and Emmi S have understood your message quite well. I just don’t get your assumption that ‘you just can’t learn fast enough to catch up.’ Catch up with the things that you discover you don’t know? Well, the growth is not measured by realizing how much you don’t know. Not a single person knows everything, but some realize that they possess only a tiny grain of knowledge and understanding, while others are completely ignorant about it. Growth, in terms of learning (as it seems what you boil it down to), is measured by how much you do know. How could you grow slower if you know more? As an example: it is well documented that learning fifth language takes less time and effort than to learn fourth or third language.

There is only one, just one that I can think of, example when this quote is valid, besides NM. It’s called learning curve. The more you know, the flatter the learning curve. But be careful not to draw any conclusion at this time, as a flat learning curve in one subject opens up a very steep learning curve in the next subject. And so on…, which translates into the more you know, the more of very steep learning curves you have. Just because you realize how much you don’t know, in NO way does it slow your learning or growing.

What it seems you are trying to say is the more you know, the proportion of what you do know versus what you don’t know grows smaller. Which makes an illiterate, uneducated person a very smart one, because the proportion is very big, ’cause he knows everything he thinks there is to know.

By the way, the update you’ve posted on 06/29/2007 is a direct contradiction of the quote in question. You are saying to “Learn as much as you can as fast as you can because if you don’t, you will never catch up to the things you need to learn”, while the quote discourages you from learning at all. Why would I learn anything at all if it makes me grow slower? Hmm…

I’ll stick with my believe that the quote is only applicable in the context of Network Marketing. And Joey, try to analyze it in this perspective first. I may be right, I may be wrong about HOW it is applied in NM, but you are choosing not to look at it from this point of view at all. For sake of good friendly conversation (which might be informative to others), give me a good analytical counter point.

Joey Rosario Said,

June 29th, 2007 @4:36 pm

What it seems you are trying to say is the more you know, the proportion of what you do know versus what you don’t know grows smaller. Which makes an illiterate, uneducated person a very smart one, because the proportion is very big, ’cause he knows everything he thinks there is to know.

That’s exactly the point. And who thinks the uneducated person a very smart one? This article? You? Me? Cause I don’t. It’s all in your perception and your interpretation.

By the way, the update you’ve posted on 06/29/2007 is a direct contradiction of the quote in question. You are saying to “Learn as much as you can as fast as you can because if you don’t, you will never catch up to the things you need to learn”, while the quote discourages you from learning at all. Why would I learn anything at all if it makes me grow slower? Hmm…

This is not a personal attack but a mere criticism. Your problem is you see things from a VERY negative perspective. You are just too hung up on the word “SLOWER” and you INSIST on interpreting the word LITERALLY from the point of slower vs faster that faster is better than slower.

If I read a quote like the one I posted on 06/29/2007, I personally feel challenged to learn more and better myself, but if you CHOOSE to feel discouraged, that is your choice.

I can’t change your mind about how you interpret the quote or the word. I have personally asked 5 people to review my article after the comments were made and surprise surprise, all 5 totally got my point.

As much as I want to engage in this debate, I think I will end this right here. When we meet in person, you are welcome to engage me in this again. If you haven’t watched ‘The Secret’, I would highly recommend you to watch it.

I will go back to writing articles. I already missed one yesterday.