What We Do Not Yet Know is More Important

The more information I hunt and gather, the more I realize how much I do not know. 

A mentor once told me: “We probably know about 20% about certain subject. We definitely don’t know about 20%. We know we do not know about 60%.” Once we start to believe we know it all, we stumble into hubris. Hubris, which is arrogant pride from overconfidence, catalyzes imminent downfall.

Humility: what we do not yet know is more important than what we do know.

Leaders study leadership. Once they stop studying, they are not longer a leader. Complacency, like hubris, is the beginning of the end.

Here is a list of leaders, alongside thought-provoking quotes, they once stated:

Abraham Lincoln — “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday,” & “My best friend is a person who will give me a book I have not yet read.”

Marie Curie — “One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done,” & “Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood.”

Benjamin Franklin — “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” & “Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn,” & “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

Socrates — “An unexamined life is not worth living,” & “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

George Washington — “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation,” & “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of persevering peace.”

Thomas Jefferson — “He who knows best knows how little he knows.”

Winston Churchill — “Personally, I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught,” & “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”

Confucius — “By three methods we may learn wisdom: reflection, imitation, and experience.”

Harriet Tubman — “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.”

St. Augustine — “Understanding is the reward of faith,” & “Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”

Thomas Aquinas — “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”

Eleanor Roosevelt— “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people,” & “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Theodore Roosevelt — “I am part of everything that I have read,” & “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has an education, he may steal the whole railroad.”

Mother Teresa — “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies,” & “If you judge people, you have no time to love them,” & “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Nelson Mandela — “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb,” & “I never lose. I either win or learn,” & “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Education: to draw forth latent capacity via instruction and care for oneself and others. It’s the light that eliminates darkness when engaged in truthfully. It allows us to go from nowhere to somewhere when acted upon appropriately. It prepares us for problems when delivered effectively.

Through life’s ups and downs, we get to become better or bitter… fascinated or frustrated… curious or furious. All cures come from curiosity.

As the saying goes: ‘not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.’ Individuals who gather information before implementation are able to get their next words and actions in formation.

Despite his or her profession, from the scientists to presidents included above, humility allows them to consistently and continuously update his or her mind map. With higher concentration and greater accuracy, a curious and educated leader makes better decisions. Those decisions are oftentimes beneficial and attractive; therefore, followers follow in her or her footsteps. 

Do we wish to lead? Then we need to communicate a vision, to live with genuine humility, and to establish a community through precise, insightful information. Why? All people want to feel safe, valued, and progressing.

This week, I completed a full week on the road with two collegiate lacrosse teams. We discussed self-awareness, goal-setting, and the power of belief. Even more importantly, we emphasized how the best players and programs maintain connection with others while simultaneously staying true to their own, authentic growth-mindset. They build relationships and develop trust by always learning about themselves, their crafts, and what it means to be their best.

K - A = 0

K + A = ∞

Knowledge minus action equals nothing. Knowledge plus consistent action equates to infinite possibilities. ‘When a student does not want to learn, he or she cannot be taught; when a student wants to learn, he or she cannot be stopped.’ Knowledge alone is potential power, whereas knowledge combined with action equates to faith-oriented curiosity — a deep drive to improve, grow, and prosper.

That deep drive starts with tiny tasks of true education. No act of service is too small for a consummate leader. Christ embodied the highest degree of humility:

“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” — John 13:1-17

Are we able to stay grounded when we receive earthly accolades?

Are we able to remember the soil we were nurtured in even when we grow far beyond our origin? 

Are we able to serve others generously knowing our blessings are granted to us, not merely earned by us?

Humility produces the fruit of wisdom. 

Wisdom fosters mature happiness. 

Mature happiness generates greater humility.

Did you know a hero is “someone who serves”?

Consistent curiosity and honest humility open doors to leadership roles.

What we do not yet know is more important than what we do know!

— MG

🎙️Click here to listen to Mark Glicini’s monthly episodes of his podcast, GRATEFUL and Full of Greatness.