Day Nine
STUDY
Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow.
—RICHARD BAXTER
The practice of studying empowers us to unlock our calling and fulfill our destiny. You don’t wake up to a “eureka moment” one day where everything about your calling, purpose, and destiny magically makes sense and you are given a detailed play-by-play of how you are supposed to fulfill these things over the course of your life. In fact, I find it to be quite the opposite. We may have a sense of what we feel called to do or areas we desire to influence, but there is a process of unwrapping our calling through self-discovery and a lifestyle of study.
I know the word “study” doesn’t sound appealing at first. I invite you to step back and prepare to change your perspective. The “bad taste” that the word study produces is due to the context we have placed it in since our earliest recollections of school. Studying was not a gateway to personal success, prosperity, and abundance—at least, we did not see it that way. Rather, it meant rigorous hours of reading and memorization in order to secure us a favorable or, if not, at least a passing grade on a test, quiz, or in a class. We must readjust how we approach studying if we are going to walk in new levels of intellectual abundance—as study is an essential key to unwrapping one’s destiny.
It is impossible for you to grow and prosper apart from a rigorous commitment to learning. A casual approach to pursuing information will, in turn, produce casual corresponding results. Think of it this way. If we did minimal study for an exam in college, we would often receive a “minimal” grade. The level to which we go after knowledge determines the level to which that information will cause us to personally prosper. Now, I want to help you break out of the grade-driven paradigm you might still have concerning study.
In school, we studied to get grades. In life, we study to fulfill our purpose and maximize our potential. We study to progress. We study with clear vision that the information we are pursuing is not for the purpose of getting us a passing grade, but instead, empowering us to walk in new realms of success. Success is the fruit of study.
Of course, study by itself is not what causes us to succeed. One can be the most studied person (often labeled as “book smart”) and still fail to put that learning into practice. However, study, when embraced with the mindset of a learner, is essential to ongoing growth and development. If we apply ourselves and dig deep into the topics we are studying, that knowledge will start to permeate deeply into the fabric of who we are. Study by itself does not change us; rather, it is our perspective of study that determines the benefits we receive from the practice.
Mozart said, “It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied.” Genius, creativity, and expertise are living within us; however, they are released through study!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How have you thought about study in the past?
List some areas/items of interest that you would be willing to devote study to:
Why do you think study is necessary if you wish to succeed in any of these areas? (These questions are designed to help you change your perspective on studying; you need to make the clear connection between study and personal growth/success/ prosperity.)
ACTION STEPS
Until you know that life is interesting—and find it so—you haven’t found your soul.
—GEOFFREY FISHER
I hope that, by now, you have a slightly different perspective of studying. It is not your enemy, nor is it a necessary evil. Study is an essential common denominator to those who have gone on to experience tremendous success. The Bible implores you to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed” (2 Tim. 2:15 KJV).