“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” – T.S. Eliot

Wisdom means you know what to pursue and why. It requires you actually live what you understand…please read that again and repeat until it sinks in.  You must be continually disrupting your own worldview by taking on bigger challenges in the real world — where the value of your thinking is put to the test.

Wisdom requires what Cal Newport calls, “Deep Work.” According to Newport, most things people pursue are shallow, rather than deep.

Shallow activities are easy to replicate. Almost anyone can do them. They require almost no bar of entry. Determine what it is you want…really want. Anyone can replicate someone else’s recipe for success. Few people, however, take the time to seek out a mentor for specific advice, search the web for ideas that match your individual success recipe or pick up the right book at the right time and immediately test what you’ve learned for a specific purpose. Hence, Newport has, “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”

Gathering information and “learning” for the sake of learning is a clear reflection that you do not have clarity about what truly matters to you.