Question Everything
Honestly, I miss the days when I was just a kid. I was always curious, and I asked a million questions, about everything and anything. I figured the more questions I asked, the more I could understand the way everything in this world works, and in the end, I could understand its purpose.
Little did I know at the time, when I was young and curious, that questioning everything eventually will become one of my strongest skills. To this day, and hopefully till my last, I will always question everything.
My finance Professor, Bruce Swensen, made me realize that most things in life don’t even need to be memorized, they simply need to be understood. What do I mean by that? For example, let’s take a mathematical, science, or even a financial formula for example. Now, if you can memorize the formula and do well on the test because you remembered how to write it down properly, that’s good. However, my question is, did you understand what makes up the formula? What I try to do, is understand what the formula consists of, why everything is where it needs to be, and what happens when certain things in the formula are altered. I walk into the test knowing how the formula works; I don’t even need to memorize it, even though most of the time it comes naturally anyway. When you understand what you need to do, most of the time you can derive the same final answer in numerous different ways. Try it out if you haven’t, question your professor - it will only benefit you.
The same concept applies to the world of business. As Jim Riley, my Professor in Life in the Financial Markets, always says, “The business world is extremely fluid.” Honestly, I think his quote describes the business world perfectly. Every single day, the business world changes and evolves whether it is for the better or worse. The point that I am trying to make here, is that it is the same in the real world as it is in the classroom: you must question everything. You need to understand why all of these events are happening, what caused them to occur, and what impacts they will have on you or your country as a whole. Once you question things long enough, it will become a part of your nature, just like brushing your teeth in the morning – automatic.
Statistics say that our generation is bombarded with more information than ever before. A fun fact that I saw online stated, “It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.”(Did You Know? YouTube.com)
Question everything and stay on top of as much information as possible. Once you will begin working, you will have a huge advantage over many, especially those that tend to isolate themselves from such important information.