You Are What You Know

You Are What You Know

In a magnificent expression of indisputable reality, former South Korean President Kim Ill Sung stated an eternal fact of deathless beauty when he said: “True Intellectuals are not those with degrees and diplomas, but those with knowledge essential for life.”

In other words, whichever way you achieve it, knowledge is power. It is power to achieve health and happiness, pass examinations, defeat enemies, make money, climb the corporate ladder, enjoy marriage, enjoy sex life, etc. Hence, when you are knowledgeable, you are at an advantage. Loaded with advantages!

This blog is called The Advantage Overload because it is especially loaded with information to give you a competitive advantage to help you scale through life’s challenges in these endless troublesome times and still emerge with a smile regardless of your age. 

The best way to be advantage overloaded is “to know”.  As in “survival of the fittest”, it’s “survival of the advantaged” or “survival of the knowledgeable”. Today if you are disadvantaged due to ignorance, you may die just like if you are unfit for lack of exercise. Conversely, when you are “in the know”, you can thrive. Ignorance is no defense. It has sent people to prison, produced failures, lost games, lost money, lost marriages, sent people to hospital and others to the early grave.

Whichever way you look at this, the happiest people in any endeavor are those who know something beneficial. When you are in the know, you can be healthy, make money,  manage your weight, live longer, have a stress free old age, enjoy great sex life, raise your kids well, pass examinations, get a great job, close top sales, etc. Life simply becomes more manageable at any age and in any part of the world. 

People are constantly seeking easier ways to success & money. Others are looking for the better way of taking care of their health in view of the ever increasing statistics of death pronouncing ailments such as diabetes, cancer, etc. More are after “how to pass examinations” information and much more life-changing advice. But how can people achieve all these needs? There is only one way: you must be "in the know".

It's only people with “know-how” who get to some point of satisfaction or success. That know-how comes through many avenues and I will analyze them in the upcoming posts on this blog (you will be advantaged if you subscribe for update notifications). 

One sure fire way to be in the know is to read widely because, as they say, “reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. Children must be inculcated with a reading culture early in life and the results will please the parent immeasurably. In a brilliant show of advisory wisdom, Charles W. Eliot said, “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Readers Are Leaders

The greatest men on earth have been great readers. They say “Leaders are Readers and Readers are Leaders”. Factual, isn’t it? 

Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as the wisest President the USA has ever had and over 2,500 volumes plus thousands other papers in the Library of Congress are written about him. Wasn’t he a great reader from childhood? Dr. Ben Carson, the world’s best Neurosurgeon, says he was less than average in class in his childhood but picked up with better grades after his mother caused him to read plenty books and he grew up with a great reading culture. Bill Gates, one of the world’s richest individuals, with his entire busy schedule, continues to be a great book reader to this day. The list of great men associated with a reading culture is endless.

In these adverse times, people are increasingly breaking their backs trying to beat the stress of the troublesome times affecting nations worldwide. Among the obvious interventions people ought to exploit is to read, read, and read more through a lifelong consistent reading culture. That means over the rest of your life, you will read all sorts of books depending on what you want to know or to achieve; and I come fast in the bargain with The Advantage Overload, presenting the precious gems of knowledge pregnant with the very do's and don’ts of life as we know it. I am aiming to help make life better through imparting advantageous knowledge to readers.

What Are The Best Books To Read Right Now?

Obviously, your next question would be “what are the best books to read for one to be ‘in the know’ and tread better on life’s rugged pathway”?

Well, there are many great books out there. I have pointed out below 7 of the best ones covering the most important aspects of life from childhood to death. They are written by no nonsense authors who have experienced what they write about or are witnesses of advantaged legends.

1. The World's Fittest Book: How to train For Anything And Everything, Anywhere And Everywhere is set to become every fitness enthusiast's bible. Dubbed the body's complete user guide, it will become the go-to resource for learning all you need to know about building muscle, losing fat, eating (healthy) cake and unlocking your superhuman physical potential.

Packed with workouts the author tried and tested in the pursuit of multiple world records, it's more than a book, it's the greatest training tool ever written! Designed for anyone who wants to make permanent and lasting changes to their food and fitness, it's the first book to combine the teachings, tips and tricks of Olympic and World Champions into one, easy to follow resource.

This literary masterpiece will show you how easily possible it is to:

Ø Live below 10% body fat with the aid of chocolate and Mayan secrets.

Ø Add 27% more muscle mass, courtesy of tips from world heavyweight champions.

Ø Increase speed by 10%, thanks to gold medal winning Olympic sprinters.

Ø Squat, deadlift and bench weights you never dreamed of lifting, with the guidance of the world's strongest men.

Ø Improve endurance capacity by 60%, thanks to the knowledge of world champions in multi endurance-based sports.

...all of which the author has achieved during the 10-year 'Fitness Pilgrimage' that has taken him around the globe.

Aiming to be the most eclectic and comprehensive fitness guide ever created, The World's Fittest Book is the sum and substance of over a decade of research and the collective wisdom of some of the greatest minds and athletic bodies in history. By learning the lessons within it, readers will understand 'fitness' better than the vast majority of the population. Every chapter will have an easy to digest workout within it and can be read individually. But if you want to read the stories and the science behind the routines, that's there too.

Until now, there hasn't been a book covering such an ambitious range of areas, catering for the casual fitness enthusiast seeking clarity and guidance in their own gym routine and kitchen habits as well as the seasoned sportsperson who's hit a plateau and is searching for tips, tricks and tweaks they can make to their training and diet. This book changes that, and will take you on a journey to whatever level of fitness you want to find.

2. The Big Book Of Health And Fitness: A Practical Guide to Diet, Exercise, Healthy Aging, Illness Prevention, and Sexual Well Being.Taking control of your health and well-being is a necessary and personal journey. From teens and parents fighting obesity in America, to aging baby boomers refusing to go quietly into the dark night—everyone can stay fit, healthy, and active for many years to come! This book lays out a sensible and holistic road map that makes health and fitness an ingrained part of your lifestyle, and an easy-to-achieve goal for both men and women at any age.

For more than three decades, the author, Dr. Philip Maffetone has been treating and advising patients, coaching athletes, lecturing worldwide, and writing books about the importance of self-health care. Topics covered in his latest book include how to make healthy dietary choices, obtain the best nutrition from real food, avoid illness and disease, and learn to listen to your body. Also learn the dangers of common dietary supplements, fat-burning exercise for weight loss, reducing stress, controlling inflammation, having a healthy and fulfilling sex life, and much more. Maffetone expertly guides the reader step by step through each topic and provides simple health surveys to help you better understand how the body works and what to safely do if a problem or symptom arises during your fitness or dietary regimen.

3. Magnificent Sex: Lessons from Extraordinary Lovers. What makes sex magnificent? What are the qualities of extraordinary erotic intimacy and what are the elements that help to bring it about? Is great sex the stuff that people remember nostalgically from the "honeymoon" phase of their relationships, or can sex improve over time?

Magnificent Sex is based on the largest, in-depth interview study ever conducted with people who are having extraordinary sex. It gathers the nuggets for remarkable sex from the "experts", distilling them into an attainable blueprint for ordinary lovers who want to make erotic intimacy grow over the course of a lifetime. Looking at factors including individual and relational qualities, empathic communication and the myths and realities of magnificent sex, this book offers accessible and evidence-based guidance for lovers and therapists alike.

This illuminating book explores the implications of the findings to develop a model that effectively tackles the common problems of low desire and frequency. The "cure" for low desire is to create desirable sex!

4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, named the #1 book of the twentieth century and having sold over 20 million copies from the time it was published in 1990, this book still maintains bestseller status. 

Author, Stephen R. Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity--principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

5.  Extraordinary People With Disabilities Here with author Deborah Kent’s sombre yet thrilling and motivating accounts of how physically challenged people have made it in grand style, making able bodied people wonder why they cannot also strike it like success! Real-life stories of struggle, achievement and victory, and sometimes loss. 

The Extraordinary People Series is the perfect piece for those who want to succeed despite living under less privileged circumstances while it is a perfect starter for knowledge enthusiasts who want to know more about the people who shaped their world, focusing on the unique histories of people from every culture and every walk of life. If the physically challenged nailed some near superhuman achievements in ways the world can learn from, why not you?

6. Jeff Bezos: An Extraordinary Life: Follow The Journey, The Lessons, The Rules for Success. If you’re looking for inspiration to open your own business, amass a vast amount of wealth or simply to become the best person you can be, reading about the life of the world’s richest man is not a bad place to start. 

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of the online giant Amazon.com, as well as the owner of the Washington Post and the founder of space exploration company Blue Origin. From a young age, Bezos showed a natural curiosity towards computers and turned his parents’ garage into a laboratory where he set up science experiments and projects. Since these early beginnings, Bezos has had a string of successes. 

He graduated from Princeton University in computer science and electrical engineering and then went on to work at Wall Street, becoming the youngest senior Vice President of the investment firm, D. E. Shaw. Four years later, he quit to set up Amazon.com, currently one of the world’s largest and most successful dot.com companies. In September 2018, Amazon.com was valued at an incredible one trillion dollars. If you want to discover the story behind Bezos’ extraordinary success, this book takes you on a journey from his childhood to how he became one of the world’s richest and most successful businessmen. You’ll find a story of dedication, business-savviness, deeply embedded work ethics and a relentless desire to succeed. If you want a hard set of rules on how you can become successful in business and earn the financial freedom that Bezos enjoys, then Bezos’ life story will give you exactly that.

 In this book JeffBezos: An Extraordinary Life, you will find:

Ø The story of Jeff Bezos’ childhood and how it set the stage for the strong core values he lives by today.

Ø How he set up Amazon.com in a garage and turned it into one of the world’s most successful and richest companies in the world.

Ø How he went on to own the Washington Post and found the Blue Origin.

Ø The main lessons he learned throughout his life.

Ø Bezos’ 10 rules of success and how you can apply them to your life too.

7. It's NEVER Too Late And You're NEVER Too Old: 50 People Who Found Success After 50 proves that George Eliot, a 19^th century English novelist was not in error when he said, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”

One of the biggest hurdles people over 50 have to overcome is the mindset about their age. There’s an old cliché of “age ain’t nothin’ but a number.” But as we all know, getting older does have certain obstacles such as dwindling health, limited income, and the end of long-time careers followed by “now what in the heck do I do?” Yes, age is the number of candles on a birthday cake, and a stark reality of things to come. But getting older isn’t…

Ø A deal breaker.

Ø A reason you can’t start a business or any other new venture.

Ø A limit on success.

Ø A valid excuse for inaction.

Ø A valid excuse to give up on your dreams.

Here are 50 people who overcame the very same things you are facing right now. Let them show you the way to outrageous success and happiness regardless of your age or circumstances.

Finally

If you don't read, you won’t know. If you don't know, you will be disadvantaged. If you are disadvantaged, you will stagnate and deteriorate. Read at least one book a month, and a couple of magazines a month. When you are a regular reader, the adage that "knowledge is power" will forcibly be realized in your very life and it will be appreciated by the world around you. See you on my next post on this  blog about another exciting way to advantage yourself in life. Hope you are now beaming with THE ADVANTAGE OVERLOAD!!!

Do you believe that "You Are What You Know"? Any experience? Kindly share in the comments.

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