There was a popular song at one time, “Signs” by the Five Man Electrical Band. One way to look at signs in general, as the lyrics of that song seem to suggest, is as something negative, about which we should complain. But doesn’t being able to read the signs hold a deeper, more significant meaning? This ability is not about barriers, walls, limitations, and scarcity. No, it is all about knowledge and information.

We have already discussed the most precious and most finite resource available to you, and that is time—specifically your time. Time is not a possession. It is not an object. It is a phenomenon of our condition, whereas knowledge and information is something that can be acquired, stored, retrieved, expanded upon, put to work, traded, sold, published, printed, displayed, used, taught, and transmitted. But what is it exactly? Show me some knowledge. Let me get my hands on it. Let me see it, hear it, feel it. Make it real for me.

There are two types of knowledge that are at work in our lives. The first type is a non-intellectual, non-mind type of knowledge called “habitual” or “behavioural” knowledge. It is acquired by doing things and seeing what happens. This memory is then stored in the basal ganglia area of the brain and allows you to get through the day, more or less, without thinking about it too much. The other type of knowledge is consciously learned or consciously acquired knowledge, gained by going to school, taking a course, engaging in selfstudy, satisfying your curiosity, and so on. Do you remember not knowing something, and then knowing it? Do you remember that moment of comprehension? That spark of magic? That seemingly divine moment in which you could see/feel/hear the solution? In that very moment, you acquired the knowledge, and it was good! How does that work? How do we get from not knowing to knowing? However it works, it is an amazing experience.

So let’s pretend that your mind is like a great big hopper or basket. You start throwing little bits and bytes of experience, information, data, words, sounds, scents, conversations, images, and so forth, into it. Some of this stream you throw in a disciplined manner, and some just wafts in as you go on about your business. Your brain has this great associative engine that starts comparing possibilities to potential solutions as you are trying to acquire knowledge or develop a mental skill. The magic happens when you have enough of the right kind of puzzle pieces and they all start floating together into a coherent structure that is, in fact, the solution … and you now have it. You have the answer. It is now available to you for future use, because you will be able (most of the time) to reassemble those bits into that same pattern and get the same result. You will now be able to apply this knowledge to your life and future development. Even as you build upon all this, bits and bytes continue to fill your hopper with more associative patterns and mental constructs. It is the ability to construct the patterns and form the bits that is the magic of learning. That is the moment of cognition and it is one of your more precious assets. It is nothing, but it is everything. It is the sum and substance of your life.

Warriors, it is not about how much knowledge you have. It is all about what you do with the knowledge you have acquired. Quality over quantity. Less is more when used effectively. It is all about the right kind of knowledge, and guess what … acquiring knowledge takes time. Therefore, warriors are discerning. They will not spend time acquiring just any knowledge. No, the warrior will read the signs and be grateful for their guidance in acquiring the most relevant knowledge possible.

You are warriors and knowledge is your arsenal. You will acquire useful knowledge that helps you to become the best warrior that you can be. So it is written.