To The Next Level
Transforming Information to Knowledge on Fire
Dig into your resources to become sharp in your field.
By Paula Frazier

It's hard to keep up with information these days.

I remember when there were only three TV stations, and families ritually listened to Paul Harvey share "the rest of the story" on the radio waves. You received both the morning and evening edition of the newspaper from young entrepreneurs on bicycles.

Gone are those days …

Mothers were often the greatest sources of information and some of the best networked people on the planet. They could send a message from front porch to front porch and have you home in time for dinner.

Most folks ended the day by curling up with a great book. Information was directed and delivered to us at a much slower pace—and was "shut off" at some point each evening.

Gone are those days …

If you wanted or needed information you had to be very proactive about it. You could crack open your family's outdated set of encyclopedias or visit a public or business library for references. Current events were usually clipped out of newspapers and magazines. Microfiche was considered hi-tech.

Gone are those days …

Now we're inundated with information. Televisions funnel infomercials to us on several hundred channels at one time. Split screen features allow us to watch two programs at a time! Talk radio shows seem to be overtaking continuous music time slots. Electronic billboards flash multiple messages. Even coffee mugs and ink pens, adorned with logos and slogans, are pumping us up with information.

These are the days …

Computer technology ensures you know what you need to know before you need to know it. You don't have to surf the net. Pop ups come to you. You can get up-to-the-second news online. Moms don't holler for you to come home; they text. And these days a phone isn't just a phone; they are all-in-one smart machines that promise TV, radio, internet, phone, text and GPS capabilities that fit in the palm of your hand.

Applying Information
It's amazing that with all of these instant resources more people aren't becoming multi-billionaires and leading their industries. There is absolutely no excuse for not succeeding in life and in business with the information we have immediately available to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You know what the problem is?

It's too much! We are overwhelmed to the point of inaction. We simply don't know what to do with it all.

I read an article several weeks ago that reminded me of how important it is to apply the most fundamental and essential information that we already have. We go to workshops, watch DVD's, listen to CD's, download podcasts, take in-depth notes from mountains of books—and then we put the list of things we were inspired to do in a file and place the books back on a shelf.

All of that valuable data, along with all of our good intentions to actually do something, gets filed away or re-shelved.

One of my mentors, Dr. Ivan Misner, wrote the article that inspired me to go back to some very powerful information and ideas that were literally gathering dust. He says, "Ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice, but there's nothing more powerful than KNOWLEDGE ON FIRE!"

Which specific idea from a recent book, article, workshop, CD, DVD, or podcast can you dust off to make an extraordinary difference for you? It's up to you to take action and ignite the spark that will set your knowledge on fire.

Paula Frazier is a referral marketing trainer, coach, consultant and keynote speaker. She is an Executive Director for BNI and part of a select team of Master Trainers for Referral Institute. Paula's business networking articles have been published nationally. She is also acknowledged in the New York Times best seller, Truth or Delusion—Busting Networking's Biggest Myths. Check out #33, Delusion with a Twist!

Paula can be contacted at paula@referralinstitute-va.com.