In high school, I remember seeing all these different posters on the wall in the library. The posters depicted various celebrities with books in their hands and pithy quotes and phrases. The one that comes to mind is one of actor Edward James Olmos that had the quote, “Leer es poder.” This literally translates to “reading is power.” 

I agree the act of reading is a powerful skill. If you want to write fiction, one of the best ways to improve your writing is to read fiction. If you want to improve virtually any area of your life, there are countless websites, magazines, and books that will give you the information you are seeking. Information, however, is not enough.

Knowledge is NOT power. Simply knowing information is not enough today. Before the internet, knowledge did have power. People who knew a lot of facts had a competitive advantage. Today, if you don’t know something it is one quick Google search away using your phone. 

It’s one thing to have the information. More important is what you DO with the information. Knowing how to lose weight has no value unless you take action and actually lose weight. Knowing how to save money does nothing for you if your bank account keeps accruing overdraft fees. 

If you don’t have a habit of reading, you should create one. Read material that you find most interesting. But don’t finish a book, close the cover, say, “Huh!” and then move on. Before you start reading, have the intent that you are looking for information that you can take action on. 

You should also look for “just-in-time” information that you can act on right away. Don’t read about growing a business before you have even started a business. Look for topics that cover where you are now and the next step of where you want to go,

It’s not enough to just know information. The power lies with those who take action and use knowledge to achieve their goals and live better lives.