“Common sense is genius dressed in working clothes” – Albert Einstein

The problem with common sense is that it’s not as common as it once was. You’d think after many years, it would be easier to live more meaningful, successful lives. The truth is: It is not. While the standard of living in the United States has increased, the level of fulfillment in the last 30 years has remained the same. Isn’t that interesting? You would think that after getting a bigger house with better and cooler toys, you’d be happier. Truth is: You are not. But that’s not what conventional wisdom tells. Conventional wisdom tells that you’re cool if you have a hot car and a huge house, or if you drink as you speak, or smoke weed like Snoop Dog. It’s what TV and the culture glorify. My friend, conventional wisdom is the enemy of common sense. Let me explain…

What is Conventional Wisdom?

Conventional wisdom is authoritarian opinion. Conventional wisdom is what your teacher, parents, or favorite singer says. They say “Talking to strangers is dangerous” and as a child you believe. Of course, as you develop your common sense, you learn that “Not talking to strangers is what’s dangerous” – you may end up alone! Or the singer says “getting high is not that bad” and like a zombie you trust him. In Einstein’s case, he challenged Newton’s theory as well as that of many other physicians of his time. The same case was that of Copernicus. They challenged the authoritarian opinion, and for it, they faced tremendous opposition; but once proved right, they saw glory.

What’s the conventional wisdom in your life? What silly doctrine are you blindly following? For you college students, are you caught up on the idea that drinking is cool? I won’t tell you what to do, but I will challenge you to question whether it is actually cool or not. Read all you can on it. Ask the experts, not your drinking buddies. Figure it out. Challenge the conventional wisdom of everyone around you, not just those who drink or don’t drink. Are you caught up on the idea that the rich are evil – because that’s what Daddy said? I encourage you to figure out if  that’s true or not. Challenge everything. Question it all. What about women? Are women just interested in money, looks, and status? Figure it out. Do not follow opinions blindly.

Note: Do not make the mistake of comparing sincerity with truth. It is possible that your friend may be sincere when he tells you “It’s alright to have a few beers before going out”, but it’s also possible that your friend is sincerely wrong.[Common sense would tell you this]

What is Common Sense?

The question remains: What is really common sense? It used to be defined as “What the reasonable person would do”. But now it would be defined as “What the intelligent person would do”. I’d like you to take a look at the quote by Albert Einstein at the top. Let’s examine it: “Common sense is genius dressed in working clothes”

Working clothes: This represents the ignored ones. The ones that are mostly not paid attention to.
Genius: The Key to success

Rephrase it: Common sense is the key to success that no one pays attention to.

Here are some examples of how common sense can enhance a meaningful life:

• You become the average of the people you hang out with. If you want to succeed, hanging around with non-driven people doesn’t help.
• If you want to be rich, watch what poor people do, and don’t do it
• If you don’t know the answer to something, there is a way to find out: read
• Of course you’ll fall behind if the competition is getting trained and you’re not
• The way you treat others is how they’ll treat you

The list goes on, but let me share with you the conventional wisdom that counters these ideas most often (in order):

• You can get rich on your own
• Maximize the credit card -you can always pay as you go
• There is not enough time to read! The man says “I’ll read when I get more free time”. When is that? When the bills are piling and you must work double?
• I’ll do as little as possible and get as much as I can
• People don’t care anyway, why should I?

How To Do It

This how-to guide is simple, but not easy. It’s easy to do as it is easy not to do.

It’s a four-step procedure:

1. Read deeply and broadly
2. Write extensively and regularly
3. Speak as often as you can
4. Converse as profoundly as possible

1. Read great books that will push you to think, not just trashy novels. That’s the deep part. And then read broadly – dwell on a variety of subjects. Grab books on political strategies, business success, and history. Look into biographies of great mathematicians and athletes. It’s not the cost of the books that matter, it’s what will cost if you don’t read that will matter.

2. Keep a journal in which you can clarify your ideas. And do it regularly enough to keep your mind refreshed. As you write, your thoughts become clearer. Writing pushes you to think, and that’s what counts. It’s your thoughts as a result of what you read and listen that counts. When you read, you memorize and act it out When you think, you realize and live it out.

3. Speak as often as you can. Not only is speaking a tremendous way to gain confidence, it’s also an awareness builder. Ever since I began speaking, I have gained tremendous awareness of my emotions and thought process. Try it.

4. Converse. How important is this. We can learn from people every single day. Everyone has a story and the more you converse and genuinely get to know someone, the more real wisdom you gain. Here is a tip for conversing: Stop talking and listen. Listen for feeling, not just words. Half of being a great conversationalist is being a great listener.

I Must

I conclude now by making a statement – If you were to begin using the word “must” instead of “want” or “have” in your daily speaking, you will see a tremendous improvement in your life. This, I promise you.

Consider the difference between “I must do this” and “I have to do it”. One has a sense of determination. The other a sense of ambiguity. “I must have that girl for me!” is not anywhere nearly as powerful as “I would like to have that girl”. For me, I began saying “I must began reading” and I would repeat that to myself over and over. And when I felt like not doing it, I would say “I MUST finish this!”. “I must” is powerful!

“I must” does plenty of things for you. Here is how:

“I must get my degree”
“I must get my hands on that particular book”
“I must confront that person”

“I must” means there is no other way out. You don’t “have to”, but “you must!”. One is pushing you, the other is You pushing IT! Therefore, success is inevitable!

Come on! let’s do this, friends! let us develop us common sense! let us make some difference!

I wish for you to enjoy tremendous success, and of course, all feedback is welcome and kindly wanted.

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