Intentional Action
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Now that you know what you’re trying to accomplish in the next 90 days, the path forward is not just about doing things—it’s about taking intentional action.
Success isn’t about having all the answers upfront. It’s about engaging with learning, adapting, and aligning your actions with your values and purpose.
By cultivating wisdom, embracing open-loop learning, and taking purposeful steps, you can turn your efforts into meaningful progress.
This Friday on Purpose post is the topic for today’s live Catalyst Club community call. With a paid subscription, you can join the community and the conversations at 1 p.m. ET.
The Path to Wisdom
Wisdom is more than just knowledge or intelligence. It’s about applying what you learn with integrity, intention, and adaptability to get you closer to what you want.
Unlike knowledge, which is simply the acquisition of information, or intelligence, which is applying that information to get what you want, wisdom is the pursuit of virtuous action without attachment to expectations or outcomes.
Here is the path to wisdom.1
Knowledge → Learning → Intelligence → Virtue → Wisdom: This progression is your roadmap to wisdom. It starts with acquiring knowledge and moves through learning and intelligence before arriving at virtue and wisdom.
Experience as a Teacher: Wisdom is gained by applying what you know, reflecting on the outcomes, and refining your approach. Whether it succeeds or fails, every action offers a lesson that contributes to your understanding.
Virtue as a Guiding Principle: Wisdom involves practicing intelligence with integrity and intention, prioritizing what’s right over what’s expedient, and making decisions that align with your values, not just your immediate desires.
Cultivating wisdom is more than being perfect or always making the right call. It’s about learning from your experiences and aligning your actions with your values. This process is its own reward, guiding you toward the next right thing with greater clarity and confidence.
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Open-Loop Learning
The conventional idea of being “smart” involves consuming, processing, and regurgitating information. While being smart can help in technical fields, it can also lead to rigid thinking and defensiveness. Embracing open-loop learning offers a more flexible and dynamic approach, especially for solopreneurs.
The Case Against Smarts2