The reality of being a business owner is that as you grow, so too will your business. If you are merely doing enough to keep up and are not learning and growing how can you ever expect your business to grow? It was Albert Einstein who gave this definition to us "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

One thing I have learned over the course of my business life is that information alone is not enough to effect change. Just look at how much information you are bombarded with every day. You may read an industry newsletter or two, or a book on a subject that is important to-or of interest to-you, or perhaps you are consuming everything the latest 'guru' has to say. For you this information seeking may mean learning some new aspect of business or breaking free of a limiting behavior. Nevertheless, reading alone is not enough to make any difference in your business and personal growth. While information may be the catalyst to change, it is change that is inevitable and even paramount to your success. Stagnation comes from inaction. But, action produces change which in turn produces growth.

Recently, I read that "information alone is not powerful enough to transform your behavior." David Brooks in his book The Social Animal states, "Some experts believe people just need to be taught the long-term risks of bad behavior." But, as an example, just telling someone that waiting for the phone to ring day-in-and day-out won't grow their business, is not enough to effect a change in their behavior or business. They must accept and believe in what you tell them and ultimately resolve to change this limiting behavior before change can or will be actualized.

The Internet, in all its glory and with all the information you could ever want easily accessible, makes it easy to jump from one information source to the next without ever really making any use of it. I suggest you not only read, but attempt to put into practice what you learn before you move on to the next resource or 'guru'. Ask yourself, am I willing to take action or am I just fooling myself into believing that all I need to do is read, read, and read some more. This puts me in mind of the movie Short Circuit where the robot, Johnny 5, says, "Input, input, input!" But I digress from the subject at hand.

Knowledge in and of itself is good. It can keep you up on the latest developments in your industry. It can also make you aware of issues and challenges your buying public is facing. But, knowing something and doing something about it are two very different things altogether. So too, learning a new technique or skill alone is useless. Unless and until you take affirmative action and put your new found skill or technique to use it will be relegated to the recesses of your brain. There it will reside awaiting further action. If you take none you may eventually forget all about ever having learned it in the first place. When that happens it will take more than just remembrance to get you back on track.

Yes, to consistently seek information to help you and your business grow is important. However, if you don't use the knowledge you gain nothing will change and your business will never evolve into anything more than what it currently is today.

Resolve to use the knowledge you gain. Take action, for action is what will make the difference in your continued business growth and success.

Now available in PDF, Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. Visit CLEWbook.com for more information or to purchase your copy today.

While you are there pick up your free Special Report: 10 Easy Steps to Re-purpose Your Content. In it you will learn how you too can re-use your valuable content.  

Book Ginger for your next speaker, interview, or reading today.