Do you see how much the world has changed?
That’s why I always tell leaders, executives, professionals and business owners never to stop learning. Better still, decide every year what new knowledge and skills you’re going to pick up, because the world won’t stop and wait for you.
Think about it for a moment. In just 10 years, so many things have changed how we live, how we work and how we run a business.
Back then there was no Grab. Cashless payments weren’t the norm. People weren’t buying almost everything online, let alone ordering straight from China with a few clicks. Most of us still carried a wallet stuffed with cash.
Our phones used to be just phones. Today the phone is our office, our bank, our camera, our television, our shopping mall and our AI assistant too. We used to queue at the bank or the ATM, book flight tickets through a travel agent and wait for a taxi by the roadside. And to start a business, usually you had to rent a shop, a kiosk or open a stall.
Today, almost all of it can be done from a smartphone.
People also don’t depend on Google alone for answers anymore. Many now use ChatGPT and all kinds of AI apps to help with marketing, research, writing, business planning, data analysis, even making decisions in life.
See? The world really has changed. What we’ve seen over the last 10 years is only the beginning, and I believe the next 10 years will change far faster.
So I strongly believe that the moment we stop learning, we’re not just standing still. We’ve started falling behind.
If we’re still running our business with yesterday’s knowledge, yesterday’s strategy and yesterday’s way of thinking, it gets harder to survive as time goes on. Not because we lack ability, but because our competitors never stop upgrading themselves.
They keep learning, keep innovating, keep making better products, keep giving a better experience, and keep giving customers more reasons to choose them.
We have to keep learning too, because a lack of knowledge often causes us to make the wrong decisions and take the wrong actions. Sometimes we fail not because we didn’t work hard, but because we didn’t know there was a better way.
Knowledge and a mentor are like a GPS. They help us avoid the wrong roads and show us a better route. But a GPS can only show the direction. If we don’t start the engine and move, we’ll still never reach the destination.
It’s the same in business and in life.
Reading books, attending seminars, watching videos and using AI all help a lot, but none of it is enough if we don’t act.
Results only come when knowledge is turned into action.
The good news is that learning is so much easier today. Books, podcasts, YouTube, online classes, webinars, ChatGPT and all kinds of AI apps are right at our fingertips. In fact, most of it can be used for free.
But the real challenge today is no longer finding information. The real challenge is choosing the right knowledge, from the right people, at the right time.
Because not all information is wisdom, and not all advice fits our journey.
So keep learning, keep improving yourself and never stop taking action.
Because our future isn’t decided by how much we know, but by what we choose to do with the knowledge we have.
Datuk Wira