You must know more than the truth to set others free

“Poor people can’t help poor people.” In the limited and purely economic sense of giving them financial assistance, this is inarguable. The implication, of course, is that a good way to help poor people is to become financially successful yourself. Just as obviously, forgetting to actually help the poor after one becomes rich sort of fails to make good on the given justification. But if they really do use their wealth to help the poor, such people behave lovingly.

This same principle also applies to ideas. Foolish people can’t help foolish people. So a great way to help fools is to become wise yourself. But it’s not enough to simply have right answers yourself, since then only you benefit. You must also have the ability to “give” them to others effectively. This entails learning persuasion, rhetoric, psychology and a variety of other skills beyond merely having the truth.

Just as wealth without the willingness to share it is unloving, so is wisdom without the practical ability to share it.

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