I will be – in this article – giving my views about what you need to know for a successful career. These are not exactly my views but I have tested the usefulness of these concepts and it cuts through confusion like a knife through butter and enables you to move forward.
The person I learned these concepts is the legendary fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. In the novel, A Study in Scarlet, Holmes’ companion John Watson is attempting to understand and know the characteristics and profession of his eccentric companion. Here are his insights in his own words:
… I eagerly hailed the little mystery which hung around my companion, and spent much of my time in endeavouring to unravel it.
He was not studying medicine. He had himself, in reply to a question, confirmed Stamford’s opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for a degree in science or any other recognized portal which would give him an entrance into the learned world. Yet his zeal for certain studies was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so extraordinarily ample and minute that his observations have fairly astounded me. Surely no man would work so hard or attain such precise information unless he had some definite end in view. Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning. No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.
His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the Solar System. That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it.
“You appear to be astonished,” he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. “Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it.”
“To forget it!”
“You see,” he explained, “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.”
“But the Solar System!” I protested.
“What the deuce is it to me?” he interrupted impatiently; “you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.”
(Sourced from https://sherlock-holm.es/pdf/a4/1-sided/ )
So to summarize:
1) You need to have precise and exact knowledge to do well in your profession.
2) And you need to store within your mind only those facts that will be of use to you in your work.
I can add only the following point. It is not necessary to have all the knowledge you may possibly need in your work. It is only required that you know where to find the information that you require when you need it. Know what text books you may need to refer to for example. Any lawyer will have with him in his office textbooks containing case laws. He does not need to memorise all these case laws. He only needs to refer to these books whenever he is looking for a case law that will help him in his work.
Sherlock Holmes also maintained an index of information that may be useful in future. Quoting again from the Canon (A Scandal in Bohemia):
For many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information.
These insights will be of immense use to professionals who need to master details related to the mental challenges they are facing. I have already mentioned lawyers. But other professionals like doctors or accountants, marketing executives and in fact anyone who is a brain worker will get useful guidance from Sherlock Holmes’ insights.
I hope you enjoyed this article and it will be of use to you. Please explore this blog for more articles and let me have your comments. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
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