No matter how many inspirational books or posts we read, we do not have the knowledge itself. Only information can be learned and transferred, not knowledge. The latter must be experienced. Information becomes knowledge only when it is mastered through action.
Only when we apply something, see it in our life, and we are able to reproduce it in different ways do we gain a knowledge of it. In other words, we only know what we integrate into our life! All else is theory and information. Hence, we cannot read and think our way into true knowledge, for it requires consistent action!
Imagine if a man from a village plagued by hunger reads a book on advanced farming techniques, and he reflects on the insights. Feeling confident, he thinks he knows it. But he does not! He only knows it when he is able to reproduce the principles in his life, and successfully harvest crops to solve his own hunger! Only then is he knowledgeable, for he knows how to use principles to produce results in his life. Only then can he help others by showing them.
Consequently, no one can become knowledgeable by reading or listening to anything. At most we can be inspired to action, through the experiences of which we then gain the knowledge of something.
~Ikenna Q. Ezealah
Foundation for Ascent 