# The Illusion of Knowledge - Thinking You Know

*Thinking You Know*

By [YOLO](https://paragraph.com/@yolo) · 2024-09-22

thing, coin

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/e65116a369cf137ab1811d92b707a6c8.png)

1.  **Among the people I know, there's a young man who's very good at theory and paperwork. Every time we meet, he talks about a new project, very logically and persuasively, but he never actually starts working on it. It's all plans and projects, but no results are ever seen.**I don't like this young man and no longer hang out with him. I realized what I dislike is actually something I once did myself: talking about future projects and their feasibility without actually starting them. Ultimately, this comes from hating that trait in myself. This young man is just a mirror reflecting my own inner self, and that reflection is too clear, almost brutally direct.
    
2.  **Today, in an MMO group, someone asked how to make 1 million VND per month for pocket money and extra income.**I read the comments and offered my opinions on three possible directions. Generally, these directions require persistence, hard work, and most importantly, **TAKING ACTION**.Just like how writing 1,000 analytical articles doesn't compare to actually executing a plan you've devised; all the theoretical fluff disappears, leaving only reality and results.Taking action is the simplest and shortest way to test if that direction is correct. It reminds me of myself 10-12 years ago, reading tech blogs and affiliate marketing for 2-3 years with no results.The results only came when I started doing the work: setting up a blog, writing articles, hiring SEO to target keywords for sales...
    
3.  **Similarly, there are people who analyze cases very well, and theoretically, they are correct. However, they still miss other factors:**
    

  

*   The market will change; if you adapt, so will your competitors.
    
*   Emotions often outweigh logic.
    
*   Each person is different, with different strengths. You can't apply a method that works for a good coder to someone who excels at content creation. This starts with understanding oneself: who am I, what am I good at, what are my weaknesses, what do I CHOOSE...
    

  

4.  **Ultimately, knowledge only has value when it's turned into action. Instead of indulging in the "illusion of knowledge," I choose to execute my plan to learn more about myself and to live true to myself.**

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*Originally published on [YOLO](https://paragraph.com/@yolo/the-illusion-of-knowledge-thinking-you-know)*