You win or lose by the things you chose. And it’s no secret that the more you know, the better you position yourself to make smarter and better decisions.

As a 23-year-old fresh out of college, I’m at the very beginning of my adulthood and specifically, my career. Having only a few months of real world working experience under my belt, my “status” in the corporate/professional world is essentially not much more than a budding apprentice. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that experience almost always trumps textbook facts (and whatever else you may learn from the outside looking in). In other words, you can read and study as much as you want, but the REAL learning can only occur when you’re out there – in the middle of everything. And each and every day, this reality becomes more and more evident as I realize how little I know about this world and how it works.

The good thing is that this is totally normal.

I just try to remind myself to keep an open mind and avoid pigeon-holing myself and my experience base. I can see how easy it would be to just “fall into” something and keep going in that direction – because it’s comfortable and familiar. And it’s easy and predictable. But hopefully, I’ll have the courage to continue challenging myself, broadening my horizons, and to venture outside my comfort zone. Because like I mentioned, the more you know, the more power you have. And I can confidently claim from my 23 years of experience that knowledge certainly translates into power.

So keep learning, exploring, and inquiring. You win or lose by the things you chose.