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Be weary of Chauffeur Knowledge. Too many people in the world confuse surface knowledge for deep understanding. They rattle off big words, regurgitate ideas they heard elsewhere, or describe high-level concepts, but these individuals lack true substance. Avoid this approach at all costs. My friend Ben Buchanan highlighted this idea when he pointed me to the famous Charlie Munger commencement speech, where the famed investor tells the story of Max Planck’s chauffeur. Munger says: "I frequently tell the apocryphal story about how Max Planck, after he won the Nobel Prize, went around Germany giving the same standard lecture on the new quantum mechanics. Over time, his chauffeur memorized the lecture and said, “Would you mind, Professor Planck, because it’s so boring to stay in our routine. [What if] I gave the lecture in Munich and you just sat in front wearing my chauffeur’s hat?” Planck said, “Why not?” And the chauffeur got up and gave this long lecture on quantum mechanics. After which a physics professor stood up and asked a perfectly ghastly question. The speaker said, “Well I’m surprised that in an advanced city like Munich I get such an elementary question. I’m going to ask my chauffeur to reply.” In this world we have two kinds of knowledge. One is Planck knowledge, the people who really know. They’ve paid the dues, they have the aptitude. And then we’ve got chauffeur knowledge. They’ve learned the talk. They may have a big head of hair, they may have fine temper in their voice, they’ll make a hell of an impression. But in the end, all they have is chauffeur knowledge." What a great story. Munger’s point should be heeded as a word of caution. Not only is it hard to use surface level knowledge, but it becomes relatively easy for someone to expose your lack of knowledge in conversation. Deep understanding takes time. It takes discipline. You need insatiable curiosity. Understanding can only come from effort. It is impossible to fake true understanding. Put in the work to learn various topics you are interested in. Be able to argue the perspective of proponents and detractors. Identify areas for improvement. Form an opinion on how we got to the present day and where you think we are going. Don’t just memorize the idea, learn it. And most importantly, understand the topic well enough that you could explain it to a 5-year old. Avoid chauffeur knowledge. Aspire to deeply understand. Build Planck knowledge. This is an excerpt from my new book, How To Live An Extraordinary Life Volume 2. You can buy a copy of the book here: https://t.co/KW3fShIMZf