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Wisdom Is Invigorating
March 6th, 2012
by Bill Boyajian

I know a lot of smart people, but few who are truly wise. You do, too. You know people with huge storehouses of knowledge who tend to accumulate more and more information. But many lack the wisdom to apply that information in a truly skillful way.

Knowledge and wisdom are not the same. You can have a lot of knowledge (i.e. facts, education, book learning) but not know how to apply it wisely. Knowledge is knowing things. Wisdom is knowing what to do with those things. Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes from understanding. Knowledge sometimes intimidates, but wisdom always invigorates. Proverbs 14:33 says it this way, “Wisdom rests quietly in the heart of he who has understanding.”

Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully. People with wisdom make good choices throughout their lifetimes. Sure, they make mistakes and are far from perfect. But the bulk of their life is spent making wise decisions. That’s what leaders do: make choices and decisions born out of wisdom, realizing that their potential is limited only by how they choose.

One of my favorite lines from a movie is in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, during the scene in which Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones is confronted by the centuries-old knight guarding the chalices used in Biblical times. Jones must choose the cup that Jesus Christ used in order to save his father (Sean Connery) from a mortal gunshot wound. Ford surveys the chalices and, while tempted to choose one that appears kingly, he ultimately decides on a more modest cup that would have been used by a humble carpenter. When he chooses the correct chalice, the knight proclaims, “You have chosen wisely.”

Wisdom is more than intelligence or cleverness. There is a big difference between being right and being wise. Wise people aren’t just right — they’re right in the right way. When I was president of GIA, a very wise gentleman wrote to me on a controversial subject that we had been debating. In his message, he simply said that a nonprofit public benefit corporation should never do anything for anyone that it wouldn’t do for everyone. That gentleman had true wisdom.



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“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS