© Elliot Essman 2005. All rights reserved.

These pages contain the complete 2005 revised text of Building Yourself, public speaking trainer Elliot Essman's guide to living the successful life.

Elliot Essman Public Speaking Training
Building Yourself Table of Contents
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• The difference between intelligence and education is this—that intelligence will make you a good living. Charles Kettering (1876–1958)

My own education is broad. I speak several foreign languages, read widely in history, art, economics and many other subjects, and have an insatiable curiosity about nearly everything from computers to cuisine. But I also measure my success in money. I have a genuine love of learning. But I never ignore money. Money‑driven values and goals can co‑exist with non‑financial priorities. They're all part of life.

In my particular line of work, I generate money by optimizing my access to information, then using my skills to create extra value out of it. In the post-industrial economy, this is the way money will be made.

I read a newspaper editorial once which complained that the pace of technological development was becoming so rapid, and that so much information had to be learned, that the author despaired of mankind ever being able to keep up. You'd think this editorial was recent, but it came out in The New York Times, sometime back in the forties—the eighteen forties. You don't have to memorize every critical fact that comes your way, but you do need to gain the skills to find information rapidly, precisely when you need it. Demographic and financial market information, for example, is critical in most business decisions. The success or failure of your communications efforts will often depend on the freshness and accuracy of your information.

Learn how to use traditional sources, like encyclopedias and dictionaries. Libraries will be able to introduce you to computerized databases and methods of searching them. Nearly any move you make that involves money will involve access to information.

Computers, of course, have revolutionized the search for information. I found the Charles Kettering quotation on the net; I simply typed in the keyword “Intelligence.” To learn a bit more about Mr. Kettering, I called up a database using an alternate search engine. Time spent: about three minutes.

There are occasions when an Internet search fails to bear fruit. If this happens, please don’t forget the highly skilled professionals at your local library.