Why Knowing Isn’t Enough
I recently came across a quote by Derek Sivers:
“If knowledge was enough, we would all be billionaires with six packs.”
Most of us already know what we should be doing.
You know you should spend less than we earn.
You know you should invest for the future.
You know you need to be careful with debt.
You know you should book a meeting with me 😆
The issue isn’t a lack of knowledge.
The gap is psychological.
There’s often a disconnect between what we know and what we actually do. And that gap is shaped by habits, emotions, priorities, and the way we value our future versus our present.
If building wealth is important, it has to be reflected in the decisions we make day to day. In practice, that means giving wealth creation a higher priority, sometimes higher than comfort, convenience, or immediate gratification.
I changed my car a couple of months ago, and when I looked at the tax implications of the car I thought I wanted I changed tack. The numbers made it clear that choosing that option would come at a meaningful cost to my longer-term financial goals.
At that point, the decision wasn’t really about cars anymore. It was about priorities.
Because I place a high value on building wealth, the choice became straightforward and I opted for something far more tax efficient (and less noisy).
These are the moments that shape financial outcomes. Not the big, complex decisions, but the small, consistent ones where our values are tested.
Knowledge gives us the framework…. and our behaviour determines the result.




