Doers of the Word

There’s something to be said about hands-on experience: It’s important.

I recently went to take, for at least the third time, the CCENT ICND1 640-822 exam.

The first time, my goal was to come away with as much information about the exam as possible so that I could know what to study to pass it the second time. I failed the exam but knew what to expect when I went in again.

The second time, my goal was to pass. I had just spent a week in a bootcamp class, running through labs, learning from a great instructor, studying the material, and listening to IT professionals talk about their jobs and problems. I came so close to passing (perhaps one or two correct answers away) but failed again.

The third time, my goal again was to pass. This time was a year later, but throughout the course of the year I’d read a little more about routing and switching, done a few more labs, and used some excellent practice exams for Boson. I went through all the flashcards from Cisco multiple times, I went through the ICND1 book, I reviewed the materials, and I felt prepared for the exam.

The exam, however, overwhelmed me slightly. I knew the written material. I knew what I could know about OSPF and EIGRP and NAT and all those other protocols when the information was written on the paper (or one the computer screen) in front of me, but when it came to the practical application, I really had no idea. I couldn’t connect the dots between the writing and the implementing.

This frustrates me only slightly, and that only because I’ve spent the last 3 years reading all about this stuff. You’d think that I’d know it better than I do, but if all I’m doing is reading about it and never seeing how the technologies all work together and are implemented, I don’t know how I’m going to actually understand how it works.

That’s kind of the way everything seems. Reading only does so much good; then comes time to implement what you’ve read, time to apply it to life, time to let what you’ve studied make a difference in your life. It’s a reminder I continually need: Don’t just know it; do something with it!

“But be doers of the word and not hearers only. For whoever is a hearer of the word and not a doer is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed by what he does.”