12/16/2022
Napoleon Hill has a lot of great advice and quotes. However, with regards to this one, I have to disagree. "Common sense" does not exist.
I heard it often when growing up, "They just have no common sense", "Use your common sense", and other similar phrases. If "common sense" was real then we would all be born with a shared base line knowledge but we are not. "Common sense" is only real in the sense that it is based on your experiences and knowledge.
For instance, I have seen a handful of videos lately of people at a dentist office having 'dental calculus' or 'plaque build up' removed from their teeth. Plaque build up can do a lot of damage to the teeth and gums. I was raised in the 90's and I remember at least once a week flouride mouth wash being given to each student to rinse their mouth in first and second grade. I remember it being stressed upon us in school and at home that we should brush and floss twice, daily. So, to me, seeing the plaque build up I immediately thought, "Why would anyone let this happen to their teeth and gums? They just need to brush". In essence, "Use your common sense". The reality of it is that their experiences and knowledge may be different, it may have never been impressed upon them the importance of oral hygiene. If no one ever said anything to them they would have no basis of knowledge or experience to call "common sense".
Now, obviously it could be situational and perhaps they could not afford to care for their oral hygiene, I do not know their personal situation. I do know that what one person believes to be "common" to them may not be to someone else. So, if you catch yourself thinking, "Why don't they just use common sense? ", perhaps you should instead ask the person, "Have you ever thought about doing this? ".
In my opinion, "the greatest of all riches", is life. For as long as you are alive and able to draw a breath you can seek a way to make things better for you and others. To be better than you were the day before. The knowledge and experience that we share and pass-on has great value but it lives on after you cease too and may change as others gain more knowledge and experience. Your life and what you do with it though, is of far greater worth than, "common sense".