S03 E01: What Experience Teaches You That Books Can't

There comes a point where information is no longer enough.

In this opening episode of Season 3, Tabitha J sets the tone for a deeper conversation around wisdom, growth, and leadership. Because while knowledge can introduce you, it’s experience that shapes how you move, how you discern, and how you lead.

This episode explores the lessons that can’t be learned from a book—the kind that come through real-life situations, hard decisions, and moments that stretch you beyond what you thought you were ready for.

If you’ve ever felt like you “should know more by now,” or questioned your journey because it didn’t look polished or predictable… this conversation will shift your perspective.

Thanks for listening to Poised for Purpose with Tabitha J.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey, happy Monday. Welcome back to Boise for Purpose. I'm your host, Tabitha J, and listen, we're in season three. Oh yes! And we're not just easing into this season, we're gonna jump right in because we're stepping into something just a little deeper. Season three is about wisdom, it's about discernment, it's about leadership, real leadership, right? The kind that's not performative or loud or forced, but we're gonna talk about the type of leadership that's earned. And today we're gonna start right where most people try to skip. Experience. Yeah, yeah. We're gonna deal with some of the truth that people don't like. So let's just go right ahead and say it. Bottom line is you can read every book, take every class, listen to every podcast, including this one, and still not know everything that you need to know. Because there's some things that you simply don't learn until you live them. Yeah, experience will teach you what information can't touch. Experience teaches you timing, it teaches discernment, it teaches you people, it teaches you about yourself. And let's just be real about it. Experience itself doesn't come trust up. Experience doesn't come pretty. Sometimes experience looks like mistakes. You know, those mistakes that you wish you didn't make. Mistakes or doors that you forced open that maybe you should have just walked past. But you know, here's the shift of it all. Here's the good news. Not one thing, not one single thing was wasted. You see, experience refines you, it has a way of refining your voice. You don't speak the same after you've been through something, you know, you don't move the same, you don't trust the same. You definitely don't ignore those same red flags anymore. Why? Because now you recognize, and that's what experience does. It sharpens your ability to recognize not just what looks good, but now it tells you what is good. It's not just about everybody that shows up, but it now becomes about who's consistent. So experience doesn't just give attention to every single opportunity, it aligns you as far as assignment is concerned, it starts to deal with quality, and that right there, that's where wisdom starts to form. So, with all of that being said, I want to jump right here and say something that I really need you to hear. Stop rushing the process. Yeah, stop trying to rush into spaces that your experience hasn't prepared you for yet. Yeah, I know that may be kind of tough and sounds a little weighty, you know, but it's true. It's you know that it's real talk because what you're asking for it requires a version of you that only experience itself can build. You know, we're in this era where we love to pray for elevation. You know, we want everything just to come on in and we want to get elevated and promoted, we want all those things to happen, but we don't always want the process that qualifies us to sustain it. You see, experience it builds capacity. Yeah, experience teaches you how to handle pressure, how to manage people, and how to move when things don't immediately go your way. It's a test in itself. And without that, you might get opportunities, but you won't have the endurance to keep them. So let's um let's deal with experience versus information. I want to break this down real simple for you. Information tells you what to do, experience teaches you when to do it and when not to do it. Information can make you it makes you sound ready, but experience makes you actually be ready. And guess what? Lean in real quick. In case you didn't know, people can tell the difference. Yeah, they can tell. Because there's this weight that comes with experience, you know, there's a steadiness, there's this certain presence that you carry. It's where you don't have to announce it, it speaks, it's recognized, you know. So instead of being all frustrated by all the things you've been through, reframe your story. Start asking yourself, what did this experience teach me? What did it sharpen in me? What can I see now that I couldn't see before? Because every single thing that you've experienced, it's actually building a version of you that can walk into rooms and not just be present, but be prepared. It's literally setting you up for success in everything that you have coming up for you. So, with that being said, I want to close out and leave you with this. In short, information can introduce you, but experience, that's what qualifies you. So don't discount the journey that you've been on. Stop wishing that you can skip steps, you know, and stop moving in regret and don't minimize everything that you survived. Because all of those things, that right there, that's been your training ground. That's the preparation that you needed. That's your edge, you know, that's your X factor that makes you different from everybody else. That can't be duplicated. Alright? So rest in that, rise in that, and move in that. And guess what? That makes you ready. So, if something in this episode spoke to you, go ahead and screenshoot this. Send it to somebody, or even tag me at the tab of the j. I always love seeing the things that resonate with you. And as always, stay poised, stay purposeful, let it be powerful. I'll see you next episode.