In this blog, I reflect on the importance of investing in knowledge, inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s words: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. Here I share my personal journey with reading and writing, from my early school days in my village to building my own personal library of 50 books. I highlight how reading has shaped my thinking, professional growth, and the culture I’ve fostered at work. I also describe how I’ve mentored colleagues and staff, helping them develop reading habits, improve their skills, and pursue education. Finally, I encourage readers to prioritize reading and reflection in a world dominated by social media, showing how investing in knowledge can drive personal growth and inspire others.
Since 2025, when I began introducing my colleagues to reading, I’ve noticed some real, observable changes in how they think, work, and approach learning.
I am no stranger to reading and writing. My passion began back in primary school. My room in the village was like a library. I borrowed anything I could get my hands on—books from the school library, church magazines, newsletters, even my papa’s Bible. My bed was always covered in books, and often I came across words I didn’t know. I would ask my papa or mama to explain them. Sometimes it didn’t make sense, but I would just nod and keep reading. Luckily, my aunt gave me a simple dictionary, and I would cross-check the words I read, write them down, and learn their meaning. Step by step, my writing improved, my vocabulary grew, and my teachers noticed.
During lunch hours in primary school, we had Bible quizzes. Because I read the Bible like a regular book, I was nominated as the quiz master. It was fun, and that culture of curiosity and learning stayed with me through my academic journey. A major turning point came when I met Professor Sun at PNG University of Technology. He encouraged me to read, write, and publish. That advice reshaped how I view investing in knowledge—through thinking, reading, and writing.
As I advanced in my career, I began investing in books and even built my own personal library of around 50 books. I was fortunate to have a close friend and brother who encouraged me, recommended books, and spent hours discussing ideas and topics of mutual interest—finance, business, money, emotional intelligence, psychology, politics, organizational behavior, team management, and more. Together, we embarked on selling books. Bringing books to the office sparked curiosity in my colleagues, and gradually, they started buying and reading, sharing, and discussing ideas.
The first colleague I shared this journey with at work said reading helped expand his thinking. “Ideas just flow, and it opened a world of opportunities at work and school,” he told me.
We also helped our janitor, who had only completed primary education. We set up a small office library, encouraged her to journal her thoughts or her daily activities and observations, and spent two hours a week mentoring her. She installed a dictionary on her phone and started noting down new words, looking them up, and reading more. Reviewing her writings over time, I saw significant improvement in grammar, thought clarity, and expression. She is now enrolling at the FODE center to upgrade her education, and we continue to guide her journey.
Another inspiring story comes from a colleague managing international terminal operations at Port Moresby Airport. By January this year, she invested heavily in books, and our discussions on reading, mentoring, and professional development became a cornerstone of her curiosity and pathway to professional growth. Recently, she bought nine books as tokens of appreciation for part-time students helping during operations. These small acts, planting the seed of reading, can have a lasting impact on young adults, shaping habits and future success.
In a world dominated by social media, the need for factual, unfiltered knowledge is greater than ever. I encourage you to leave your phone for a moment, pick up a book, read, write down your thoughts, and share them. Reading, thinking, and writing are investments—investments in yourself, and in the future of our society. Reading, I believe, is one form of lifelong education and learning that unlocks and refines all our innate and unprocessed human potential, abilities, ideas, imaginations and thoughts, making them more articulate, presentable and tangible to help you apply them in any specific area of need.
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