Paul gave up "all things" (:8) "for the sake of Christ" (:7). For something's sake is to ultimately pursue a certain purpose. Paul's end result is "Christ" (:7) He counts as "loss" (:7,8) "for the sake of" (:7) and "in view of" (:8) specific reasons and explains he wants to elaborate by saying "more than that" (:8). Verses 8-11 are one sentence in the Greek composed of a construction which logically, carefully fits many pieces together. The goal is "knowing Christ" (:8) that he could "know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings: (:10). The purpose is "being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (:10-11).
When Paul treats his previous endeavors as a loss he is not belittling them. But he is juxtaposing the truth with its opposite for emphasis. "I delight in . . . the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). Also he is renouncing what is false and "forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead" (Php 3:13). He highlights the better way as "the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (:8). It is personal knowledge of Christ and what he represents. It is "resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself" (Col 2:2). How do you know this? In a worldly way you could vicariously share someone else's experience using sympathy and your imagination. In an existential way you could exercise your freedom to decide how to respond not really understanding it all. But "if anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God he is known by Him" (1Co 8:2-3). Knowing God is a mutual relationship. Knowing is "all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding" (Col 2:2). You are "enlightened . . . and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit" (Heb 6:4) and "have tasted . . . the powers of the age to come" (:5). "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him" (2Pe 1:3). Paul sought to be "found in Him having the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Php 3:9). "'They will not teach again . . . saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me'" (Jer 31:34).