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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
Most of what we do has an impact. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any action that doesn’t make a difference in some way in the long or short term. Maybe, you’re not entirely convinced by this statement. So, let’s consider the act of “doing nothing”. The idea of doing…
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“Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes from living.”
You have to live life to become wise. Yes, you can gain wisdom from other people’s lived experiences. But your own lived experiences are where most wisdom comes from. This quote, by Anthony Douglas Williams, helps us consider the fact that living life is a progressive journey in wisdom. This…
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“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
This quote comes from Albert Einstein. Take note, it doesn’t say that “the pursuit of success” is a bad thing. It’s good to have aspirations and pursue success in various endeavors. That’s one of the many things that give hope for the future. However, you can look at what comes…
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“No wind favors he who has no destined port.”
If a boat doesn’t have a specific destination or port, it doesn’t really matter where the wind blows. Moreover, there’s no need to steer it in any particular direction because there is no destination. This quote comes from French Renaissance philosopher, Michel de Montaigne (aka Michel Eyquem). It reminds us…
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“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.”
This quote, by Soren Kierkegaard, explains that life is best understood backwards–in hindsight. But the trouble is that we must live it forward. We must live it in that unsettling space that falls between a confounding present and an uncertain future. As such, we often don’t understand why things are…
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“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
This anonymous quote likely came about to encourage those who are literate to read more. However, the skill–reading–can be replaced with any other skill or talent. We’re all blessed with different talents, or there are certain skills we’ve developed over the years. Yet while being capable of talents and skills…
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“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.”
A ship that’s always anchored to a harbor will have a lower chance of getting shipwrecked. But leaving it there means it will never fulfill its purpose–the reason for which it was built. While having a ship that never goes out to sea makes no sense, we’re sometimes like that…