Quotes š
āThis is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. ā 1
āI am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long
... See moreThe first paragraph is from the play Man and Superman (1903) by Irish playwright, critic, and political activist George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). It appears in the eloquent, thought-provoking (and lengthy: more than 11,400 words!) dedication, āEpistle Dedicatory to Arthur Bingham Walkley,ā of the play. The second paragraph comes from one of his speeches (found in George Bernard Shaw: His Life and His Works by Archibald Henderson). Interestingly, as the Internet has a tendency to do, the first and second paragraphs are erroneously combined, as if they were one thought written by Shaw
We thought of life by analogy with a journey, a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end, and the thing was to get to that end... But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played". Alan watts
The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
(portion of poem)
Saint
People are easy to see. People are easy to blame. Systems are hard to see and you can't blame systems. - Esther Derby
āPeople are trying to guess about your future potential, based on your past trajectory. [ā¦] If you donāt provide your own chronicle of who you are, one will be given to you. Youāll assume whatever description the other party gives you, dictated by their biases, perceptions and attributions. Donāt passively let others dictate your narrative, write
... See moreLove this from Yancey Strickler:
An artist is a self-employed self-expressor.
A creator is a self-employed commercial expressor.
āGreat leaders are great teachers not only because they know what they think, but because they take the time to organize their thoughts in ways so that they can communicate them clearly.ā ā Noel Tichy, The Leadership Engine
We have not built a human-needs-first society; we have built a business-needs-first society, and it is starting to show.