Life On A B-I7

Undesirable things will be visited on you at some point, of this you can be assured. As we have heard many times, what goes around comes around. Rest assured that those visiting harm on you are only hurting themselves. You can not be hurt unless you allow it.

Live a good life ruled by reason. Live in the now, not in the future.

Keep in mind your two highest priorities in life. Be a good person. Pursue an occupation that you love.

Ask yourself, “what is the best use of my limited time.” The answer to that will make you better at all things you do, in all your responsibilities.

Goodness can come to you, that is true. It is even better to find it within yourself.

No matter what you perceive your shortcomings to be, you have qualities that are beneficial to you and to others. Find them. Cultivate them.

Self-improvement is good but it should not be done for vanity’s sake. Do not confuse getting better for vane reasons with getting better to be the best person you can be.

Do you know someone whose sole focus is making people recognize him? Tearing things down and remaking them in his own image. Starting wars simply because he can. Putting his name on currency, landmarks and public edifices. These things are of no importance. When that person is gone, he will not have any use for what people think of him. Instead of wasting time thinking about the opinions of other people, he should be focused on being the best he can be. If you are a bricklayer, be the best bricklayer you can be. If you are trusted with the leadership of your people, be the best leader you can be and focus on what is best for those who have entrusted you with that responsibility.

If someone offends you, don’t wish them to be better, take action. Talk to them, they may not be aware of their insult.

If you can’t find it in yourself to speak up, you have no reason to be offended.

Another way of looking at a wrong that has been done to you is that the best revenge is to seek no revenge at all. Seeking revenge proves to the other person that they were justified in the first place. Do not give people that kind of power over you.

It would not surprise me if the Beatles learned this while in Rishikesh at the Maharishi Yoga’s Ashram. I’ve been there. It was a moving experience.

“I’m going to be honest with you… I’m going to be straight with you…”

These are not honest words. You don’t need to preface your words with such qualifications. The honest person speaks clearly and without hyperbole.

Leave the past behind. Let the future take care of itself. Our job is to guide the present with right action.

We need to persist in what is right and resist what is wrong.

Always ask yourself before you act, is what I am about to do consistent with who I am, is it consistent with who I want to be.

There is nothing as good for the soul as wisdom. Seek it out. Avoid adopting the opinions of others as wisdom. Don’t be lazy, do the work.

Doing wrong is only doing wrong to yourself. It may feel good, but if you are honest with yourself and reflect on your action, you will realize the damage you are doing is damage to yourself.

Celebrate your friends’ success as if it were your own.

When an opponent on the Pickleball court makes a good shot, say “Good shot.” It’s that simple. Life is not a zero-sum-game.

Words cannot be unsaid once spoken.

Spend time often meditating. Reflect on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the Universe.

“Cosmopolitanism” was first articulated by Marcus Aurelius. This is the notion that we are not only citizens of our local community and our country, but we are also citizens of the world. A concept lost to many people today.

Stilpo was Zeno’s teacher. He taught Zeno that to develop a strength that cannot be broken is to develop true strength. The only way you can loose true strength is if you give it up.

Beware of success. Don’t let success lead you to want more. It is better to have less and be thankful than to have more and need even more.

Control.

To put it simply control, is the one thing we control.

Do we look around us and see all the things that are out of our control, or do we look around us and focus on those things that we can control?

We should focus on those things we can control.

Robert Caro said: “Power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals.” We all recognize this and see it constantly in our daily lives. People with power often tend to wield it for their own benefit.

There is another attribute that can corrupt or reveal: Prosperity. Prosperity has the same potential effect as power. Prosperity can be financial or personal, in fact there are many types of prosperity. If we have the good fortune to prosper, we must remember not to let it change us. Strive to have the character that is strong and true even in good fortune.

Leisure is fine, but it should not take the place of study. When you take time for leisure, and you should, keep in mind that you can still be learning. Bring along a good book and take the opportunity during down moments to read. We should always have in the back of our mind a purpose for everything we do. We should always be striving to grow. That is the definition of an exciting life.

Do not be a slave. You may not wear chains placed on you by another man, but it is possible you are still enslaved. This is a question that you must ask yourself. Are you a slave to money, power, lust, other peoples’ approval? There are many ways to enslave ourselves. All have the same end result — they take away our freedom. The answer, do not desire anything that is in someone else’s power to control if you want to be truly free.