The Pursuit of Creativity, Mastery and a Meaningful Life
I’m not going to lie, I loved this book. There is so much wisdom, and insight. I’ll be reading this one for years to come.
This book is essential. Read it if you’re after a Renaissance Life like I am.
Topics Include
Don’t be mad cause I’m doing me
better than you doing you.
— Childish Gambino
Before I go into how to use The Wisdom of the Ages, there’s one important topic I’d like to discuss:
Competition.
When you are competing against others, your falling into the comparison trap of trying to be a better them, rather than being a better you.
A better physique or business or money or skills or friends or… life.
The best competitors are playing the game with others, but are competing against themself.
In whatever you do, ask,
This includes learning something new and/or developing a new skill as well.
Think not, ‘How can I be best in this industry?’ ‘How can I beat the competition?’ (even if that’s what you desire) instead think
Q: How can I be my best self?
Q: How can I beat my own time?
Q: How can I surpass the me I was yesterday?
That’s how you improve exponentially. That’s how you win.
“Knowledge is the food of the soul.” – Plato –
There is a force that exists in the world that has gone by many names.
It’s pure knowledge —
It’s insight and understanding —
It’s an accumulation of thought and experience — most of which has existed before we we’re even born.
It lives, it breathes.
I call it The Wisdom of the Ages.
And we can use it to pursue excellence and develop mastery.
In this day and age of the internet and our globally connected lives, we all have the power of The Wisdom of the Ages within our grasp — literally. Pull out your phone and with a few mindful taps, you can be plugged into knowledge from the smartest minds on the planet — whether they live today, or died centuries ago — and whether you know them personally or not.
The insights you’re searching for, most likely already exists. It’s the wisdom of every life that came before you. Not all of it is truth, mind you, but it’s up to us to separate the wheat from the chaff. The best way to use this wisdom to our advantage is to study and apply it to our own life – keeping what works, removing what doesn’t. Experimenting our way to our own strategy, by learning from the best.
What is learning but gaining and sharpening useful information to apply to our own life?
What is teaching but distilling what you have learned, experienced and have been taught yourself? to greenhorns. to the misinformed. to the unknowledged.
To teach, you must learn, and to learn you, must be open to new realities.
“Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” – Bill Nye –
The Wisdom of the Ages is in our hands. It’s up to us to take advantage of its power, use it to improve our life and the lives around us, and give back by adding value to its supply.
You’ve know about The Wisdom of the Ages your entire life – now it has a name. And names have power.
The question that remains is, “How do we start to take advantage of this power?”
The first step is curiosity…