Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
~ Leonardo da Vinci
slip:4a532.
Simplicity →
A man must know his destiny →
A man must know his destiny… if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder… if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.
~ George S. Patton
slip:4a14.
Walk the path →
To follow the path:
~ unknown
look to the master,
follow the master,
walk with the master,
see through the master,
become the master.
slip:4a20.
Territorial →
It has to be territorial, not hierarchical. Meaning real success comes from the inside out, not the outside in. Real success is the process, not the product. It’s what we would do if there were nobody else in the world, yet it depends in the end on everyone else in the world. The essential expression of our art is that of a gift. We draw from that which is most ourselves–and then offer that essence to our fellow travelers on this planet, to help them, entertain them, show them they’re not alone … asking nothing in return (well, maybe enough to pay the rent, we hope.)
~ Steven Pressfield
slip:4a489.
Be an ordinary, motivated, chap. →
You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.
~ Edmund Hillary
slip:4a209.
Take measure. Make waves. →
The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.
~ unknown
slip:4a1119.
Aside: This quote is often attributed to Sophie Scholl. But that is disputed.
Notice when you are happy →
And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
~ Kurt Vonnegut
slip:4a148.
People need to travel →
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.
~ Mark Twain
slip:4a1120.
In struggle there is magic →
Western culture has things a little backwards right now. We think that if we had every comfort available to us, we’d be happy. We equate comfort with happiness. And now we’re so comfortable we’re miserable. There’s no struggle in our lives. No sense of adventure. We get in a car, we get in an elevator, it all comes easy. What I’ve found is that I’m never more alive than when I’m pushing and I’m in pain, and I’m struggling for high achievement, and in that struggle I think there’s a magic.
~ Dean Karnazes
slip:4a1121.
Ever notice how drinking’s like war? →
Ever notice how drinking’s like war?
~ Moxy Früvous, from The Drinking Song
Cup o troops oe’r the guns
Til the end of our health
A campaign ‘gainst myself
Armed with bourbons and scotches and rums
slip:4a1060.