Life is not always a matter of holding good cards,
~ Jack London
but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
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Play a poor hand well →
Protest Against Idleness →
It is not necessary for a man to be actively bad in order to make a failure in life; simple inaction will accomplish it. Nature has everywhere written her protest against idleness; that which remains inactive, rapidly deteriorates. It is the struggle toward an ideal, the constant effort to get higher and further, which develops manhood and character.
~ James Terry White
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Fitness →
Fitness is not about being better than someone else,
~ unknown
it’s about being better than you used to be.
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Virtus →
Without an adversary, virtus shrivels. We see how great and how viable virtus is when, by endurance, it shows what it is capable of.
~ Seneca
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Specialization is for insects →
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
~ Robert Heinlein
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Stand erect →
A man must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.
~ Marcus Aurelius
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The right state of mind →
Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. When I believe I can, I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
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Prove yourself →
No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.
~ Seneca
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Create something →
If you want to really hurt you parents … the least you can do is go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.
~ Kurt Vonnegut
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Simple in our tastes →
We greeks are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness.
~ Thucydides
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