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Today's quote:

Thursday, July 1, 2010

"I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think."

Thus said Socartes, one of the chief founders of Western philosophy.

Here are seven more Life Lessons from Socrates:

Be Content

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have"

Having a beautiful home and the latest car will not make you content. Contentedness is birth from the inside, it's a decision, it’s your choice. Things will never make you happy, happiness is a choice.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend

"Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults"

The Scripture says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful". True friends will reprove your faults; they will tell you when you are "out of line". Be wary of friends who only say kind words. A true friend will tell you the truth, and often the truth hurts. Socrates said, "Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth".

Study

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall gain easily what others have laboured hard for"

Do you realize that you can read a book in a few hours and learn what it took someone twenty years to learn? You can literally pick someone's brain for $19.95. Learn to cultivate the joy of reading, and you will gain with ease what others have sweated for.

Be by Doing

"To do is to be"

As the quote goes, "Be the change you want to see". Don’t just talk about it, be the example, be the leader. Socrates said, "Let him that would move the world, first move himself". If you can move yourself, than you will easily move others.

Gaining a Good Reputation

"The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear"

Solomon said, "A good name is better than rubies". And the way to gain a good name is to be how you want to be perceived. Be in the dark the way you want to be perceived in the light. If you can master that, you will never need to worry about your reputation. Socrates said, "It is not living that matters, but living rightly".

Avoid False Words

"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil"

Labour for accuracy in your speech! Don't stretch the truth, don't bend the truth, only speak the truth. Exaggerations infect the soul! You can be just as truthful and accurate in your speech as the most honest men who have ever walked the earth.

Beware of a Busy Life

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life"

If you don't take anything else away from this, please remember this question. You should ask it every day. The question is, "What am I accomplishing?" Never get lost in the "busy-ness" of life, avoid all of the distractions and attractions. Examine your life. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living". So ask yourself not "What am I doing?" but "What am I accomplishing?" If you do this, you will begin to awaken to your true potential, you will begin to become who you are.

P.S. By the way, if you have struggled with who came first and who came next, Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle - relax! Indeed, relax inside your warm SPA while you remember that first came Socrates who taught Plato who then taught Aristotle.