Socrates and The Oracle

"The Death of Socrates", by Jacques-Louis David (1787)

Socrates' friend, Chaerephon, asked the oracle, in Delphi, if there was someone wiser than Socrates to which the Oracle replied “no one”. Socrates, who had heard of the tale thought it was ridiculous since he felt like he wasn't the wisest man. This began his journey to find a wiser man than he was.

He found a politician on his journey who was known to be wise. Socrates spoke to the man and pointed out what the man didn't know which angered the man. He then famously said:

“I am wiser than this man: neither of us knows anything that is really worth knowing, but he thinks that he has knowledge when he has not, while I, having no knowledge, do not think that I have. I seem, at any rate, to be a littler wiser than he is on this point: I do not think that I know what I do not know.”

He had a similar experience with every wise person he met. This quest eventually brought his death after he angered too many wise people in power; who then gave him the death penalty. Socrates died in 348 B.C. by willingly drinking poison following is death penalty.

There are no known written document, by Socrates, that survived. Everything we know about this Philosopher was brought down to us by his students, mainly Plato, who followed him and documented his journey.

What we can learn from this story is that when we think we “know”, we sometime become arrogant and take offence when exposed to new ideas. It is important that we remain humble and curious so we can be opened to those new ideas and grow as human beings.

*This post can also be found on my Personal Blog (Student of LIFE).

Pleasures - The Downfall of Civilizations

“In American today the popular word for good life is “happiness”…The American pursuit of happiness can often look like a compulsive, joyless effort to escape boredom… a people blessed with far more material advantages than any other society has ever enjoyed is not clearly the happiest on earth.” –Harold H. Titus & Marilyn S. Smith

The material advantage is a curse more than a blessing. Most of those things promises to make our lives easier by helping us or saving time. One would think that those improvements would allow us to focus on more important endeavors but it only “free us” to pursue more things.

Materials are a curse when the people buying it have no sense of values (as in what’s really important in life). When this occurs, the things he owns-owns him.
We buy things because it’s pleasurable and we too often confuse pleasure with happiness. Like Orrin Woodward said, “Pleasure doesn’t bring happiness, only an increased hunger for more pleasures.”

Happiness comes from following our values. Joy, which is the ultimate form of happiness, comes from being at peace with ourselves and is often attained through religion or spirituality (along with following values) – It’s a sense of belonging to something bigger than us.

Pleasure is like a quick burning fire, it often can’t be controlled even if we think we can. Pleasure is short lived and has been the caused of the downfalls of previous civilizations which will include our own if we don’t understand it and attempt to move away from it.

Be Proactive with Your Emotions

"We've just grown apart"; said the man before leaving his wife.

PEOPLE CHANGE ALL THE TIME! OF COURSE YOU'VE GROWN APART IF YOU HAVEN'T SPENT THE TIME TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR PARTNER.

"We've grown apart" is a lame excuse from people who believe love is a feeling that just "is". Feelings are like fires, if you don't nurture them they eventually die out.

If you're sad, stop thinking about the things that makes you sad and the feeling will go away-only to return when you're thinking about it again.

We're not controlled by our emotions as much as we have control over them. Those who fail to understand this are doomed to go from relationship to relationship; changing partner whenever the feeling dictates.

*This post can also be found on my Personal Blog (Student of LIFE).

Using Humor to Connect

The best way to get in someone’s heart is to make them laugh your way through. Humor is a great ice breaker, it doesn’t really matter what you say. If the other person laugh, you just broke down a wall.

I can prove this by asking you which comedian you like. Chances are you like which ever one makes you laugh the most. I bet you don’t even know the comedian all that well and yet you’ve accepted him in your heart.

How long would it take for someone who doesn’t make you laugh to get in your heart? Probably a long time. What can you do with someone if you can't laugh with them?

*This post can also be found on my Personal Blog (Student of LIFE).

You Need Money To Make Money - Really?

“Some people foolishly believe that only money can make money. This is not true! Desire, transmuted into its monetary equivalent through the principles laid down here [“Think And Grow Rich” book], is the agency through which money is “made.” Money, of itself, is nothing but inert matter. It cannot move, think, or talk, but it can “hear” when one who desires it calls it to come!” -Napoleon Hill

We've all heard the phrases "The Rich get Richer" or "It takes money to make money" but that simply isn't true. The rich won't get richer unless they have the desire to do so nor will the poor who lacks the desire. The old saying "When there's a will there's a way" applies here.

While it may be easier for the rich to make more money, since they've learned from acquiring their fortune, it is certainly not out of reach of the poor. The "money" excuses is just that - an excuse. We can all be rich if we want to be, we just have to learn how.

*This post can also be found on my Personal Blog (Student of LIFE).