Living

"He who doesn't fear death dies only once."

Giovanni Falcone

            Those who fear death only limit their lives and they die two times, once when they stop living the life granted to them in fear of death and a second time when they breath their last breath.

            People who hide from the world as a way to live longer because they are afraid of the inevitable are cowards. They refuse to enjoy life because they want to live but they aren't living at all. They are wasting their lives and although it shouldn't it saddens me to see people walk around afraid of that which they cannot avoid. Just think of all the beautiful things in life they will miss. The warmth of friendships they will never obtain or the satisfaction of actions they will never care to make. Instead they will rather shell up and block out any outside danger when it themselves who are the true danger.

            I see why some people would take up that kind of philosophy, I just can't believe that they would do that to themselves. To deprive themselves of a life worth living is worse than losing a life not lived. I remember reading somewhere that all men are born but not all of them necessarily live and nothing could be more true.

Being born assures death, so why fear it? 

Just start.

"Action is the foundational key to all success."

Pablo Picasso

            A simple enough concept, people tend to forget that simply dreaming will yield no results. It is the effort put in to make those dreams a reality that truly matters and all effort begins with a single action. It doesn't matter if the action is as small as saving up all change to start a piggy bank or taking a real initiative to start that new business, the success of those actions can be contributed to the success of those first few steps.

   More effort is required to get a ball rolling than it is to push a rolling ball.

            The beginning of a new project is the most difficult part and at times can prove to be rather daunting. It is the point that will decide whether or not the project will be a complete success or an utter failure and the key component to that fateful moment is how much the person believes in himself/herself. As Lydia M. Child put it "Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture." If one does not believe in himself then how could they possibly expect other people to believe in them or their endeavor? Work, persevere through any problems that may arise but most importantly believe. Believe that the project will be a success or it will be bound to fail before it even begins.

            Do not be discouraged by failure. Some action is better than no action at all.

Free-Will

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

George Bernard Shaw

            I want to be a top scholar, an orator translating the thoughts of the geniuses into words for the masses. Recognized across the world for my intellect and skills.

            I want to be an engineer, getting paid to perform my studies that further probed the extent of our knowledge on quarks. My theories would be published for peer review and I would be unrivaled in my field of study.

            I want to be a __. The truth is anyone that is truly motivated can mold themselves to be anything they want, they can be anything they want (within reason of course). One interpretation of Mr. Shaw's quote is that any life hasn't been planned out in the slightest and anyone can change the way their life is turning out to be with perseverance. People aren't "finding" themselves because there is nothing to find. The individual must work for their meaning in life - whether it be a doctor, engineer, or renown scholar it doesn't matter. There is nothing forces any one person to be any specific thing. That is the beauty of free-will. Life is a process that one must take the initiative to mold into what they want it to be and this implies mistakes. At one point or another one a mistake will be made and the path chosen will not be the path wanted. This is okay, so long as a conscious effort is made to learn from the error and the error is rectified.

An intelligent mind is an open mind.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Aristotle, Greek philosopher 

(384-322 BCE)

           
            An intelligent mind is an open mind. Always be open to the possibility that any one idea may be wrong and never take an inclination to any preconceived ideas over someone else's simply because their ideas are not plausible. Aristotle phrases it magnificently as he is asking us all to have an open mind and be open to new ideas. Just because there is a likelihood that an idea may be wrong doesn't completely invalidate it; mull it over and be open to the risk of being wrong. Being incorrect on any certain topic is not the end of the world, just cut the losses and embrace the new found knowledge. This isn't to say, however, that any absurdity that may come out of a person's mouth should hold some weight and every single interpretation of information is correct. There is always a chance that it may be correct and that is why it must be treated with a certain degree of certainty.

            Absolutes impede progress. They are barriers which hold back the rational mind  from exploring other possibilities as the choice has been made and there is no need to explore any further. This is why the possibility that any and all ideas have the chance of being wrong should always be held. It is when someone is unsure whether or not something is correct that they begin to ask questions.

            A question is a potential catalyst. All science, all progress made in society begins with a simple question. How do magnets work? Why is the sky blue? What is electricity?  Any one of these questions can breed a far more expansive and intricate set of questions. Questions cause the person to think, analyze, and investigate further into the subject at hand and that is exactly why any and all ideas must be continually questioned.