“It’s impossible to build something that is of a higher quality than the quality of the people around you.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 318)
Archives
“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (Page 46)
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”
Viktor Frankl, via Will (Page 314)
“Desire is what you want; purpose is the flowering of what you are. Desire tends to weaken over time, whereas purpose strengthens the more you lean into it. Desire can be depleting because it’s insatiable; purpose is empowering—it’s a stronger engine. Purpose has a way of contextualizing life’s unavoidable sufferings and making them meaningful and worthwhile.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 314)
“This fight-camp, support-the-champ mentality became the new law of our group. Everybody had to run five at five; everybody had to work out in the gym; everybody had to eat right; everybody had to read and study and offer new ideas. Everybody had to live a disciplined life, to reach for the best version of themselves, otherwise they had to go the fuck home. The unified mission of telling Muhammad Ali’s story established a new fundamental way of being that would extend within our group far beyond the completion of Ali.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 310)
“Let’s stop lying to ourselves, saying ‘it will all be better in the future,’ because the present isn’t the problem. None of the external things are. It’s our emotions at the root of discomfort. They are within us. They are our responsibility to work on.”
Ryan Holiday, Daily Stoic Blog
“[Darrell’s] position was: dreams are built on discipline; discipline is built on habits; habits are built on training. And training takes place in every single second and every situation of your life: how you wash the dishes; how you drive a car; how you present a report at school or at work. You either do your best all the time or you don’t; if the behaviors has not been trained and practiced, then the switch will not be there when you need it.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 302)
“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear…”
Edgar Guest, The Sermons We See (via Will page 301)
“The attainment of my dream became an act of survival. In my darkest nights, my dream saved my life—it was my light, my food. My vision of brighter days sustained me. It was my whole purpose. I saw my hopes as the ticket to a better life—to joy, fulfillment, security, safety. I saw the realization of my dream as my only road to love and happiness. Failure equaled death.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 285)
“Things of themselves cannot touch the soul at all. They have no entry to the soul, and cannot turn or move it. The soul alone turns and moves itself, making all externals presented to it cohere with the judgements it thinks worthy of itself.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (Page 41)
“Your mind will take on the character of your most frequent thoughts: souls are dyed by thoughts.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (Page 41)