The greatness of little things Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others. Okakura Kakuzō, The Book of Tea greatnesswisdom
When the hour of dire need draws nigh Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. That is, be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points, do every day or two something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved. William James, Principles of Psychology wisdomneed
A threatening place "Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist fearwisdom
A small corner of the world of things It need not be only the likes of engineers, politicians, and entrepreneurs who have a hand in shaping the world and its things, for we are all specialists in at least a small corner of the world of things. Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Useful Things knowledgewisdom
It will revenge itself in judgment To the average man, life presents itself, not as material malleable to his hand, but as a series of problems of extreme difficulty, which he has to solve with the means at his disposal. And he is distressed to find that the more means he can dispose of—such as machine-power, rapid transport, and general civilised amenities, the more his problems grow in hardness and complexity. This is particularly disconcerting to him, because he has been frequently told that the increase of scientific knowledge would give him “the mastery over nature”—which ought, surely, to imply mastery over life. Perhaps the first thing that he can learn from the artist is that the only way of “mastering” one’s material is to abandon the whole conception of mastery and to co-operate with it in love: whosoever will be a lord of life, let him be its servant. If he tries to wrest life out of its true nature, it will revenge itself in judgment, as the work revenges itself upon the domineering artist. Dorothy Sayers, The Mind of the Maker wisdomzen
The journey begins by letting go The journey begins by letting go of control, and becoming flexible. John Allsopp, A Dao of Web Design alistapart.com wisdomzen
When we hit our lowest point Aang: When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change. The Legend of Korra www.netflix.com changewisdom
Always start at the doorstep If you are having trouble knowing where to start, always start at the doorstep. Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture doorswisdom
I have failed my art The novice goes astray and says, “The art has failed me.” The master goes astray and says, “I have failed my art." Eliezer Yudkowsky, Rationality: From AI to Zombies experiencewisdom
The way of things It is when one forces principles on the world that one interferes with its natural workings. Yoel Hoffman, Japanese Death Poems How things ought to be wisdomnature
How things ought to be It is hard to give up preconceptions of what things “ought to be,” and recognize things as they really are. Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way of Building The way of things wisdom
Never any place I was meant to be Supposing I found myself chasing another fly ball and ran head-on into a basketball backboard, supposing I woke up once again lying under an arbor with a baseball glove under my head, what words of wisdom could this man of thirty-odd years bring himself to utter? Maybe something like: This is no place for me. This was never any place I was meant to be. Haruki Murakami, A Slow Boat to China melancholywisdomage
The wisdom of the apprentice Diderot's solution to the limits of language was to become himself a worker. Become an apprentice and produce bad results so as to be able to teach people how to produce good ones. Richard Sennett, The Craftsman learningteachingwisdom
What does wisdom counsel? We start trying to be wise when we realize that we are not born knowing how to live, that living one's life is a skill that has to be acquired, like learning to ride a bicycle or play the piano. But what does wisdom counsel us to do? It tells us to aim for tranquility and inner peace, a life free from anxiety, fear, idolatry, and harmful passions. Wisdom teaches us that our first impulses may not always be trustworthy, and that our appetites will lead us astray if we do not train reason to separate vain from genuine needs. Alain de Botton, On Love lifewisdom
Wisdom This remains largely theory, but my best guess as to his never dispensing wisdom like other dads is that my father understood that advice—even wise advice—actually does nothing for the advisee, changes nothing inside, and can actually cause confusion when the advisee is made to feel the wide gap between the comparative simplicity of the advice and the totally muddled complication of his own situation and path. David Foster Wallace, The Pale King wisdom
Managing Oneself A Book by Peter F. Drucker Only from strengthFeedback analysisTaking pride in ignoranceBut bulldozers move mountainsWaste as little effort as possible on low competence+8 More Never change the technologyWhat to learn managementdisciplinewisdomwork
Ignorant, but curious An Article by Austin Kleon austinkleon.com The method is perhaps best summarized by Mike Monteiro: “The secret to being good at anything is to approach it like a curious idiot, rather than a know-it-all genius.” The “curious idiot” approach can serve you well if you can quiet your ego long enough to perform it. A curious idiot is unafraid to ask stupid questions. Every stupid question you ask takes a teeny, tiny act of courage. Sometimes you have to muster the will to push the words out of your lips. curiosityskillwisdom
Become a person who actually does things An Article by Neel Nanda www.lesswrong.com If there’s one thing you take from this post, let it be this: notice the next time you agonize over a choice, or pass up an opportunity. And ask yourself not “what is the right decision” but rather “which decision will get me closer to the kind of person I want to be”. wisdomchoiceprogress
Truisms An Artwork by Jenny Holzer www.moma.org Holzer began creating these works in 1977, when she was a student in an independent study program. She hand-typed numerous "one liners," or Truisms, which she has likened, partly in jest, to a "Jenny Holzer's Reader's Digest version of Western and Eastern thought." She typeset the sentences in alphabetical order and printed them inexpensively, using commercial printing processes. She then distributed the sheets at random and pasted them up as posters around the city. Her Truisms eventually adorned a variety of formats, including T-shirts and baseball caps. Design Leadership Truisms truthwisdomlife
To supersede the span of individual life A Quote Nothing gives man fuller satisfaction than participation in processes that supersede the span of individual life. — Gotthard Booth timelifehappinesswisdom
Old words A Quote by Winston Churchill Short words are best and the old words, when short, are the best of all. Old solutions wordswisdom
Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours A Website by Nicholas Rougeux www.c82.net A recreation of the original 1821 color guidebook with new cross references, photographic examples, and posters designed by Nicholas Rougeux. colormicrosites