If he was alive today, do you think Aristotle would be busy? Do you think he would be a blogger? Would his calendar be completely booked with speaking engagements?
If you think about it, so many of the self-help gurus are really preaching practices that Aristotle and his contemporaries discussed in 350 BC. Even as I talk to people about their personal strengths and assessing their strengths, somewhere in the heavens, Aristotle has to chuckle at my feeble efforts to describe his ground breaking theories a couple thousand years later.
Look at some of his quotes and teachings:
- “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
- “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
- “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
- “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.”
- “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
- “Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it: men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts, we come to be just; by doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we become brave.”
That last quote on self-development really hits home with me. You can’t improve through desire alone, you have to actually act on the self-improvement. Small strides coupled with minor setbacks, but we learn by doing, successfully and unsuccessfully. Is it any wonder that his student, Alexander the Great had such a dramatic impact on the world in his time?
What was true two thousand years ago is still true, because of the continuum of human nature. Whether you wear a suit or a toga, carry an iPhone or a wooden staff, ride a Hummer or an elephant, human truth remains.
What will you learn by doing today? Would Aristotle nod approvingly?
Blair Ingle
“Innovative leader; man of action, influence and service everyday.”
You can read more at his website BlairIngle.com
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Recommended by brother Mike Morris, with gratitude you fill me with thought. Thanks for sharing.
Great and infomative quotes by Aristotle. He was a great man who changed they way we perceived things. the only unfortunate part is that the Internet was none existent and the Abacus ruled the world of computer technology.
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