what have we learned?

[the-master-himself]

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt, speaking at the Sorbonne, April 23, 1910

[the-master-himself]

While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation. But Buddhism is “The Middle Way” and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well-being. It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them. The keynote of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence. ... The optimal pattern of consumption, producing a high degree of human satisfaction by means of a relatively low rate of consumption, allows people to live without great pressure and strain and to fulfill the primary injunctions of Buddhist teaching: “Cease to do evil; try to do good

E.F. Schumacher’s “Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered”

www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/07/buddhist-economics-schumacher/

[the-master-himself]

Talent is able to achieve what is beyond other people’s capacity to achieve, yet not what is beyond their capacity of apprehension; therefore it at once finds its appreciators. The achievement of genius, on the other hand, transcends not only others’ capacity of achievement, but also their capacity of apprehension; therefore they do not become immediately aware of it. Talent is like the marksman who hits a target which others cannot reach; genius is like the marksman who hits a target … which others cannot even see.

Arthur Schopenhauer in “The World as Will and Representation”

[the-master-himself]

How to achieve

The mechanics of achievement can be divided into two dimensions: motivation and volition. Both are necessary to achieve long-term goals, but neither is sufficient alone. Motivation is the reason behind the goal, volition the strength of one’s will to keep working. [Angela Duckworth, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character]

[the-master-himself]

An overview of the classification of Indo-European languages, with extinct languages in red, live ones in green and categories or unattested proto-languages in white. Centum languages cover the left half while satem covers the right.

[the-master-himself]

Ghibli’s “From Up on Poppy Hill” pointed me towards the intricate International Code of Signals. Click here for a link to the handbook.