Before You Proceed

An aphorism is the very crest of a wave, a distillation of a train of thought.

However,

Aphorisms are starting lines, not finish lines.

I recommend that you examine each one. Think about circumstances in which it applies and when it doesn’t.

Lifestyle

Advice

Humans give great advice in terrible ways. We speak in one dimension, write in two, but grasp things in three.

Much advice is not taken for need of more explanation.

Serve not the wise but wisdom itself.

Change

They say that “those who do not know history are destined to repeat it,” but those who know only history are often caught off-guard.

Even if something is right behind you, you’ve still turned your back to it.

Communication

A dialogue is more than an exchange of monologues.

Man does not communicate as well as he thinks he does.

Implicitly conveyed messages will be misunderstood.

Contradicting Ourselves

We speak of science but listen for magic.

Getting others to do something

Send them beside the thing and let gravity do the rest.

To Learn

Ask “stupid” questions.

Of Man

Questions are embarrassing reminders of Man’s insufficiency.

Man is many-sided.

Self-Reliance

Be wary of he who says, “I trust not only in myself, for I trust in my fellow man also,” for what has been fixed in their doing this? So what if the matter has been abstracted some? Is not Man still trusting in Man?

Their actions may destroy your body, but only your actions may destroy your soul.

We may speak to our past selves and ask questions of our future selves.

More Money, Less Money

Money that is quickly gained is quickly lost.¹

Playing Games

Gotta play the game to feel the luck.

Some games make losers of all who play them.

Winners play games they are willing to lose.

Perception

Specifics are believed, but generalities are distrusted. Smells are mysterious, but farts are unmistakable.

A frosted window pane makes us curious while a clear one leaves us indifferent.

To see things clearer, sometimes you must take off your glasses.

Diffusion endears what cohabitation incoheres.

Planning

Make time for the untimely.

Budget an hour and it will require but a minute. Budget a minute and it will require an hour.

Assume when you wish to be disappointed.

Reading

Read the words, miss the sentence.

Saying Something

A rich family history is conveyed whenever a person implies something. Say a thing flatly and you’re a jerk. Heavily imply it and you’re a son of a bitch.

Thinking

To think is not to think well.

On a related note:

Few lose sleep wondering if someone else is wrong.

To Whom the Person in the Mirror Laughs At

No one is more deserving of mockery than he who cannot laugh at himself.

Vulnerability

He who can admit of his vulnerabilities is less vulnerable than many.

Relationships

As nice as that tree is, it is not the one to be barking up at.²

Do not start telling yourself that she is life or that she is love. She is not life and she is not love. No one person ever could be either of those things. But she is a reminder of life and love, of what it means to live and to love.

Selfhood and One’s Relation to Others

To be a mystery to others is one thing, but to be a mystery to oneself leaves everyone confused.

Love and Loveliness

Be your own kind of lovely. Be yourself first and be able to love that, irrespective of whether someone else loves you or finds you lovely.

Be wary of he who says that “love begets love.”³ Be content with knowing that loveliness inspires love, for few can resist the charms of the lovely.

Niche

Business

We must figure out how to raise our costs. We are a nonprofit, after all.

You must love your market long before your market loves you. (Assuming it ever does.)

The Communist Persuasion

Not content to leave the poor, poor, the Communist enters the scene then leaves them poor, sad, and angry.

Notes