Words of Wisdom

By Tilo Grieco

Enduring motivation inspired by some of the greatest words ever written.

 

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." - Søren Kierkegaard.

 

How can we understand life? Experiences shared by those who came before us can help guide us. Words from people who have triumphed over similar situations we face today offer us solace and hope.

 

"Words are all we have." - Samuel Beckett.

 

An extension of the Instagram account @Classic_Wisdom_ this book groups quotes and sayings with issues we face in our lives so we can draw from the experiences of some of the most respected minds in human history.

 

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton.

 

Words of Wisdom is a gift from a father to his children, in the hope that adversities faced will be met with calm reflection and unyielding authenticity. While there's little solace in the inevitability of our adversity, there is some comfort in knowing it has been part of life for so long and people have managed to overcome it to live incredible lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boundless Colloquium
• Release date: Aug 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637521083

Book preview

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WORDS

OF

WISDOM

TILO GRIECO

img1.jpg

Find more quotes on Instagram

@Classic_Wisdom_

Written by Tilo Grieco

Edited by Dani Netherclift

Published by Boundless Colloquium

www.boundlesscolloquium.com

Quotes not in the public domain used under ‘fair use’ principle. No copyright is claimed and to the extent that material may appear to be infringed, I assert that such alleged infringement is permissible under fair use principles. If you believe material has been used in an unauthorized manner, please contact me via the website listed above.

Copyright © Boundless Colloquium, 2021.

Copyright claimed on the words written by Tilo Grieco.

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-63752-108-3

Contents

Introduction

Self Awareness

Authenticity

Fear

Courage

Love

Life

Death

Suffering

Happiness

Change

Decisions

Learning

Money

Work

Fulfilment

Communication

Creativity

Success

Motivation

Time

Meaning

Beliefs

Leadership

Truth

Gratitude

Introduction

For Dali and Jada.

Life is consistently inconsistent. In times of uncertainty, we look to the past for some illumination. Here are some words of wisdom from some of the greatest minds in human history. I have cobbled them together in an order I hope helps you at some point in your life should you need it.

The answer to most of the questions you have in life is: Be you.

Be honest with yourself in your approach to any issues. Authenticity in your day-to-day life will free you of unconscious biases, pretenses, and the stresses of conformity.

The advice in this book is a reference for those occasions when you have questions that have been problems for people through the ages. You are not alone in facing these matters.

These are not answers; they are points for reflection.

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming o/f a person’s character lies in their own hands.

- Anne Frank.

Sometimes a moment of reflection is all you need to help choose a path.

As Viktor Frankl wrote in his book Man’s Search for Meaning:

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

When you feel stuck, take a moment, think, breathe, choose and act.

Self Awareness

THE PRIVILEGE OF A LIFETIME IS TO BECOME WHO YOU TRULY ARE.

Carl Jung

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. - Carl Jung.

Some of us spend our lives in pursuit of what we think makes us happy, only to find that we’re mistaken. We don’t know what makes us happy at all. Blindsided by the expectations of others and the demands of commercial interests, our vision is distorted. That car doesn’t make you happy. That house doesn’t make you happy. Nothing will make you happy until you know who you truly are and ‘become’ that person. Only then can you understand what you want.

Beware of destination addiction: The idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, or even with the next partner. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it’ll never be where you are.

- Alan Watts.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. - Mahatma Gandhi.

This cannot occur until you - as Carl Jung suggests - become who you truly are. And while this sounds simple enough, it’s a struggle to dig deep enough to see ourselves for who we really are or, in some cases, to get out of our own way, to forget the false image of ourselves we have created to fit in with expectations.

Spend time in contemplating your reality and connect with your true self.

It’s so easy to disconnect with our intuition or our gut feel. Sometimes it’s hard to feel anything at all. There’s no other way to get around this. You must feel comfortable on your own. You need to spend time in contemplation. Allow yourself time and space to think. You don’t need to be busy all the time. You don’t need to be constantly entertained, this will only cloud your vision.

Stop. Think. Feel.

YES, THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I FORGOT NOT ONLY WHO I WAS BUT THAT I WAS, FORGOT TO BE.

Samuel Beckett

Yes, there were times when I forgot not only who I was but that I was, forgot to be - Samuel Beckett.

Samuel Beckett’s quote highlights an epidemic afflicting a growing number of people in this technological age, and yet that it was written somewhere between 1960 - 1980 tells us that humans have struggled consistently with the same issues through the ages.

As we move towards an automated future, sometimes we lose our focus on reality and get swept up in a digital hyper-reality. We lose ourselves - we ‘forget to be,’ to the point where we don’t even know who we are or what we want. As all our base level desires are fulfilled and delivered on-demand, we must be careful not to lose our ability to understand ourselves and to connect to our inner feelings. Digital dementia may rob us of more than the ability to remember phone numbers. We must work actively not to forget ourselves.

Beyond the realms of the digital, we have always found ways to lose ourselves, to forget to be. Trying to please other people is the gateway to a loss of identity. Don’t budge on your non-negotiables. Be fierce. Be you. Nothing is worth losing yourself.

UNTIL WE KNOW THE ASSUMPTIONS IN WHICH WE ARE DRENCHED, WE CANNOT KNOW OURSELVES.

Adrienne Rich

Until we know the assumptions in which we are drenched, we cannot know ourselves. - Adrienne Rich.

What is true?

The human brain is designed to take short cuts. Cognitive Biases - the way we understand the world as informed by our narrow personal experiences - works for us and against us. Things we assume to be true need to be verified. Even our memories can mislead us.

How can we begin to know ourselves if we can’t see clearly?

When we see the boundaries around us, we know where we stand. From there we can make more accurate assessments.

The hardest assumption to challenge is the one you don’t even know you are making. - Douglas Adams.

We don’t know what we don’t know. It’s a hard task to challenge your assumptions because it requires you to ask yourself very honest and raw questions. To get the right answers, you need to connect to your intuitive feelings, your gut instinct to get the right