It’s Not Something You’re Born With. It’s Something You Earn.
Marcus Aurelius was not born wise. Neither was Seneca or Epictetus. Or Cato or Zeno or Cleanthes.
No one is born wise. Ever.
There are many forms of wisdom, but one thing all wise people have in common is that they earned it. Wisdom is the result of an incredible amount of work. Study. Mentorship. Experience. Reflection.
Just as one becomes strong through lifting weights, or skilled at woodworking through hours in the shop, we become wise through the same kind of effort. As Seneca said, no man ever became wise by chance. And indeed, he said, much toil remains for all of us, no matter how smart or accomplished we may already be, no matter what schools you may have graduated from.
More reading, journaling, asking questions, listening, debating, observing, learning from mistakes, seeking advice, questioning assumptions. More trying. More failing. More teachers. More long walks. More, more, more.
Like the other virtues, wisdom is a by-product of doing the right thing in the right way at the right time, not just once but consistently over the course of a life. It is the result of a method, and yet it is never actually possessed.
That's because it is the method.
That's what Ryan Holiday's new book Wisdom Takes Work is about: the method any of us can take to acquire wisdom. The timeless practices that help us get a little wiser each day. The questions we must keep asking. The habits and disciplines that humans have relied on since the dawn of civilization to bring us closer to wisdom.
Drawing on fascinating stories of ancient and modern figures alike—Montaigne, Seneca, Joan Didion, and Abraham Lincoln are just a few of the characters featured—Ryan teaches us how to listen more than we talk, to ruthlessly question our own beliefs, and to develop a method of self-education.
This timely book both identifies our current crisis of wisdom and charts a path forward. Its message is clear—wisdom may take work, but it's worth to your life is priceless.
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