Here's an interesting quotes from a speech made by David McCullough, an English teacher from Wellesley High School that caught my attention ;
"But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfection! Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless."
"If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning."
"I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance"
"Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might."
"The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap"
"Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you"
"Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly."
"Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion–and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special."
"And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not."
I know these quotes can be a little bit depressing etc but I think it is an eye-opening for almost everybody. I think, we can put aside the negativity and learns to bring out the inner good side of all of us, guys.
Grasp the reality, so you will realize the challenges and finally, reach your dreams.
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| But you cannot stop people from praising you. That is basically a motivation. Not all people can realize this shit. You just need to know where to stop between a reality good praise and a fantasy one whereby it fills with bluff. |