Reading Shakespeare is useless if you can’t understand the vocabulary or make sense of the references hidden in the text. Similarly, you won’t get far trying to design a complex structure without first having a decent grasp of static physics. For each of these situations, as well as many more, there are prerequisites that must …

Motivation is fleeting. No matter how excited we are to start something new, or to re-engage in an activity that we’ve been neglecting, the novelty will wear away. The passion and excitement will fade. Which is why we need to continually look for motivation. Simply finding inspiration once isn’t enough, we need to refuel that …

What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, hydra, stag, or boar – and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So …

Face-to-face conversations happen in real time. They’re synchronous. Same with phone calls, video conferences, meetings, and instant messaging. These media force us to react at the time the communication takes place, pulling our efforts and our attention away from anything else that we might otherwise be doing. Email, on the other hand, is asynchronous. An …

An extended period without physical hardship weakens our body. Our skin softens, our muscles atrophy, and our lungs deteriorate. Knowing this, physically fit people tend to welcome, and even seek, physical hardships rather than avoid them. They actively stress their bodies and welcome the physical challenges that come from an active lifestyle, knowing they’ll come …

When a new book comes out, what are the odds that it’ll be relevant in 5 years? How about 50 years? Or 500 years? I’d guess it’s close to zero. Most best selling books today, both fiction and nonfiction, are essentially entertainment. Maybe there’s an interesting concept or two, but that’s usually it. For an …

Much of our current situation is out of our control. We don’t get to decide how well others work to fight the spread of the COVID virus. We don’t get to decide how our government is responding. And we don’t get to decide how our company is treating our employment status right now. Yet despite …

[dialogue between Socrates and Thrasymachus] …Now, we agreed that justice is a soul’s virtue, and injustice its vice? We did. Then, it follows that a just soul and a just man will live well, and an unjust one badly. Apparently so, according to your argument. And surely anyone who lives well is blessed and happy, …

A bottle of wine disappears with every sip. No matter how much you enjoy the wine or how much you wish you had more, the bottle won’t refill. Unlike most situations in which the abstract concept of time is the only thing slipping with every moment, the experience of watching the line on the side …

I was recently reminded of a powerful ancient proverb: A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. How often are we willing to do things that will benefit others more than ourselves? How often are we willing to think about making the world better for …