Did you ever think of the fact that all the life lessons we are talking about nowadays have actually been written down thousands of years ago by ancient teachers and philosophers?
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Ever since we can look back in humanity, little pieces of wisdom on how to live, love, and simply be were collected in the form of symbols, books, and speeches.
And one of the most powerful sources of how we nowadays grasp the lessons of ancient philosophers and teachers are quotes.
Quotes make up great parts of many books and articles found across the web, they are found as screensavers, stickers, on shirts, and across the whole world.
And even though a glimmer of inspiration might not change your life, I believe many of these little epigrams actually have the power to do so.
If you take a closer look, most quotes of ancient teachers deliver profoundly deep and valuable messages that might not only inspire you but lead to real transformation in your life if applied seriously.
One of the many ancient teachers that are inspiring me is the Greek philosopher Aristotle who lived around 350 BC.
Together with Socrates and Plato, Aristotle laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy and is still considered one of the greatest thinkers in politics, psychology, and ethics.
Aristotle even founded his own school, the Lyceum, and even though his teachings covered many diverse topics ranging from physics, biology, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and politics, he also left humanity with some profound lessons on how to live better, happier lives.
Here are 7 insightful quotes Aristotle shared with humankind throughout his presence:
“A friend to all is a friend to none.”
Even though Aristotle made this statement thousands of years ago, I believe it’s more valuable in today’s world than ever before.
With social media at its rise and digital connections reaching across the globe, it’s more complicated than ever before to differentiate real friends and partners from fake ones.
Every day, I see people in the digital world commenting on each other’s posts, acting as if they’d know each other for decades, and when I ask them how they met each other, they often tell me they are just messaging on Instagram or Facebook.
I genuinely believe in the power of having a strong network, especially in business.
But should you really be friends with anyone who shares similar interests?
I’m not sure.
Another beautiful quote by Aristotle related to friendship is the following:
“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.”
And at another time, he described friendship as the following:
Friends hold a mirror up to each other; through that mirror they can see each other in ways that would not otherwise be accessible to them, and it is this mirroring that helps them improve themselves as persons.
In today’s marketing world, there’s a critical lesson that actually sums up how Aristotle’s teaching on friendship can nowadays be applied in business.
Meredith Hill once stated the following:
“When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.”
And I sincerely believe this lesson, together with Aristotle’s teachings, applies not only to business but also to friendships and other relationships in life.
How to apply it:
If you market to everybody, you’ll sell to nobody. And if you try to be friends with everybody, you’ll probably miss out on deep connections.
Friendship, just like strong partnerships or customer relations in business, is no easy game.
Any relationship in life requires effort, time, and energy.
You can’t expect loyalty and reliability from hundreds of friends if you can’t stick to your promises.
Life is certainly more fun if you have good friends and partners by your side.
But instead of widening your network every day and having the same small talk several times per week, try to invest more time into strengthening the bonds with a few people who’ll be by your side during the good times and the bad.
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim, and end of human existence.”
First stated more than 2,000 years ago, this quote is probably more accurate right now than ever before.
We all aim for happiness.
That’s why we read books, improve ourselves, and learn from people who are smarter than ourselves.
In fact, every aim we have is somehow related to happiness.
Some people find happiness in making money, while others find it in supporting charities or running marathons.
Even though our definitions of joy are different, it’s what we all ultimately seek.
And Aristotle probably stated the most important lesson on happiness thousands of years ago by saying:
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”
How to apply it:
Too often, we believe being happy is something that just happens.
Yet, the truth is that true happiness, no matter what it means to you, is a state of mind.
You can have anything you ever wished for and still be unhappy.
And some people will always have way less than you but still be living much happier lives than you probably are.
Choose happiness.
It’s the only thing in life that is genuinely worth chasing, and the only reason why you aren’t as happy as you wish you’d be is that you expect something to happen or somebody to make you happier.
Be that somebody yourself.
“Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”
I actually believe good habits formed at any time in life can make a difference.
Not all people come into touch with personal development at a young age, but I don’t believe that’s necessary.
Age is just a number, and the earlier you start, the sooner you’ll reap the rewards.
Nourishing your body with healthy food, doing sports, getting enough fresh air, meditating, taking care of yourself, reading great books…all these little routines will eventually lead to a happier, healthier life, no matter if you start doing them at the age of 15, 25, or 55.
How to apply it:
Every day is a new chance to transform your life.
Marie Forleo always states the following:
“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.”
I guess that’s the whole point.
Consistency is the key to any success in life, and habits are the best way to be consistent.
Every day is a whole new chapter, and the earlier you start investing in your health, happiness, and wealth, the sooner you’ll reap the rewards.
Have the courage to start small and make small improvements every day.
“Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion.”
So many people these days are trying to build a business, their personal brand, or authority in general. And while most of them follow social media strategies, read tens of books about how to do business and make sales, most of them miss out on a critical factor:
Themselves.
As Simon Sinek states:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. If you talk about what you believe, you’ll attract those who believe what you believe.”
Your character is the only reason people will follow you, be friends with you, fall in love with you, and, most importantly: stay with you.
So many people are starting businesses, writing blog posts, taking pictures, or swiping left and right on Tinder. We are living in a crowded place.
Having a beautiful face and a nice butt is cute, but it’s not what will persuade someone to stay with you until the end of their life.
It’s your character, your beliefs, your vulnerability, and your truth that makes people stay with you. Not only in business but also in private life.
How to apply it:
Be vulnerable. Open up yourself. Don’t shrink back to be criticized.
According to Aristotle, you can’t avoid being judged anyway:
“Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”
Now, that doesn’t sound like a life worth living, right?
Instead of trying to be everybody’s darling, show your true self.
Attract those who share your values and beliefs and ignore the rest. In business but also in private.
“We make war that we may live in peace.”
Even though most of us nowadays are lucky enough not to experience war, I believe this quote can be perfectly applied to today’s world and sums up most of our disputes.
Too often, we argue about trivialities instead of just enjoying life.
So many relationships break down because of constant arguments around things that actually don’t matter.
I’m convinced one should stay true to their values and some core principles. But is it really necessary to have a small war just to have peace afterward every time you don’t agree with a fellow, your partner, or a coworker?
I don’t think so.
How to apply it:
I once wrote an article about the most useful relationship advice I ever received and that it was about talking less.
While most relationship advice is about communicating openly and much, I found this one the best tip I ever received to have a more peaceful relationship.
And I sincerely believe we could avoid most of our disputes, no matter if in romantic relationships or in business partnerships if we’d let go of our ego, and make peace before starting a war.
Next time you find yourself arguing with someone, stop for a second and ask yourself if the dispute is essential. Wouldn’t it be more effective to calm down, let go of the tension and find a solution together instead of fighting each other?
These days, we are so used to arguing about details that we often miss out on highlighting the positive aspects of our fellows.
Next time you find yourself in an emotional war, take a deep breath and start focusing on solutions instead of hurting your fellows.
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives — choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
Too many people these days forget what success is really about.
We hustle hard, believing there’s a shortcut, a quick path to success. Get-rich-quick-schemes are more prominent than ever before, and too many people believe in luck as part of a strategy to success.
Yet, as Aristotle already stated thousands of years ago, excellence is never an accident.
And if you want to achieve results that last, excellence is what you should aim for. As he states, you need to choose the right options because every decision we make defines our destiny.
Of course, you can pay for high-priced coaching programs that promise you to make a 7-figure income after a few months, but you’ll probably regret these purchases quite soon.
How to apply it:
Real excellence and achieving goals that genuinely matter doesn’t happen by accident.
Stop looking for shortcuts and focus on becoming a smarter, better, more experienced person every day.
The stronger your intention, the more effort you show, and the more you execute, the better your results will be. Not only in the short term but forever.
Stop chasing quick results and instead chose alternatives that last and help you build a sustainably happy, healthy life.
Invest in authentic relationships instead of paying for overpriced coaching programs and be aware that every decision you make defines your destiny.
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Even though we are now better educated than ever before, we often miss out on educating our human side.
Admittedly, I find it scary how even thousands of years ago, people missed out on educating their hearts as Aristotle calls it, but I believe this problem is even more significant nowadays than ever before.
We see so many executives, business owners, and leaders who graduated from the world’s most prominent schools but miss out on a critical part: Human connections.
We all should listen to our gut feeling, and our hearts more often and act out of sincerity instead of looking for growth and profits all the time.
As Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book Blink, we always make decisions based on our gut feeling anyway. We just try to justify our choices through logic, but the core is always emotional.
I’m a huge advocate for personal growth, and I sincerely believe we all should aim to become better, more educated people every day, but I also believe that being whole-hearted and sincere in all our relationships is at least as necessary as our personal growth.
How to apply it:
Sometimes, we just need to take some time off and look at our inside instead of facing all the outside struggles every day.
At the end of our lives, it’s not profits, growth, or labels that matter but emotions, love, and human connection.
In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware summarized the most common regrets of people who were close to death. As a palliative worker, she accompanied thousands of dying people and started asking them what their biggest regrets in life were. Surprisingly, the answers were quite similar to each other. And three of the five most common responses were the following:
“I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”
“I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”
“I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
Obviously, at the end of our lives, our hearts matter more than our bank accounts, academic titles, or certificates.
Now, I don’t know if that’s what Aristotle meant by saying “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”, but I believe this is a beautiful interpretation of his lessons adapted to today’s world as we too often rush after success and miss out on standing still and listening to our inner voice.
Source: publishous
