Wisdom of a Philosopher Child  

In our last issue, I told you about my dinner party experience answering the provocative question: “Life is… (fill in the blank).”

That article elicited some great responses from many of my readers, and from many of my close friends and business associates. One of those friends and business associates is Brandon Brison, creative director for the extraordinary firm CDMG Inc.

Brandon told me that he was home trying to think of a clever response when his five-year-old son, Finn, asked him what he was doing. He told Finn, “I’m trying to fill in the sentence ‘Life is…’ with an answer.” Then he asked the precocious boy what he thought life is.

Finn replied, “Life is what’s real, and not pretend. So we have to not let the pretend things scare us.”

Mic drop!

What an incredibly deep and profound point for anyone to make, let alone a human who has only been on the planet for a little more than 1,800 trips around the Sun.

Unknowingly, Finn stumbled on an idea in academic philosophy known as, “The primacy of existence.” This idea, which dates back to Aristotle, is that existence exists, i.e., that the universe exists independent of consciousness (of any consciousness), that things are what they are, and that they possess a specific nature and identity.

Like I said, pretty deep stuff for a five-year-old philosopher child.

Then Brandon shared with me his own most-excellent response to the “Life is…” question.

I found the response so poignant and so spot-on that I felt impelled to share it with The Deep Woods audience today. So, with permission from the author, here you go…

“Life is a chain we forge a day at a time, that binds our present to our past and our past to our future.

Like the blacksmith in front of the forge, moment by moment we transform the raw material of circumstances and environment into another link in the chain, and every decision, big or small, adds strength and resilience… or weakness and fragility.

Every moment spent moaning about the resistance of the iron or the heat of the forge is a moment wasted.

Whether we like it or not, what we create every day connects to what’s been created by those who have gone before us, back into the infinite past, and it connects us to those who will follow after us.

We can never truly extricate ourselves from the chain we’re a part of. Everyone has a past; everyone will leave a legacy.

The good news is, in the daily forging, we get to choose what we take and what we leave.

And, as we forge, we also decide how to put the chain to work.

The chain can be shackles that hold us down.

It can be an anchor that keeps us secure and grounded.

It can be a lifeline that hoists us out of our darkest pits.

It can be an unbreakable bond uniting people we care about.

The world serves up fire and iron daily, and through our decisions, actions and attitudes, we daily transform what’s served up into another link in the chain.

And if we screw it up … well, we get to try again tomorrow. And that’s an encouraging thought.”

I don’t think I can, or need to, add anything to these brilliant insights. The only thing I will say is that if you are able, try to cultivate friendships with people who think like this and who can write like this and who can express their thoughts like this.

Doing so will enhance your own thinking, and it will make you a better person. I know that’s what it’s done for me.

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On Discarding Humility

“When people put you on the pedestal, don’t come off it acting like you’re humble. Because if they put you up there, that shows how high they can see. Stay there and pull them up, and they’ll grow faster.”

–Victor Wooten

Victor Wooten is one of the very best musicians working today. He’s a master bassist, a fantastic teacher and five-time Grammy Award winner who has collaborated with a diverse group of artists from Dave Matthews to Béla Fleck. He’s also an author, and his book, “The Spirit of Music” is one that I recommend fervently.

In this quote, Wooten talks about the flaws in being “humble” and not acknowledging what you’ve done, the position you’re in and especially what you might mean to others. If people look up to you for what you’ve done, be proud of that. Moreover, help them get there, too. In my view, there is too much false humility out there. If you’re admired in your field, I suspect you’ve earned it. So, wear that moniker proudly, and help lift every voice and sing.

Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.

In the name of the best within us,

Jim Woods