You really need to do yourself a favor and read online Michael Lewis article in Vanity Fair this month on the Orthodox monks from Greece that made over 1 billion dollars in real estate. The monk that pulled all of this off has a saying over the door of his office that reads, "THE SMART PERSON ACCEPTS, THE IDIOT INSISTS"......the monk explained to the writer the following: Take whatever is thrown at you and build upon it. "YES....and" rather than NO....but".
What incredible advice, and lessons to build a life upon. Take what is thrown at you, and build upon it. Say yes to your life, And I'm going to do the following. Instead of spending your life on the no of your life, but it could have been so much different.
Its so sad to watch people spend their life as a victim, if I had better parents my life would be different, if I had different friends, a different spouse, a different job, went to a different school, lived in a different area. There is so much in life to complain about, there really is, and its not getting you anywhere. The humble man accepts where he is in life, and builds, because its really the only place to start building. The prideful person just keeps on insisting on his own way.
The monk goes on to say, "The idiot is bound by his pride, it always has to be his way. This is also true of the person who is deceptive or doing things wrong. He always tries to justify himself.
A person who is bright in regard to his spiritual life is humble. He accepts what others tell him -- criticism -- ideas -- and works with them."
The humble person is always thinking about building, not looking back. The other thing that we forget, is that our weakness, sins, and sufferings could be where our greatest gift is found, but if we're not open to it we won't find it. The following quote is from Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses,
"...those who have endured some misfortune will always be set apart but that it is just that misfortune which is their gift and which is their strength and that they must make their way back into the common enterprise of man for without they do so it cannot go forward and they themselves will wither in bitterness"
What incredible advice, and lessons to build a life upon. Take what is thrown at you, and build upon it. Say yes to your life, And I'm going to do the following. Instead of spending your life on the no of your life, but it could have been so much different.
Its so sad to watch people spend their life as a victim, if I had better parents my life would be different, if I had different friends, a different spouse, a different job, went to a different school, lived in a different area. There is so much in life to complain about, there really is, and its not getting you anywhere. The humble man accepts where he is in life, and builds, because its really the only place to start building. The prideful person just keeps on insisting on his own way.
The monk goes on to say, "The idiot is bound by his pride, it always has to be his way. This is also true of the person who is deceptive or doing things wrong. He always tries to justify himself.
A person who is bright in regard to his spiritual life is humble. He accepts what others tell him -- criticism -- ideas -- and works with them."
The humble person is always thinking about building, not looking back. The other thing that we forget, is that our weakness, sins, and sufferings could be where our greatest gift is found, but if we're not open to it we won't find it. The following quote is from Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses,
"...those who have endured some misfortune will always be set apart but that it is just that misfortune which is their gift and which is their strength and that they must make their way back into the common enterprise of man for without they do so it cannot go forward and they themselves will wither in bitterness"
"Yes to life, and" not, "no to life, but"
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