ROD STEWART

SHE´S SO BEAUTIFUL, THAT´S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO NAME A SONG TO PLAY.
AND LET ME TELL YOU, THERE ARE MANY MANY MANY BEAUTIFUL SONGS.
LORD, LET ME PRAISE ROD STEWARD, FOR HIS BEAUTIFUL SONGS.

THE WISE MAN DOES AT ONCE WHAT THE FOOL DOES AT LAST.


Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.

Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.

A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

Never stop doing little things for other. Sometimes those little things occupy the bigest part of their hearts.

Procrastination holds many people back. They never seem to get around to doing things that are important, even things that are fun.  Too many times it takes us a long time to get around to doing simple tasks.  Baltasar Gracian had the same thought when he said, "The wise does at once what the fool does at last."

If you are smart, you will jump in and get things done quickly and efficiently.  This frees up your time for more things that could improve your life.  

When you put off even simple things until the last minute, you stress and fret over getting the task done. You waste your life away doing very little.  You do become the "fool who does it at last.

What does that mean?

This is another bit of advice to the ‘Princes’ of Italy in the city-state era. Here he talks of decisiveness and wisdom. The wise man, on noticing a problem or on having a problem pointed out, will do what needs to be done to rectify the situation. After a due consideration and planning, the Prince will enact the plan to accomplish the desired solution to the problem.

The fool, after the problem has been brought to their attention, will dally, ponder, form committees and otherwise waste time. This allows the problem to grow unhindered. Finally, when immediate action is required to avoid disaster, the fool will act. What could have been solved easily and quickly is now a life-and-death struggle for the fool. Don’t be a fool.

Why is time important?  

In the example, it was posited that the wise man acted with the minimum of wasted time, while the fool maximized the wasted time before being forced to act. It’s the difference between seeking immediate medical attention for a serious cut, compared to waiting until the area around the cut is turning a nasty color. One leads to some stitches and antibiotics, the other to an amputation. Don’t be a fool.

Rarely do problems go away on their own. However, many of us (myself included) will, from time to time, ignore something until it is nearly too late before taking action. And if everything doesn’t go perfectly, sometimes it is too late. That’s not very wise, is it?

Where can I apply this in my life?

We all procrastinate from time to time. Today’s blog is an example. I had plenty of time, but I chose to do other, less important things all day. Now I have to get this done this evening for publication overnight. It’s not impossible, but it isn’t the pinnacle of wisdom. I was a fool.

What things are you delaying? What are the problems in your life that you are ignoring, putting off, delaying until it’s almost too late? Grab some paper and write a few down, and leave some space between each one. Write down anything dealing with work, chores, assignments, projects, health issues, or anything else. Anything and everything that you are putting off.

Are you putting off exercising and eating right? What are you waiting for, a heart attack? I hope not, that would be foolish, right? But you’re probably not that overweight, it can be put off until January, right? You’ll get a membership at a gym, go a few times, then let it coast until next year. I hope not, that would be foolish, wouldn’t it?

For me, the biggest problem with a short term burst of exercise is that it tends to get me eating more, to fuel the extra effort of exercise. Then I stop exercising but do I scale back the eating? If not, the problem just got worse. I would recommend starting with something you can keep up with, even if it’s just walking around the block. Eventually it’s two blocks. Eventually, you need a walk more than you need coffee. Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.

What’s on your list? Look at each item and think about what the end result of failing to get it done. For diet and exercise, can you imagine how bad the results could be if you had a heart attack? Worst case is you are dead and everyone who knew you is sad. Do this for each entry on your list. The more powerful you make the result, the better it will work.

Please don’t diminish any of the results. In the case of diet and exercise, don’t say the worst case is I gain a little weight. That won’t get your butt out of the couch and exercising. Don’t say that failing to complete an assignment at work will get you yelled at, in this economy it might very well get you fired.

Now, select the one item on your list that means the most to you. Don’t worry, you can come back later and pick up the others on the list, let’s just focus on one for now. Ready? It’s time to scare the DICKENS out of yourself, with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

Imagine yourself traveling down the path of wasting precious time. See your fate growing worse. See how badly things go when you have finally run out of time. Let it get worse and worse. Feel the pain of the end result. Feel how badly it makes others feel, the people who hoped you would get it done in time, the people who rely on you, the people who were rooting for you.

If you made the result sufficiently catastrophic, you should be feeling pretty down. Use this negative emotion to motivate you. Tell yourself that you will not walk that path, and that you will do something about it right now. Not later, that’s the fool’s path. Now! Take the first step. Figure out what you can do this moment. Use the internet to find some information, a coach, a business, a group, a phone number. Do something, before it’s too late!

Yes, that was kind of harsh, but you have become complacent with your situation. Objects at rest require an outside force to get them moving. You were traveling the fool’s path, and the destination wasn’t very pretty, was it? As always, you will only get out of this what you put into it. I hope you have changed your path, and will use your time more wisely. I know that I will be doing so.

1. A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. -Bruce Lee

2. A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. -William Shakespeare

3. Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. -Plato

4. The wise man does at once what the fool does finally. -Niccolo Machiavelli

5. Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life. -Buddha

6. Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. -William Shakespeare

7. Injustice never rules forever. -Seneca

8. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. -Solomon

9. I have never seen a greater monster or miracle in the world than myself. -Michel de Montaigne

10. To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.  -Buddha

11. My great mistake, the fault for which I can’t forgive myself, is that one day I ceased my obstinate pursuit of my own individuality. -Oscar Wilde

12. We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are. -Talmud

13. The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve. -Buddha

14. It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see. -Winston Churchill

15. Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. -Benjamin Franklin

16. The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain. -Aristotle

17. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course. -William Shakespeare

18. The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life – knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live. -Aristotle

19. A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men. -Plato

20. Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world. -Helen Keller

21. He was a wise man who invented beer. -Plato

22. The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men. -Plato

23. Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others? -Voltaire

24. When in doubt, close your mouth! –Mr. Self Development

25. He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. -Lao Tzu

BONUS: He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad. -Voltaire

THE WISE MAN DOES AT ONCE WHAT THE FOOL DOES AT LAST.
Both do the same thing; the only difference lies in the time they do it: the one at the right time, the other at the wrong. Who starts out with his mind topsyturvy will so continue till the end. He catches by the foot what he ought to knock on the head, he turns right into left, and in all his acts is but a child. There is only one way to get him in the right way, and that is to force him to do what he might have done of his own accord. The wise man, on the other hand, sees at once what must be done sooner or later, so he does it willingly and gains honour thereby,

BOTH DO THEIR OWN PART