Quotes About Wisdom

LEGGE DI KATZ Uomini e nazioni agiranno razionalmente solo dopo aver esaurito ogni altra possibilità.

ASSIOMA DI COLE La somma dell'intelligenza sulla Terra è costante; la popolazione è in aumento.

So what do the young hotshots need? Old people on product teams, old people in marketing, and old people in the C-suite. They need not just whiz-bang ideas but actual wisdom that only comes with years in the school of hard knocks.

Crystallized intelligence, relying as it does on a stock of knowledge, tends to increase with age through one's forties, fifties, and sixties—and does not diminish until quite late in life, if at all.

The goal of the last phase of life is to drink from the chalice of life's deepest secrets. But to be able to do that requires study and work on philosophical and theological matters, which happens in the years of vanaprastha. You can't just show up and expect to be enlightened; that would be like showing up to the Olympics without ever having trained as an athlete.

The idea of moving to instruction later in life is a theme one finds in the great wisdom literatures from East to West.

The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius said that "the universe is transformation, life is opinion.

Buddha spoke very frequently about the impermanence (in Sanskrit, anitya) of everything.

He taught that to be at peace, we must accept the impermanence of life and existence.

Cicero believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does not amass worldly rewards of money, power, or prestige.

They need not just whiz-bang ideas but actual wisdom that only comes with years in the school of hard knocks.

After all, as the saying goes, "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."[*

If you're experiencing decline in fluid intelligence—and if you are my age, you are—it doesn't mean you are washed up. It means it is time to jump off the fluid intelligence curve and onto the crystallized intelligence curve.

There is a falling tide to life, the transition from fluid to crystallized intelligence.

satisfaction is possible—just not with the old formulas. We need to toss out all that bad math and use this one equation instead, which incorporates the wisdom of Siddhartha and Thomas and the best modern social science: Satisfaction = What you have ÷ what you want Your satisfaction is what you have, divided by what you want.

In the words of the Spanish Catholic saint Josemaría Escrivá, "He has most who needs least. Don't create needs for yourself.

Devote the back half of your life to serving others with your wisdom.

As we age, we shouldn't accumulate more to represent ourselves but rather strip things away to find our true selves

believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does not amass worldly rewards of money, power, or prestige.

3. INVEST INTELLIGENTLY

As we age, we shouldn't accumulate more to represent ourselves but rather strip things away to find our true selves—and thus, to find our second curve.

Further, my connection to others makes my jump to the second curve all the more natural and normal. Indeed, the crystallized intelligence curve is predicated on interconnectedness. Without it, my wisdom has no outlet.

he found himself dispensing wisdom more than knowledge—advice about life and leadership.

Rule 2. Don't attack or insult. Don't even try to win.