Heinlein's books were a favourite in my mid-teens, and I was blessed to revisit them afresh when one of my little rascals read them in his teens. It is pure joy to re-experience a loved book with one’s children.
I think the longer one lives, the more we realize that life IS paradoxes, and navigating them is life. Through all experiences of navigating those paradoxes, we create our individuality.
“Talent is the lottery ticket; persistence is the compound interest” is an apt metaphor. Just as many lottery winners end up with little to show for that windfall, so too do those with talent often squander it. I’ve noted time and again it is those who leverage even their smallest bit of talent with an abundance of persistence who become most successful. When engaged with younger people, I ask them to focus on their potential, whatever that is, and stress that through persistently reaching for it with diligence and full effort, it will take them beyond even their own expectations.
I’ve always disliked routines, except morning meditation, and while discipline to one’s aspirations is essential, how to achieve that is individual. We are not , “Machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts”, and finding our own flow is what makes the difference in both success, and personal contentment.
While concurrently feeling the burden of challenges, I do not feel vibrantly alive without them. Alas, there is no shortcut to push through the challenges in learning, even though the swamp of repetition can be rather boring!
Your metaphor on theory as a time- released capsule is brilliant, and becomes more evident later in life. It does indeed “expand in ways unforeseeable at the moment of study”. I like your phrasing here, that “the future has a way of raiding the attic of abstract thought and finding tools no one realized were stored there.” It is one reason that the gathering of knowledge is essential early in life and remains necessary. In time, one’s attic is packed with retrievable thoughts, concepts and experiences unique to an individual's life. As more gathers, we are able to intersect them in unforeseen ways, although, occasionally our attic requires decluttering, and a few discards;).
Persistence is a character quality that supports our navigation of living well through a human life splashed with paradoxes; persistence is foundational to them all. Cultivating and supporting persistence is thus foundational to education and parenting.
So, how often does your little rascal checkmate you?
Thank you Wendy, your points are so magically expressed. I especially liked your point about revisiting Heinlein with your son, you are so right, there's a unique joy in experiencing a loved book through someone else's eyes.
You have captured the essence of the post in your line: "life IS paradoxes, and navigating them is life." That is beautiful and so true. Through that navigation, as you say, we build our individuality.
I'm glad the metaphors landed, and your addition to the "attic of abstract thought" is brilliant The notion that we must occasionally declutter it is an important truth I had not considered, and it makes the metaphor even stronger.
Your final point about cultivating persistence being foundational to education and parenting is the perfect real-world application of the whole idea.
The little rascal has been playing since she was 5 (now 10), her school prides itself as a national winner of chess competitions, so there is a lot of emphasis at school and home, and thankfully she enjoys playing. It is becoming increasingly difficult to checkmate her... we were level last week 3 games each. Persistence and learning really show in this case!
Your comment made me think of Jung's "Beware of unearned wisdom." I wonder if AI has 'unearned knowledge?'
I love this apocryphal quote from Descartes: "You just keep pushing. You just keep pushing. I made every mistake that could be made. But I just kept pushing."
My experience is not much different from yours, but I may add a few things. On a vacation this week, I will write my comments in two parts. Here is Part 1:
Stay the Course: As you mentioned, persistence without talent rarely takes you far. Persistence often works because when things come easily, people tend to invest less effort in learning than those with fewer natural advantages. Additionally, I’ve observed that many shy away from significant challenges when success comes effortlessly, fearing failure might tarnish their reputation as a “genius.” Instead, they choose the safer coasting route rather than risking their image by tackling complex tasks. Various studies support this idea, and my experience aligns with these findings.
Routines: I agree that not everything needs to follow a routine, but certain habits—like eating at regular times, maintaining consistent sleep and wake schedules, walking for 30 minutes daily, and dedicating time to reading, thinking, and writing—can have a profound compounding effect on your health, wellness, and overall effectiveness. While I don’t often perform certain activities like walking and reading/thinking at the same time every day, I do them daily.
Challenges: I have a lot of personal experience with this. As a child, I developed a fever (around 100–101°F) before math exams in elementary school, which would disappear within an hour after the exam ended. A "sane" person might have avoided math and physics altogether, but with my mother’s encouragement, I faced my fear head-on. This led me to pursue math and physics as majors and earn a master’s degree in Physics, despite its difficulty. Overcoming those challenges shaped who I am today.
Taking on the most complex projects and assignments became part of my personality. I was often told I couldn’t do something or would fail. But my persistence, willingness to embrace challenges, and determination not to quit helped me tackle even the most complex tasks. Even when you fail, doing hard things teaches you 2–3 times more than playing it safe. For me, the goal was not just about success but about maximizing learning. If I succeeded, great. I had no regrets if I failed because I knew I gave it my all.
Luck also played a significant role, and I’m not discounting that. But as someone said two decades ago, "You create your own luck by working hard." There are only two real shortcuts in professional life: luck and working under an expert.
Credentials: Credentials can open doors and create opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. However, they are far from a guarantee of success. Persistence, skills, hard work, and luck are what truly determine where you end up. That said, luck plays a significant role for some, but you can’t compete with someone else’s luck. Instead, the best strategy is to focus on building your skills. When opportunities arise, you need to be ready to seize them.
As Charlie Munger wisely said:
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Systematically, you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. Nevertheless, you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day—if you live long enough—most people get what they deserve."
I couldn’t agree more. Munger himself is a living testament to this principle.
Falling Down: There’s often too much emphasis on how learning something will be useful in the future, rather than valuing knowledge for its own sake. In my experience, the most incredible value has come from domains entirely unrelated to my area of expertise. The true benefit lies in connecting ideas across fields, applying concepts from one domain to solve problems in another.
Most of my new ideas didn’t come from within my field but from outside of it. If I hadn’t spent time learning the basics of other disciplines, I wouldn’t have been able to solve many of the challenges I’ve faced. Every new experience or piece of knowledge broadens your perspective, and that expanded horizon is what enables creative and innovative problem-solving.
Another quote from Charlie Munger: “What is elementary, worldly wisdom? Well, the first rule is that you can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang ‘em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form.”
Reputation: Reputation can work both ways—you can build a good or bad one. As you mentioned, establishing a good reputation takes years of persistence but can be destroyed instantly with one wrong move. A strong reputation makes life significantly easier, while a poor one can complicate things, especially in small communities or groups where it’s hard to hide.
Charlie Munger put it perfectly:
"Remember that reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets—and can be lost in a heartbeat."
The value of a reputation cannot be overstated; building and maintaining one requires patience and integrity.
Thank you MG. For this incredibly thoughtful and detailed response. Your comment is truly insightful and adds a great layer to the post.
Your story about developing a fever before math exams is such a powerful illustration of the theme. To be faced with such a visceral, physical reaction to a challenge and to not only push through it but eventually master it, is the very essence of what I was trying to capture. It perfectly shows how persisting through difficulty shapes us.
I especially appreciate you bringing Charlie Munger's wisdom into the conversation. His concept of a "latticework of theory" is a perfect companion to the idea of theory as a "time-release capsule." It so clearly articulates how seemingly unrelated knowledge becomes valuable, by creating a framework that allows for innovative connections. You are absolutely right that the most creative solutions often come from outside our own narrow domains.
Your point about talented people "coasting" to protect their reputation as a genius is also so true. It adds a psychological depth to the argument that I hadn't fully explored, that the fear of failure can be a cage, and persistence is the key to breaking out of it.
The Munger quote on reputation is such an important reminder.
Your note "The true benefit lies in connecting ideas across fields, applying concepts from one domain to solve problems in another." I think AI does this very well, for years AI was an isolated field, but from 2012 onwards something changed and it started to bring in knowledge from many fields, I think that s why it has achieved the levels of success today. I commented to Wendy above that Jung said "Beware of unearned wisdom" and I questioned if AI has "unearned knowledge" but thinking about the diverse fields and data... maybe that is the wrong question... I need to reflect more on this.
Thank you for inspiring new fields of thought.
Thank you again for adding so much to the discussion.
"What truly separates people isn’t some magical talent, but an almost irrational commitment to pushing through pain that would break most people.
... Everything around you—every convenience you enjoy, every space you inhabit, every service you use—was one person’s refusal to accept the world as it was.
The world progresses from a collection of irrational dedication." - Shane Parish
Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet loved their conversational friendship. They inspire us to find conversational friendships that both challenge and reinforce our perspectives. It is a privilege to learn from willfully shared thinking.
I always say my greatest strength is sheer pig headed stubbornness. When someone asks me "how is that a strength?" I reply "it is if you translate it into determination and perseverance".
The opening quote you reference is from the original uncut version of Stranger in a Strange Land. It is condensed from this paragraph:
"Well," admitted Jubal, "so do I. But it is not a matter of free choice for me, nor for you - nor for Mike. All three of us are prisoners of our early indoctrinations, for it is hard, very nearly impossible, to shake off one's earliest training. Duke, can you get it through your skull that if you had been born on Mars and brought up by Martians, you yourself would have exactly the same attitude toward eating and being eaten that Mike has?"
I will save this as a reminder to persist! The saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” comes to mind. My dad used to play chess with me as a child, also Monopoly and RISK, and our family time cherished memories that you are also making.
Games are a big part of our time together. Monopoly is a favorite. Chess, I am so happy she enjoys it. We have not played Risk, but great reminder - I will introduce her to it. These memories and quality time together are essential. I always say 'when I am wth her, I am with her' no phone, no laptop, just presence and it is wonderful.
Such a well-written post with plenty to think about, thank you. I think persistence plays out in many different ways, especially when it comes to challenges that no one can do in a day, no matter how talented.. like entering and training for a marathon or writing a book. The only real way to do it is by dividing the end goal into thousands of little steps (or words) and to keep on showing up day in and day out. The joy of persistence lies not in the accomplishments that can be achieved (completing the marathon or publishing the book), but in who we become in showing up and keeping little promises to ourselves.
Hi Colin, I've been out of touch for so long. I've continued reading your missives with much pleasure. This one touched me closely enough to drive a response since these are exactly the ideas I've been contemplating recently, while preparing my college-bound son for his next chapter.
Even though I believe a post-secondary education and the related networking and social development opportunities it provides are highly valuable, I'm not sure I'd say it is worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars and life-long indenture that it requires; especially with the additional concerns of indoctrination and danger inherent in these schools today. The problem is that I don't know of an alternative.
Sorry, I've gone down a rabbit hole :)
The message of your article is specific to the value of persistence. Something that I agree with completely. A lifetime of experience has proven that persistence always wins. It isn't always appreciated, and sometimes it's called stubbornness, but I've found it always wins :) And the best part - each success leads to more confidence that the next challenge can be won too.
Hello Susan. so good to hear from you. I'm grateful that you are reading my 'missives' and this one especially touched you.
I thought long and hard about adding the credentials. Of course in much of Europe we still have 'free' universities (although indirectly paid via our taxes). With respect to eMBA the value I see there is network. Attendees gain a strong network of like minded people that support each other. As for a Ph.D. my experience is that it opens doors, my experience alone would not have... bizarre as that may be. I do think the 7 years it took, alongside working full time, was an example of persistence. But I also know many people in the world of work that have succeeded without higher education credentials. Overall, I would say life long learning and pursuing meaningful skills that can help you in employment should open doors... so as I say, it was a difficult one to include... but it is an example of persistence!
I agree with you entirely "each success leads to more confidence that the next challenge can be won too."
Thank you for the response. Since responding I’ve run across a program built by a fellow I’ve followed for years. He is a self-identified wealthy libertarian who has been writing various newsletters for most his life covering gold since the 1980’s, and the coming reset since 2008. His moniker is “The International Man”. I’ve fashioned much of my financial and personal decision-making and lifestyle after his ideas. Although a graduate from Georgetown Uni in DC, he has little respect for the education system in America. He’s recently read a book designed to help young men prepare themselves to be the “best man they can be” by becoming “Renaissance Men”. Someone who knows more than a little about everything, and applies it with classical virtues of courage, justice, honesty, temperance, and hospitality. He’s created a program that teachings the philosophical aspects of a “good person” touching on history, psychology, philosophy, literature, fine arts, and economics. The program includes both research and reading, encouraging the young men to explore their interests with curiosity and ambition. Then providing them opportunities around the world to do 3 month hands-on experiential training in everything from being a cowboy on a ranch in Uruguay to piloting a small plane in Alaska to make deliveries into the back country to learning medical skills as an EMT, and many more. It’s a process for following curiosity, finding the materials to teach on the concepts and then the skills for finding the best contacts in that field to offer services in exchange for apprenticing in the field.
I purchased the book yesterday and am going through it with my son. We’re treating like a textbook where he takes notes as I read it and provide my own insights into the philosophical ideas he shares. Of course it works because I agree with much of what Doug Casey writes, and many of the concepts have shaped my parenting already. This approach to learning seems much more practical to me. By leveraging his own global network, the opportunities are widely varied and much more interesting and hands-on than something achieved through formal education. The program is 4 years if performed diligently. But no one is tracking progress, the student is 100% responsible for progressing at whatever pace they choose.
Ultimately, it probably won’t lead to “a job”. But in the end, how many people want a job anyway. The real goal is to acquire the skills and experience to do the things that make your heart sing while also providing value to others. Trying a little bit of everything and trading time rather than money for knowledge and experience, seems a much more valuable approach, especially if it puts a student in contact with a network of people who are actually recognized or successful individuals in their specific field. Learning through mentorship rather than formula. It’s an experiment, but my own education was in an experimental school and I’ve tried to provide the same experiment environment of learning for my son through the years, so I’m quite excited about where this could lead.
A four year experiment may be a long time, but the path less traveled may lead to something extraordinary that the usual path will not. And life is long. If we’re wrong, and he has to go to a formal college down the road, I suspect anything he achieves in this endeavor will provide a foundation to anything he learns in a school environment - or at least provide him with some great life stories to share with his grand-kids :)
If you’re curious about the book and program. It’s called “The Preparation” by Doug Casey and Matt Smith. Matt and Maxim are father and son. Matt worked on the book with Doug and Maxim was their 18 year old guinea pig:) It’s on Amazon.
Montaigne: “But the most important consequence of the power of habit is that it seizes us and ensnares us so that it becomes almost impossible for us to escape its grip and become ourselves again.”
This is so sublime Max, thank YOU... In one sentence this captures the trinity of life and the foundation behind the idea of ”Man the Measurer”; The I (my reflections), ”shaped by” (The friction) between convention (mimesis) and ”lived reality”.
Wonderful and well done post, Colin.
Heinlein's books were a favourite in my mid-teens, and I was blessed to revisit them afresh when one of my little rascals read them in his teens. It is pure joy to re-experience a loved book with one’s children.
I think the longer one lives, the more we realize that life IS paradoxes, and navigating them is life. Through all experiences of navigating those paradoxes, we create our individuality.
“Talent is the lottery ticket; persistence is the compound interest” is an apt metaphor. Just as many lottery winners end up with little to show for that windfall, so too do those with talent often squander it. I’ve noted time and again it is those who leverage even their smallest bit of talent with an abundance of persistence who become most successful. When engaged with younger people, I ask them to focus on their potential, whatever that is, and stress that through persistently reaching for it with diligence and full effort, it will take them beyond even their own expectations.
I’ve always disliked routines, except morning meditation, and while discipline to one’s aspirations is essential, how to achieve that is individual. We are not , “Machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts”, and finding our own flow is what makes the difference in both success, and personal contentment.
While concurrently feeling the burden of challenges, I do not feel vibrantly alive without them. Alas, there is no shortcut to push through the challenges in learning, even though the swamp of repetition can be rather boring!
Your metaphor on theory as a time- released capsule is brilliant, and becomes more evident later in life. It does indeed “expand in ways unforeseeable at the moment of study”. I like your phrasing here, that “the future has a way of raiding the attic of abstract thought and finding tools no one realized were stored there.” It is one reason that the gathering of knowledge is essential early in life and remains necessary. In time, one’s attic is packed with retrievable thoughts, concepts and experiences unique to an individual's life. As more gathers, we are able to intersect them in unforeseen ways, although, occasionally our attic requires decluttering, and a few discards;).
Persistence is a character quality that supports our navigation of living well through a human life splashed with paradoxes; persistence is foundational to them all. Cultivating and supporting persistence is thus foundational to education and parenting.
So, how often does your little rascal checkmate you?
Thank you Wendy, your points are so magically expressed. I especially liked your point about revisiting Heinlein with your son, you are so right, there's a unique joy in experiencing a loved book through someone else's eyes.
You have captured the essence of the post in your line: "life IS paradoxes, and navigating them is life." That is beautiful and so true. Through that navigation, as you say, we build our individuality.
I'm glad the metaphors landed, and your addition to the "attic of abstract thought" is brilliant The notion that we must occasionally declutter it is an important truth I had not considered, and it makes the metaphor even stronger.
Your final point about cultivating persistence being foundational to education and parenting is the perfect real-world application of the whole idea.
The little rascal has been playing since she was 5 (now 10), her school prides itself as a national winner of chess competitions, so there is a lot of emphasis at school and home, and thankfully she enjoys playing. It is becoming increasingly difficult to checkmate her... we were level last week 3 games each. Persistence and learning really show in this case!
Your comment made me think of Jung's "Beware of unearned wisdom." I wonder if AI has 'unearned knowledge?'
I love this apocryphal quote from Descartes: "You just keep pushing. You just keep pushing. I made every mistake that could be made. But I just kept pushing."
Perfect quote. Thank you Tom
Yes this: "What makes us human is not talent, wealth, or intellect, but the capacity to stay with difficulty until it becomes useful."
An interesting post!
My experience is not much different from yours, but I may add a few things. On a vacation this week, I will write my comments in two parts. Here is Part 1:
Stay the Course: As you mentioned, persistence without talent rarely takes you far. Persistence often works because when things come easily, people tend to invest less effort in learning than those with fewer natural advantages. Additionally, I’ve observed that many shy away from significant challenges when success comes effortlessly, fearing failure might tarnish their reputation as a “genius.” Instead, they choose the safer coasting route rather than risking their image by tackling complex tasks. Various studies support this idea, and my experience aligns with these findings.
Routines: I agree that not everything needs to follow a routine, but certain habits—like eating at regular times, maintaining consistent sleep and wake schedules, walking for 30 minutes daily, and dedicating time to reading, thinking, and writing—can have a profound compounding effect on your health, wellness, and overall effectiveness. While I don’t often perform certain activities like walking and reading/thinking at the same time every day, I do them daily.
Challenges: I have a lot of personal experience with this. As a child, I developed a fever (around 100–101°F) before math exams in elementary school, which would disappear within an hour after the exam ended. A "sane" person might have avoided math and physics altogether, but with my mother’s encouragement, I faced my fear head-on. This led me to pursue math and physics as majors and earn a master’s degree in Physics, despite its difficulty. Overcoming those challenges shaped who I am today.
Taking on the most complex projects and assignments became part of my personality. I was often told I couldn’t do something or would fail. But my persistence, willingness to embrace challenges, and determination not to quit helped me tackle even the most complex tasks. Even when you fail, doing hard things teaches you 2–3 times more than playing it safe. For me, the goal was not just about success but about maximizing learning. If I succeeded, great. I had no regrets if I failed because I knew I gave it my all.
Luck also played a significant role, and I’m not discounting that. But as someone said two decades ago, "You create your own luck by working hard." There are only two real shortcuts in professional life: luck and working under an expert.
“Luck writes the first chapter, but your actions write the rest.“ - Shane Parish
Part2:
Credentials: Credentials can open doors and create opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. However, they are far from a guarantee of success. Persistence, skills, hard work, and luck are what truly determine where you end up. That said, luck plays a significant role for some, but you can’t compete with someone else’s luck. Instead, the best strategy is to focus on building your skills. When opportunities arise, you need to be ready to seize them.
As Charlie Munger wisely said:
"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Systematically, you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. Nevertheless, you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts. Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day. At the end of the day—if you live long enough—most people get what they deserve."
I couldn’t agree more. Munger himself is a living testament to this principle.
Part 3 to follow.
Part 3:
Falling Down: There’s often too much emphasis on how learning something will be useful in the future, rather than valuing knowledge for its own sake. In my experience, the most incredible value has come from domains entirely unrelated to my area of expertise. The true benefit lies in connecting ideas across fields, applying concepts from one domain to solve problems in another.
Most of my new ideas didn’t come from within my field but from outside of it. If I hadn’t spent time learning the basics of other disciplines, I wouldn’t have been able to solve many of the challenges I’ve faced. Every new experience or piece of knowledge broadens your perspective, and that expanded horizon is what enables creative and innovative problem-solving.
Another quote from Charlie Munger: “What is elementary, worldly wisdom? Well, the first rule is that you can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang ‘em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form.”
Reputation: Reputation can work both ways—you can build a good or bad one. As you mentioned, establishing a good reputation takes years of persistence but can be destroyed instantly with one wrong move. A strong reputation makes life significantly easier, while a poor one can complicate things, especially in small communities or groups where it’s hard to hide.
Charlie Munger put it perfectly:
"Remember that reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets—and can be lost in a heartbeat."
The value of a reputation cannot be overstated; building and maintaining one requires patience and integrity.
Thank you MG. For this incredibly thoughtful and detailed response. Your comment is truly insightful and adds a great layer to the post.
Your story about developing a fever before math exams is such a powerful illustration of the theme. To be faced with such a visceral, physical reaction to a challenge and to not only push through it but eventually master it, is the very essence of what I was trying to capture. It perfectly shows how persisting through difficulty shapes us.
I especially appreciate you bringing Charlie Munger's wisdom into the conversation. His concept of a "latticework of theory" is a perfect companion to the idea of theory as a "time-release capsule." It so clearly articulates how seemingly unrelated knowledge becomes valuable, by creating a framework that allows for innovative connections. You are absolutely right that the most creative solutions often come from outside our own narrow domains.
Your point about talented people "coasting" to protect their reputation as a genius is also so true. It adds a psychological depth to the argument that I hadn't fully explored, that the fear of failure can be a cage, and persistence is the key to breaking out of it.
The Munger quote on reputation is such an important reminder.
Your note "The true benefit lies in connecting ideas across fields, applying concepts from one domain to solve problems in another." I think AI does this very well, for years AI was an isolated field, but from 2012 onwards something changed and it started to bring in knowledge from many fields, I think that s why it has achieved the levels of success today. I commented to Wendy above that Jung said "Beware of unearned wisdom" and I questioned if AI has "unearned knowledge" but thinking about the diverse fields and data... maybe that is the wrong question... I need to reflect more on this.
Thank you for inspiring new fields of thought.
Thank you again for adding so much to the discussion.
"What truly separates people isn’t some magical talent, but an almost irrational commitment to pushing through pain that would break most people.
... Everything around you—every convenience you enjoy, every space you inhabit, every service you use—was one person’s refusal to accept the world as it was.
The world progresses from a collection of irrational dedication." - Shane Parish
“The world progresses from a collection of irrational dedication.” - Shane Parish
This is a wonderful quote and to open conversationally shared perspectives is how humans create, evaluate, and innovate.
Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet loved their conversational friendship. They inspire us to find conversational friendships that both challenge and reinforce our perspectives. It is a privilege to learn from willfully shared thinking.
I always say my greatest strength is sheer pig headed stubbornness. When someone asks me "how is that a strength?" I reply "it is if you translate it into determination and perseverance".
Brilliant - stay stubborn, just no when to quit the wrong stuff and stay with the 'right stuff'.
The opening quote you reference is from the original uncut version of Stranger in a Strange Land. It is condensed from this paragraph:
"Well," admitted Jubal, "so do I. But it is not a matter of free choice for me, nor for you - nor for Mike. All three of us are prisoners of our early indoctrinations, for it is hard, very nearly impossible, to shake off one's earliest training. Duke, can you get it through your skull that if you had been born on Mars and brought up by Martians, you yourself would have exactly the same attitude toward eating and being eaten that Mike has?"
I will save this as a reminder to persist! The saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” comes to mind. My dad used to play chess with me as a child, also Monopoly and RISK, and our family time cherished memories that you are also making.
Games are a big part of our time together. Monopoly is a favorite. Chess, I am so happy she enjoys it. We have not played Risk, but great reminder - I will introduce her to it. These memories and quality time together are essential. I always say 'when I am wth her, I am with her' no phone, no laptop, just presence and it is wonderful.
What a beautiful quote on focused presence! She will always remember this fondly and gratefully!
Such a well-written post with plenty to think about, thank you. I think persistence plays out in many different ways, especially when it comes to challenges that no one can do in a day, no matter how talented.. like entering and training for a marathon or writing a book. The only real way to do it is by dividing the end goal into thousands of little steps (or words) and to keep on showing up day in and day out. The joy of persistence lies not in the accomplishments that can be achieved (completing the marathon or publishing the book), but in who we become in showing up and keeping little promises to ourselves.
Hi Colin, I've been out of touch for so long. I've continued reading your missives with much pleasure. This one touched me closely enough to drive a response since these are exactly the ideas I've been contemplating recently, while preparing my college-bound son for his next chapter.
Even though I believe a post-secondary education and the related networking and social development opportunities it provides are highly valuable, I'm not sure I'd say it is worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars and life-long indenture that it requires; especially with the additional concerns of indoctrination and danger inherent in these schools today. The problem is that I don't know of an alternative.
Sorry, I've gone down a rabbit hole :)
The message of your article is specific to the value of persistence. Something that I agree with completely. A lifetime of experience has proven that persistence always wins. It isn't always appreciated, and sometimes it's called stubbornness, but I've found it always wins :) And the best part - each success leads to more confidence that the next challenge can be won too.
Hello Susan. so good to hear from you. I'm grateful that you are reading my 'missives' and this one especially touched you.
I thought long and hard about adding the credentials. Of course in much of Europe we still have 'free' universities (although indirectly paid via our taxes). With respect to eMBA the value I see there is network. Attendees gain a strong network of like minded people that support each other. As for a Ph.D. my experience is that it opens doors, my experience alone would not have... bizarre as that may be. I do think the 7 years it took, alongside working full time, was an example of persistence. But I also know many people in the world of work that have succeeded without higher education credentials. Overall, I would say life long learning and pursuing meaningful skills that can help you in employment should open doors... so as I say, it was a difficult one to include... but it is an example of persistence!
I agree with you entirely "each success leads to more confidence that the next challenge can be won too."
Thank you for the response. Since responding I’ve run across a program built by a fellow I’ve followed for years. He is a self-identified wealthy libertarian who has been writing various newsletters for most his life covering gold since the 1980’s, and the coming reset since 2008. His moniker is “The International Man”. I’ve fashioned much of my financial and personal decision-making and lifestyle after his ideas. Although a graduate from Georgetown Uni in DC, he has little respect for the education system in America. He’s recently read a book designed to help young men prepare themselves to be the “best man they can be” by becoming “Renaissance Men”. Someone who knows more than a little about everything, and applies it with classical virtues of courage, justice, honesty, temperance, and hospitality. He’s created a program that teachings the philosophical aspects of a “good person” touching on history, psychology, philosophy, literature, fine arts, and economics. The program includes both research and reading, encouraging the young men to explore their interests with curiosity and ambition. Then providing them opportunities around the world to do 3 month hands-on experiential training in everything from being a cowboy on a ranch in Uruguay to piloting a small plane in Alaska to make deliveries into the back country to learning medical skills as an EMT, and many more. It’s a process for following curiosity, finding the materials to teach on the concepts and then the skills for finding the best contacts in that field to offer services in exchange for apprenticing in the field.
I purchased the book yesterday and am going through it with my son. We’re treating like a textbook where he takes notes as I read it and provide my own insights into the philosophical ideas he shares. Of course it works because I agree with much of what Doug Casey writes, and many of the concepts have shaped my parenting already. This approach to learning seems much more practical to me. By leveraging his own global network, the opportunities are widely varied and much more interesting and hands-on than something achieved through formal education. The program is 4 years if performed diligently. But no one is tracking progress, the student is 100% responsible for progressing at whatever pace they choose.
Ultimately, it probably won’t lead to “a job”. But in the end, how many people want a job anyway. The real goal is to acquire the skills and experience to do the things that make your heart sing while also providing value to others. Trying a little bit of everything and trading time rather than money for knowledge and experience, seems a much more valuable approach, especially if it puts a student in contact with a network of people who are actually recognized or successful individuals in their specific field. Learning through mentorship rather than formula. It’s an experiment, but my own education was in an experimental school and I’ve tried to provide the same experiment environment of learning for my son through the years, so I’m quite excited about where this could lead.
A four year experiment may be a long time, but the path less traveled may lead to something extraordinary that the usual path will not. And life is long. If we’re wrong, and he has to go to a formal college down the road, I suspect anything he achieves in this endeavor will provide a foundation to anything he learns in a school environment - or at least provide him with some great life stories to share with his grand-kids :)
If you’re curious about the book and program. It’s called “The Preparation” by Doug Casey and Matt Smith. Matt and Maxim are father and son. Matt worked on the book with Doug and Maxim was their 18 year old guinea pig:) It’s on Amazon.
Montaigne: “But the most important consequence of the power of habit is that it seizes us and ensnares us so that it becomes almost impossible for us to escape its grip and become ourselves again.”
This is so sublime Max, thank YOU... In one sentence this captures the trinity of life and the foundation behind the idea of ”Man the Measurer”; The I (my reflections), ”shaped by” (The friction) between convention (mimesis) and ”lived reality”.