Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Also: Quiet by Susan Cain; Water Margin by Shī Nài’ān; and Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Titus Andronicus. A bit over-the-top with the familial cannibalism and all. Just sayin’.
Fluently: English; With a substantial grasp of vocabulary and grammar: Chinese; Only polite words and basic phrases: Spanish, Hungarian, Thai, Japanese, and maybe still some Russian (which I took in Grad School — the worst possible language learning environment.)
Starting to read Chinese has been thrilling. It has opened a whole new world, and the nature of the language is so different that definitely rewires the brain a bit.
Make decisions 25% more nervy than you currently see yourself having the courage to pull off.
Also, develop some uniquely human skill for the time (you are likely to see) when ai/robotics does all productive tasks better, faster, and more efficiently than humans. (Think nursing, philosophy, sex work, cage fighting, etc.)
Those who reached the escape velocity necessary to truly write their own stories: e.g. Drukpa Kunley, Diogenes the Cynic, Hánshān, Ikkyū, Socrates, and the various Avadhuta.
Adjust your definition of success until you’re there. It is, after all, a completely subjective term.
I would not be the same person. It would not be the same book.
That it’s a worthy object of pursuit, as if it is a stable state. I think both the Taoists and the Buddhists have instructive views on the matter. In Taoism, the Yang contains the seed of Yin and one flows inexorably into the other. In this view, the rock bottom worst life has to offer is a time to rejoice because the light will follow. Whereas, when one thinks life is the best it can get, a fall will come. As for Buddhism, our happiness may reflect an illusion that we’ve momentarily achieved our desires, when desires are inherently great white whales. Aim for contentment. Experience happiness when it comes.
What would be the fun in that? It’s the journey that makes skill development enjoyable and interesting. I’m not interested in downloadable skills. (I’ll leave them to the robots.)
Horizontally.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 