Five Lessons from Plato* Much of what makes us happy in the short run is an illusion.
* Demonstrating to others that what they believe is wrong can be dangerous.
* You can't count on people to recognize the truth when they hear it.
* People will fight to preserve their own ignorance.
* You need a long-term, empathetic strategy to help people overcome their illusions.
Four Lessons from Aristotle
* Happiness is a moral state, not an emotional state.
* If you are not happy, seek to be a better person instead of simply seeking to feel happier.
* Being good means doing good, Virtue is useless unless it leads to positive action.
* Help others to be happier by helping them to become better.
Three Lessons from Hannah Arendt
* People do terrible things more often out of the urge to conform - because they are worried about how others perceive them - than from a desire to do harm.
* Reflective thought and real insight are necessary for moral behavior.
* Helping other people to think critically helps them be more moral, and more successful in the long run.
Three Lessons from Cyrano De Bergerac
*Short-term rewards are tempting - Beauty and youth can sell with great initial power.
* Long-term satisfaction comes from passion and commitment, not from the short-term virtues like beauty and youth.
* The externals, like the specific words you use, can never make u for poor understanding or lack of belief in what you are doing or selling.
Three Lessons from Soren Kierkegaard
* Reason and insight will only take you so far.
* When reason ends, faith can begin.
* Real faith in other people is a risk and takes courage, but it unlocks immense new possibilities.
Two Lessons from St. Augustine
* Evil is not an active force, but simply the absence of goodness. So to fight evil, focus on making more goodness, not on winning battles against the bad.
* Put more goodness in the world, and a corresponding amount of evil will disappear, without having to win any battles against it.
Two Lessons from Abraham Lincoln
* Seek common ground when you make an argument - tell your opponents, "this is not the taunt of enemies, but the warning of friends."
* "Kind, unassuming persuasion should ever be adopted" - never seek to prove yourself superior, but always seek to learn from your opponent, even as you defeat his argument.
"The more you focus on helping others, the more you will succeed in reaching your own goals. Helping others is the most direct and effective way to reach your goals in your personal relationships, at work, and in your community. There is no better or more rewarding purpose you can find each day, and no more practical tool for getting where you want to go." - Peter S. Temes (from his book: The Power of Purpose)
