Will Smith on Aristotle

Will Smith is starring in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and in this article, he says that he read a lot about happiness in preparing for the movie. Will Smith says he liked best what Aristotle said about happiness:

“I’ve been reading a lot about what is happiness, and I feel Aristotle had the best idea,” the 38-year-old actor said while seated in the stately wood-paneled McCormick Room atop Tribune Tower. “He broke it down in the Nicomachean Ethics. Like for me it feels directly and inexorably connected to self-esteem.

“So I always explain it as: Think of yourself as two people, and one of them is inside of you, and he’s a scorekeeper. And he keeps score of your idea of the world. … And when you have a conflict with your scorekeeper, that’s unhappiness. Happiness is being completely in sync” — he slapped his palms together — “with your own perception of goodness.”

Agreed.

What’s your motto?

Here are some great mottos from Motto Magazine’s “What’s your motto?” contest:

Pam
“We don’t attract what we want, we attract what we are.” – Anonymous

Peter Gouveia
My motto: “Live your life with passion so your epitaph will read ‘No Regrets.'”

elizabeth
Life is not greener on the other side.
“life is greenest where you water it most”

Stacie
There is no good or bad, just done and not done.
This is to motivate me to get started when I’m frozen with the fear whatever I do won’t be good enough. If I do it, it can’t be bad.

Skip Reardon
1. Actions speak louder than words.
2. We are what we repeatedly do.
3. Attitude is everything.

Ming Wong
I have two mottoes actually,one of which is attributed to Confucius: Find work which you enjoy, then you wouldn’t have to work a day in your life!
The other one: Everything’s relative. Truly.

And I’ll end today’s quotes with this delightful one that made me smile just to read it!

David R.
Allow room for good things to run wild.

Busting Out for the Thing You Most Want to Do

“Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to do what they want to do.”
~ Kathleen Winsor

“Luck is the by-product of busting your fanny.”
~ Don Sutton

What if we combine the above two thoughts?
The good life is about…busting your fanny at the thing you most want to do.

This sounds pretty similar to doing first things first, and the rest taking care of itself. Somewhat like walnuts and rice.