The multi-billionaire Elon Musk recently said that “saving for retirement will be irrelevant” and, as if he knew what I have been doing and suffering for over ten years, he gave me some personal advice: “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter.” No doubt, such words would have been very welcome on the happiest day of my life, and would have been more than enough justification for me to start burning through the little I had saved. But when it comes to money—and only money!—I am like Schopenhauer. And that means I am unable to believe the words of the visionary rocket engineer and space explorer, finding it much more plausible that, in a future like this, I will find a way to go broke. It would be beautiful, wonderful, to retire now and wait for the day when it will no longer be necessary to retire. Buy a little hole, light my cigarette, and write. Sitting in a rocking chair and gazing at the clouds, basking in the morning sun every day. Very, very beautiful… but I need another life to be able to trust a robot.
Tag: behavior
Allowing Oneself to Become Entangled…
Allowing oneself to become entangled in the web of tasks and responsibilities of mundane life practically seals, for as long as this state lasts, the possibility of the mind realizing how much is being wasted. This can only be realized later, with luck, when the waste has already been consummated. The positive side of the situation is that learning usually requires the mistake to be experienced personally; that is, first the slip, then the lesson. Without temporarily wasting itself, the mind does not assimilate the concrete consequences of doing so. But it so happens that, after a certain point, what was instructive has either been assimilated or proven innocuous, and the mind has either decided to transform itself or accepted to lock itself into an endless cycle of repetition.
For Athletes, There Is Nothing More Frustrating…
For athletes, there is nothing more frustrating than injuries, which always come at the wrong time. They interrupt progress and force a break, which, if not respected, tends to aggravate the situation even further. As a result, the athlete often has to deal with the loss of his hard-earned conditioning while resting reluctantly and watching his companions and opponents progress. He thinks about how much effort he will have to make to recover his level and feels completely powerless in the face of physiology, which determines his recovery time. After all, he sees only one choice for full recovery and a return without limitations: to wait. The injury, therefore, teaches him to be patient. If he manages to overcome it, he returns to the sport more mature: more aware, more careful, capable of greater challenges. And it is worth saying the following: intellectual life also has its “injuries.”
The Best Advice for Intellectual Life…
The best advice for intellectual life is to never distance oneself from religion, never allow days to pass without reading or engaging in instructive practices that prevent the spirit from distancing itself from that which is superior. The habit must be imposed, that is, it must be continued when the mind shies away, so that it influences when one is not thinking, or has forgotten the influence it can exert. Forcing the routine means not letting weaknesses interrupt a gradual process that removes obstacles so that the intellect can flourish.