Quotebook
quotebook
Friends, welcome to the Quotebook.
Come here often for secular wisdom from the ages, including commentary on how to put it to work for you.
Success isn’t magic; it comes from showing up every day.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Some may make success look easy and like magic, but in reality, success comes from long struggle. The pyramids were not built from the top down; they were built with a strong foundation, with block after block added until it was time to lay the final stone.
The lives of those on The Project are similar. Their lives are built one day at a time, and adherents do not start at the top, though they do tend to end up at their summits. They achieve this by following their Paths, and by possessing the wisdom to know what they are about, the courage to live the life they are meant to live, and the patience to do this every day.
Those working The Project define success as living the life they were put here to live and that is not magic, it is the result of the daily effort that comes from following their Paths. They show up every day to live the life they are meant to live.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian/American bodybuilder, actor, and politician.
One sometimes finds what one is not looking for.
Alexander Fleming
One of life’s great prizes is when life deals you something you weren’t expecting and it is entirely satisfactory. Those working The Project see these times regularly, perhaps more often than most.
This is because those on The Project have given up all attempts at control: of events, of people, of outcomes. Their lives take advantage of what nature and circumstance offer, and, as a result, they have few expectations. They see reward where others might see setback.
The one thing those on their paths do retain control of is themselves: they have things they must do with their lives, and they spend their time doing them.
However, they have no expectations because they know this is when the rewards come. Liberated from wants and expectations, they often find satisfaction in what they weren’t looking for.
Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) was a Scottish microbiologist who, somewhat by accident, discovered penicillin.
10/11/25
His ideal…was rule neither by the few nor the many but by…”the one who knows”.
I.F. Stone
The Trial of Socrates
The context of this quote is political, referring to Socrates’ thoughts on ruling people. This is beyond the scope of The Project, of course, so we are going to focus on the quote’s usefulness for someone on their path.
The ideal for someone on their path is not to be ruled by anyone. Both the few and the many have slots for us to fit into because it is human nature to want to feel comfortable with those we deal with. People fit into those slots because it is human nature to want to comply and get along.
Those on their path do set out to be deviant or iconoclastic; if they appear different, it is merely because they want to fit into the slots they’ve assigned themselves. They rule themselves because they know themselves.
I.F. Stone (1907-89) was an American journalist.
9/25/25
I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
One thing those on The Project believe is that, to some extent, life is left to chance, that there is no divine plan or predetermination. They also believe they get out of this life what they put into it. They do not live passively and are not content to see where the wind blows them.
Like a mariner who puts to sea, they have a destination in mind and have plotted a course to get there.
The destination is the life they are meant to live, the course is their Path. Adherents put nature and circumstance to work for them by showing the wisdom to know what they are about, the courage to live the life they are meant to live, and the patience to do it until their day is done.
Those on The Project realize the race is to those who make their time serve them.
Ecclesiates is a book in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.
9/18/25
Since he does not contend
No one can contend with him
Lao Tzu
The Tao Te Ching
Contention is a part of life. Some contend for status, wealth, or advantage, while others contend with life itself, always going against their grain and ignoring the dictates of their inner self.
Those working The Project do not want to contend with anything; it’s a big enough challenge putting aside daily distractions that can veer someone off their Path; they merely want the life they were put here to live.
Consequently, adherents do not bother contending with other people or circumstances. They realize there are over seven billion people on this planet and that all of them are leading random lives, and it’s best to let others alone, just like they would like to be left alone.
Those working The Project let others worry about status, power, and prestige. They only contend with themselves, battling everyday to show the wisdom, courage, and patience to be on their Path.
Lao Tzu (fl. 6th century BC) was a Chinese philosopher.
9/8/25
People who don’t believe in destiny don’t have one.
Taylor Cavanaugh
Destiny is an interesting topic for those on The Project: they believe they have one, which gives them something in common with religious adherents.
However, those working The Project do not believe their destiny is preordained and that it cannot be found in an ancient text. They do not believe in rewards beyond this life. Project adherents believe their destiny must be earned; they have to go and get it.
Those on The Project realize that – to an extent that might surprise others – we make our own destinies. They’ve realized they the only question that matters is whether or not they are going to maximize the talents they were issued at birth or if they are going to squander those talents. When you’re on The Project, you have decided to maximize yours.
Those working The Project believe in their destinies. They are certain that being on their Path every day until their day is done will take them exactly where they are meant to go.
Taylor Cavanaugh is a former US Navy SEAL and French Foreign Legionnaire.
9/4/25
Buy the ticket, take the ride.
Hunter S. Thompson
The ticket you buy on The Project is figurative, not literal, but it’s there just the same: you have decided to exchange the old for the new, to leave the road everyone else is traveling so you can blaze your own trail.
It’s a ticket we can buy or not buy every day as we see fit. Every day each of us is issued a blank canvas, and we can either put fresh, creative strokes on it or we can toss it aside and squander it.
The canvas, of course, represents the 24 hours all of us have – the only commodity each of us is issued in equal measure. What we get out of this life depends on the work we put into those 24 hours.
Those working The Project have bought a ticket to the very core of their being. Those who squander their time and talents have purchased a ticket leading nowhere, except maybe to the same place every day.
What ticket are you going to buy? A ticket to the center of your soul, or a ticket to a scattered, wayward life spent reacting to outside influences and providing knee-jerk reactions to things? Years from now, when our day is done, what we look back on will depend on the choice we made today.
Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) was an American writer.
8/21/25
There is no way not to be human except through death.
Gore Vidal
Creation
A frequent assertion here at The Project is that your path does not lead to the end of the rainbow. All The Project offers are insights into yourself and living the life you were put here to lead.
No one walking their path is an image on a stained glass window. This means they have the same ups and downs, fears and foibles, as everyone else. Being human means the same thing for them as it does for those off their path: when the end comes, they will go.
When that day comes, they will be looking back without regret, at time well spent instead of time squandered. Their time has served them; they have lived from the bottom of their hearts, and the talents they were issued at birth have been completely maximized.
When an adherent’s day is done, they will look back at having transcended mere humanity, and met the very core of their being.
Gore Vidal (1925-2012) was an American writer.
8/9/25
The ox must plow the furrow, the nightingale must sing, the dolphin must swim, and I must fight.
Frederick the Great
All of us were put on this earth to do something. We may – or we may not – live down the ages like King Frederick, but all of us can do something well. It’s the way the world is built.
The sole purpose of The Project is to help you find what you were put here to do. The Project is divided into three elements to take you there: wisdom, courage, and patience. Those who get on in this life have the wisdom to know what they are about, the courage to live the life they are here to lead, and the patience to do it until their day is done.
It should be noted that our hearts may change direction over the years, and some things may no longer interest us. Frederick is an example of this, preferring music and philosophy as a prince. Nature and circumstance, however, eventually made him a warrior.
Nature and circumstance will make us what we are meant to be, too. As we note here regularly, it doesn’t matter what that is, either, as long as it comes from the heart. Your life on your path is testimony to this.
Frederick the Great (1712-1786) was king of Prussia from 1740 until his death.
8/7/25
Let your pupil learn by experience the life and workings of nature; let him enjoy the stars without pretending to trace their history.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. X: Rousseau and Revolution
Those on The Project find that experience is the very best teacher because all education is self-education. Sure, you can utilize the resources of a great university, but if all you do is spend time make contacts, take notes, and binge drink, you are not really maximizing your time there.
Similarly, you can read about your path here, but if all you do is read about spiritual self-cultivation, you are wasting your time because the only way to get to know both your path and yourself is to go out and see where your heart takes you. After some years, you will find that it has taken you exactly where you are meant to go.
Adherents enjoy nature – both the nature around them and inside them – and find themselves leading the life they are meant to lead. The origins of the stars may interest them – or it may not – but it does not distract them from their path.
Those on The Project have learned the inner workings of themselves, the only knowledge that matters. They are on their path and every day touch the very depths of their souls.
Will Durant (1885-1981) was an American writer and philosopher.
8/2/25
If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.
Morris West
The Clowns of God
There are those among us who favor life’s storms, who prefer to wallow in the chaos and confusion that occur from time to time in everyone’s life. Rather than attend to the dictates of their inner self, they prefer to spend their time reacting to outside forces.
People like this prefer the superfluous to the substantive and are content fitting into the slots assigned to them by family, friends, and employers. They enjoy the storms.
We all know them, though those on The Project tend to stay away from them because those on their path live from the inside out. Their heart has told them where to go and they are going there. They have been doing this since making the commitment to self-cultivation and will do it until their day is done.
Because adherents are fulfilling their purpose every day, they see fewer storms than most. They are on their paths, following their hearts and trusting their instincts to take them directly into the sunshine of where they are meant to go in this life.
Morris West (1916-1999) was an Australian writer.
7/31/25
No one’s ever seen anyone before. So you can get away with a lot by just pretending you belong wherever you happen to be.
Gore Vidal
There are over seven billion people on this planet, all of us leading random lives, so odds are a lot – and perhaps most – of the people you come across, you are seeing for the only time.
Some in this situation will try to impress the passersby, either through appearance or behavior. These are people living from the outside in, living a life that mainly reacts to outside stimuli. They are far from hearing the voice of their inner self.
Those on their path are not. They are secure in themselves and comfortable in their own skin. They know what they are about because they listent to their inner voice telling them to follow their hearts and trust their instincts.
Those on The Project are completely in touch with who they are, where they are going, and where they will end up. They belong wherever they happen to be.
Gore Vidal (1925-2012) was an American writer.
7/27/25
Success demands singleness of purpose. …once you have agreed on the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to forget that price.
Vince Lombardi
One of the tenets here at The Project is that success and failure exist only in relation to one another; that when you remove one, the other disappears, too, leaving you with whatever effort you chose to put into something.
For Project adherents, the only success is life on their path. They long ago dismissed the imposters known as success and failure, but make no mistake, the singleness of purpose is exactly the same as someone chasing victory in a ballgame.
For those on The Project, the singleness of purpose is the wisdom to know what they are about, the courage to live the life they are meant to lead, and patience to do see their path through to the very end.
Those on The Project know they have only one chance at this life, and they are determined to live the life they were meant to lead: a life in accordance with the dictates of their inner self, a life in harmony with their heart, a life on their path.
When you do this in your own life, you will realize the work you’ve put in has been no work at all. Success and failure have been eliminated, and your singleness of purpose has left you with life’s great prize: a life that has been lived from the bottom of your heart.
Vince Lombardi (1913-70) was an American football coach.
7/25/25
…there was the powerful impulse of vanity, a motivation which has never had its due recognition in historical works.
William E. Woodward
The Way Our People Lived
Vanity is a double-edged sword. It means having excessive pride and usually refers to someone’s pride in superfluous things, like appearance, achievements, and abilities. It is similar to ambition in that when improperly focused – usually on things inspired by external factors – it seldom creates anything lasting or does anyone any good.
Like other things in this life, vanity can be turned over and put to advantage, and those on The Project do just that. Their vanity yields a pride they do not share and certainly do not expect you to notice or, frankly, to even care about.
Those working The Project have a vanity that comes from deep inside. It’s a vanity that says they were put on this planet for a reason and that there are certain things they must do with their lives. It’s a vanity that sends them to do those things so they can have the pride that comes from a life well-lived.
William E Woodward (1874-1950) was an American writer.
7/22/25
One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.
Sophocles
The Project promises the life you are meant to live. Nothing else. Those working it expect nothing more and demand nothing less. It does not promise the end of the rainbow, and while benefits are seen soon enough, it generally takes many years to reap the richest benefits and summit the highest mountains your path has in store for you.
That’s OK. Unless we have a death warrant signed by the governor or tragedy strikes, most of us can count on a long life. Those on The Project can depend on a series of good days, which in turn ensure good weeks, good months, and good years.
When we have lived enough good years to have reached the evening of our lives, our paths will ensure that we are looking back on life’s great prize, having lived the life we were meant to live.
Sophocles (fl. 5th century BC) was a Greek playwright.
7/19/25
Men almost always prefer to walk in paths marked out by others and pattern their actions through imitation.
Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince
Those working The Project are in the minority. If you didn’t know it before starting your journey on your path, you knew it within a couple of days: it is human nature to want to belong and take roads commonly traveled.
Those on The Project walk a solitary path. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re hermits; people need people after all, and it is human nature to want and have a family and friends.
But it does mean you live life from the inside out instead of the outside in. It means you are following the dictates of your inner self instead of reacting to outside influences. It’s knowing your heart is telling you where to go and that your instincts are telling you how to get there.
Those working The Project choose to walk paths only we can see and live through actions that come from the bottom of their hearts. When we do this, we are on our path, going exactly where we are meant to go in this life.
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian diplomat and writer.
7/17/25
The greatest chance that can come to man or woman is the chance to do something worth doing…The days that are happy are the hard days where effort is crowned at the end.
Theodore Roosevelt
We’ve said here that we only have one chance at this life. That is true, but we have many chances to make a go of it while we’re here.
Every day we are issued a fresh canvas, and the strokes we put on that canvas are up to us. We can put useful strokes on it and create a canvas that benefits ourselves and others, or we can put scattered, wayward strokes on our canvas that do neither us nor anyone else any good.
There is going to come a time in our life – perhaps when we are facing death – when we will examine the life we’ve led. We will ask ourselves if we did well or if we squandered our time.
It is the only question that matters.
Those on The Project ask this question every day. They know their path is the chance to do something worth doing, and the effort they put into their path today will lead to the crown of a well-lived life.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the 26th president of the United States.
7/15/25
Prose is the voice of knowledge freeing itself from imagination and faith.
Will Durant
The Story of Civilization, Vol. II: The Life of Greece
This is not a writing course, so we will replace “prose” with “our path”.
We are on our path when we are living the life we are meant to lead; when we are in tune with the dictates of our inner self; when we are declining to fit into the slots others have assigned us. We have the wisdom to know what we are about, the courage to live the life we were put here to lead, and are showing the patience to do it every day.
Being on our path is liberating. We are freed from the expectations of others – friends, family, institutions – and are liberated from tolerating a substandard life here in exchange for wonders and splendors in an afterlife.
We are free to be ourselves, to put our own strokes on our life’s canvas. The past and the future no longer hold sway. Our present is our sole focus.
Will Durant (1885-1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher.
7/12/25
What is man but his passion?
Robert Penn Warren
All of us – you, me, your aunt in Duluth – were put here for a reason. We were all issued assorted talents at birth, and all of us can do something well.
We first learned this lesson in school, where some students could do their numbers better than others, while others had a knack for science, and still others could run faster than everyone else. An annoying few excelled in all these areas.
Those who get on in this life find their passion and master it. It doesn’t matter what it is, and it certainly doesn’t matter if it causes us to live down the ages, either. All that matters is that it comes from our heart.
It’s a journey we must take ourselves: I will not find your passion and you will not find mine. We must dig deep inside ourselves to find the talents we were born with, and then we must spend our lives maximizing them.
When we do this, when we’ve found our passion, we’ve found our purpose, and then the life we are meant to live finds us.
Robert Penn Warren (1905-89) was an American writer.
7/10/25
If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
John Wooden
One thing about this life, regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs, is that we only get one chance at it. Even if you believe an afterlife will provide another existence or untold splendors or horrors, this life is the only one we are living right now.
There are no do-overs or second chances. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow, as usual, remains a day away and isn’t guaranteed besides. Right now is all you have, and it all adds up to a life of finite, indeterminate length.
Because there will be neither the time nor the opportunity to do it over, we must do it right. We must remove the superfluous, including the expectations of others, and strip our lives to their barest essentials: what our hearts are commanding us to do. When we know our heart, we know ourselves – life’s great prize – and we are doing our life right the first time. When our day is done, we will look back at time well spent. There will be nothing to do over.
John Wooden (1910-2010) was an American college basketball coach.
7/8/25
…repetition is the secret of the learning process.
Gore Vidal
Creation
Repetition is crucial to learning anything: a martial art form, a task at work, weeding a garden. It is especially true for those working The Project, because the ultimate learning process is learning about ourselves, the ultimate knowledge is the life we are supposed to lead.
Repetition is especially true for us: only the repetition that comes from following our paths, of maximizing our talents, of showing up every day to make our time serve us, is going to lead to the life we want. It is the ultimate learning process for us humans, and those who put in the work every day will look back at time well spent.
And every day means every day. We cannot learn about ourselves some days and not others, some months and not others. Our paths reveal fresh prospects every day, so every day spent away from learning about ourselves means knowledge and opportunities lost.
We have two options: we can put in the work repetition demands, or we can do something else. The first way leads to time well spent, the second to time squandered. Every day, the choice is ours.
Gore Vidal (1925-2012) was an American writer.
Talent is nothing but long patience.
Gustave Flaubert
(1821-1880)
French novelist
Gustave Flaubert wrote from an early age and, knowing this was what he was about, he couldn’t be bothered with the cacophony that attends married and family life, preferring to pursue his life’s work.
The work of being on our path simply does not stop. If we are going to make our time serve us instead of merely marking time while on this planet, we must be on our path every day. It will not always be a bed of roses. But there will be attainments – life’s great prize – and failures – life’s great lesson.
Talent is nothing but long patience…
Like Flaubert, we must find what we are meant to do and do it. It doesn’t matter what this is, either. All that matters is that it comes from the heart. When we do this, we are living the life we are meant to live. When we have the patience to do it every day – life’s great challenge – we will look back on a life well-lived.
Flaubert wrote. What do you do?
Those poor bastards, they got us right where we want them. We can shoot in every direction now.
Chesty Puller
United States Marine Corps
Lewis ‘Chesty’ Puller (1898-1971) was an American Marine, who served his country honorably for 37 years,
A common theme you hear from those who served under Puller was that he was tough but fair.
Today’s Thought, obviously, comes from a time when Puller and his men were surrounded. Specifically, in the Korean War, when the Chinese had overrun the Yalu River.
There are few situations that can not be turned to advantage, and this quote is a good example of this. Puller not only sees the advantage of being able to fire in every direction, but he pities those who have him surrounded.
Even we civilians can fire in every direction. We do this by putting ourselves in a position to succeed every day, by having a plan for our life, and working that plan with courage and diligence.
One of the few questions that matter is “Is our time paying us a dividend or is it being squandered?” No one can answer that question for us; I can’t answer it for you, and you can’t answer it for me. Our time pays us a dividend when we are following our hearts and trusting our instincts because our hearts tell us where to go and our instincts tell us how to get there.
When we do this, we are on our path and living the life we are meant to live. We have life exactly where we want it and are firing in every direction.
He who says, “I know nothing,” is the shrewdest of all.
Vemana
Indian philosopher, fl. 17th century
It is not easy to admit we do not know something. After all, this admits to others and acknowledges to ourselves our weakness.
But, like a lot of things in life, this can be turned over, from weakness to strength. Admitting we don’t know something or everything is the first step to discovering what we need and want to know.
This is especially true as you start your journey here.
You are starting a Path that, if followed, will lead to the life you are meant to live. You will discover many things about yourself and our human existence you did not know before. To learn these things, we must be open to learning them, and the adherent who starts this journey admitting their ignorance is already halfway home because there is strength, not weakness, in admitting there is much to learn.
This is the moment of embarking
All auspicious signs are in place.
Deng Ming-Dao
365 Tao
Every journey – including your journey of self-cultivation – begins with optimism. As it should, because we take journeys to accomplish things. Few embark on a quest for the substandard.
Today, your optimism may well feel like an accomplishment. And it is, because the decision to start a spiritual quest is a big step and a new you awaits.
So, enjoy the warmth that comes with the anticipation of success. More good things away you, but this will suffice for today.