On the Shoulders of Giants

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.
~~Socrates

Many only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.
~~Will Rogers

The above are two similar quotes, both from www.inspirational-quotes.info, both from wildly different eras, both from wildly different men, but both alluding to the same principle: what I like to call On The Shoulders of Giants.

Essentially, there is nothing new in the world; everything that is developed now is simply a combination of older things juxtaposed in new ways.

All that you need to succeed is already out there, available just for the seeking. With the relatively recent advent of the internet, seeking out wisdom is easier than it has ever been in the entire history of mankind.

If you go to Project Gutenberg and search on timeless phrases (such as ‘success’ or ‘personal development’) you’ll find many public domain books on many diverse subjects, some a hundred years old or so, that are still mostly relevant today. Face it, the human condition doesn’t change all that much – we, as a society, are pretty much predictable.

In fact, if you happen to be an internet marketer who focuses on product creation, you can mine Project Gutenberg for years and never run out of ideas to repurpose and sell to people that are looking for answers.

In addition to reading the words of historical famous (and wise) people, you can associate with people who are smarter and wiser than you are. This is the entire premise behind the mastermind groups that are so popular (both online and off) today. People with similar interests gather together and share their thoughts and ideas, and the natural group dynamic that arises from this synergy of mutual ideas is enormously powerful. If you’ve never had a mastermind experience, I strongly encourage you to find a group in the area of your interest and join, and participate. It can be truly life-changing.

There are rare occasions where a new, true genius is born, but for most of us, we have to look back over the vista of human experience and pick and choose what works best and piece those things together into a new whole.