A great mind becomes a great fortune. – Seneca
Someone had a great idea, and now many of us can put most of our dishes in a machine to get them clean. Yes, there are still some which must be done by hand, but how fortunate do you consider yourself to be, that someone thought of a dishwasher?
What does that mean?
This is an excellent companion to a prior quote from Descartes, which is “It is not enough to have a good mind, the main thing is to use it well.” In that quote, the point was to make a great mind.
In this quote, we discuss what to do once you have a great mind, given that you know how to use it well. Some would, have, and continue to use their brains to make a great fortune in a monetary sense of the word.
For others, their great fortune is found elsewhere. Some find their fortune serving others, and finding ways to make the lives of others more comfortable, safe, or secure.
Some use their minds to gift to all of humanity, their fortune. The great works of art, be they poetry, literature or plays; sculpture, paintings or other forms of art; even architecture, the products of their mind has become our great fortune.
Why is using your mind important?
This is fairly simple to answer. If you have a great mind and don’t use it, the world will be a poorer place for your waste. Whether you might have raise a great financial fortune, or a fortune for others, it isn’t going to happen by itself. You have to make it happen.
Consider the people who have done great things. They have enriched us in some manner. Whether it’s the computer geeks, which make these blogs and the internet function, the great script writers or actors who enrich our lives, or the great humanitarians who help others in a more direct manner, we all benefit in some manner, directly or indirectly.
That is how others have used their minds on a massive scale. Think about your friends and family, and how they have used their minds to benefit others on a smaller, more intimate scale. I believe even actions of the heart take a great mind to do, even if it might not seem the brightest thing at the moment.
Where can I apply this in my life?
We have benefited from the great minds of others. What can we do to help others? That, to me, is the more interesting question. I believe there are different kinds of great minds. Some people can do math in their heads, others have great imaginations.
Einstein and Disney both possessed great minds, and both enriched humanity. One by changing the way we look at science, the other in whole new art forms and methods. Similarly, I believe we all have great minds, if we look in the right places, and work hard to develop ourselves.
Not everyone will leave the kind of world-wide mark that those two did. But we can all make a difference with our friends and in our communities. Consider the humble soup kitchen. They have been feeding the most needy around the world for ages.
But in the age of the automobile, someone used their great mind and thought of using the car (or truck or van or…) to take the soup or other food to those who couldn’t get to the kitchen. To those who were stuck at home, that was certainly a great fortune, wasn’t it?
There have been many great minds, and they have come up with lots of labor saving devices. From clothes washers to dish washers, to better and safer cars, to cell phones and more mobile computers, we are very fortunate to live in a time after they have been common.
Take a moment and consider what life would be like without those devices mentioned above. Your mind might not be that of an inventor, but you can come up with ways to help your friends and neighbors. Perhaps not yet, perhaps not tomorrow, but you do have good ideas.
The more you work on making your mind great, the more things you might be able to do to. But don’t let that stop you from using your mind to help others today. We can all think of things to do, and can make plans for things to do later.
Will you use your great mind to help yourself, others, or both? There is no right or wrong answer, only helpful and hurtful results. If you help one person and harm another at the same time, you should probably take a little time to apply your mind to the issue at hand, right?
The word fortune means different things to each of us. It can be applied to money, to our lot in life, to our family and friends, as well as many other areas. It can also be applied to our friends, our communities, and even as far away as the opposite side of the planet.
What can you think up to help create a great fortune? How much longer will you wait before acting on those great thoughts?
From: Twitter, @philo_quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/luciusanna118291.html
Photo by Aaron Harmon
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