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“If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”
― Essays, Letters and Miscellanies
― Essays, Letters and Miscellanies
“Is it responsibility or blame that bothers you?"
"I don't want blame."
"Sometimes responsibility is worse. It doesn't carry any pleasant egotism."
"I was thinking about that time when Sam Hamilton and you and I had a long discussion about a word," said Adam. "What was that word?"
"Now I see. The word was timshel."
"Timshel-and you said-"
"I said that word carried a man's greatness if he wanted to take advantage of it."
"I remember Sam Hamilton felt good about it."
"It set him free," said Lee. "It gave him the right ot be a man, seperate from every other man."
"That's lonely."
"All great and precious things are lonely.”
― East of Eden
"I don't want blame."
"Sometimes responsibility is worse. It doesn't carry any pleasant egotism."
"I was thinking about that time when Sam Hamilton and you and I had a long discussion about a word," said Adam. "What was that word?"
"Now I see. The word was timshel."
"Timshel-and you said-"
"I said that word carried a man's greatness if he wanted to take advantage of it."
"I remember Sam Hamilton felt good about it."
"It set him free," said Lee. "It gave him the right ot be a man, seperate from every other man."
"That's lonely."
"All great and precious things are lonely.”
― East of Eden
“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”
―
―
“A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well--or ill?”
― East of Eden
― East of Eden
“Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
―
Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
―
Adam’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Adam’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
720 books
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61 friends
150 books
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63 friends
233 books
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162 friends
428 books
|
5,735 friends
12 books
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75 friends
92 books
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39 friends
1 book
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8 friends
65 books
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47 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Biography, Business, Classics, Fiction, History, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Psychology, Science, and Self help
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