Wisdom is paradoxical

The real measure of intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas at once.

Author

Enda Mac Nally
September 18, 2024 • Read it in: 6 minutes

I got my first sponsorship offer.

This week, I received my first sponsorship offer for the newsletter.

It wasn’t a good fit, so I turned it down.

That said, I would be open to paid sponsorship here- but it needs to be something I genuinely approve of. I want it to fit with the rest of the content and align nicely with your interests (and mine).

Definitely don’t want to spam anyone, or take up half the email with ads.

Some of my favourite newsletters now make it hard to distinguish the actual content from the sponsored content, which irritates me.

I won’t be doing that.

Here are this weeks’ highlights, if you’re short on time:

  • A strong definition of ‘wisdom’

  • How to overcome the fear of self-promotion

  • A fantastic feature on Prince, and the documentary we might never see

Wisdom is paradoxical.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.

One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise.”

This is a great definition for intelligence.

I think it’s also a good basis for a definition of what we call ‘wisdom’.

Knowledge is fixed.

Wisdom is about how you modulate knowledge.

It’s about having the judgement to about judgement.

As The Serenity Prayer says:

“…the grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other,”

To have knowledge, you simply cling to a fixed point of view.

To be wise, you need to be able to hold two distinct points of view and modulate between them.

Be frugal, but spend on what matters.

Be demanding of yourself, but be kind to yourself.

Treat other people well, but don’t let them take you for a ride.

Life is longer than you think, and life is shorter than you think.

Knowledge is knowing tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad…

You can’t help people if you can’t reach them

Found this via The Danny Miranda Podcast.

It’s painful to consider this, but a fear of promotion might be better understood as a lack of commitment.

Kieran Drew quit his job as a dentist, built a huge online audience and launched a number of successful courses and products.

But not before spending time struggling to speak up.

Around the 14:20 mark, Danny reads a quote of Kieran's about a previous failed launch compared with a successful one:

“...at my first launch I was too scared to sell.

This time I treated it like game day.

I created 23 emails, 40+ tweets, 4 threads, 2 videos, one Twitter spaces.

I was exhausted.

But if you believe in your product, you need to go all in.

You can’t help people if you can’t reach them,”

We’re all part of creation.

Listen to your voice, and use it.

No permission is needed.

🎤 ‘The Prince We Never Knew’ [ARTICLE]
Great feature in the New York Timer, on the painstaking creation of a 9-hour long Netflix documentary on Prince that may never be released…

💥 ‘Rack’ by The Jesus Lizard [ALBUM]
Raucous, jagged new album from the Austin noise-rockers.

💭 ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ by Ursula K. Le Guin
This blew my mind. Incredibly inventive sci-fi classic about a man whose dreams alter reality, and the doctor who tries to steal the ability for himself.

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