Wisdom is Never Found in Certainty

I've been collecting wisdom from people I admire and combing through thought-provoking reminders of universal truths. These ideas come from scholars, journalists, marketers, economists, speakers, analysts, and researchers. Where are you looking to gather wisdom that helps you make sense of the world and of your own heart and mind?

Knowledge & Humility

How we learn, what we don't know, and why uncertainty is a feature, not a flaw.

“Wisdom is never found in certainty”

“The cure for ignorance is not information. It's humility and curiosity”

“The root of lifelong learning is knowing how little we know”

“The more you know yourself, the better you can know others”

“The more you learn the more complicated things become — trust your learning using your learning like an athlete would use their body”

“Curiosity is the key. Keep asking questions until you find an interesting answer and then question endlessly”

“Pursue objectivity, but there's no such thing as an absence of identity”

“You never know if your choice is right or wrong until you make it”

Power & Democracy

How power operates, how it's challenged, and what's at stake when democratic systems are under pressure.

“Because when tasks move, power moves”

“Power structures work to maintain control by making you feel you're walking alone in the darkness”

“Technology is not destiny”

“Democracy either wins this one or it disappears...it ought to be a blowout”

“500 wealthiest Americans have increase of 25% to their wealth”

“Tariffs closing small farms and reducing manufacturing jobs”

“It was only the fourth time in the 232-year history of America that the House of Representatives passed a resolution to inquire into impeaching the president. 20% of Americans supported Nixon impeachment, Fox own polls show 54% support”

“They know what to do with weakness; they don't know what to do with strength”

“Court of law, court of public opinion”

“Journalists were truth keepers, now that role has fallen to the legal system”

“Peace will come from the people, not the leaders”

“Affordability, healthcare, and corruption are the top three priorities”

“Systems are changing. This is a new playbook”

“Remember our history”

“Follow the money and see where it goes”

Story & Meaning

How stories work, who gets to tell them, and what happens in the space between the teller and the audience.

“Writers write the words, but readers define the meaning”

“Another good story, ruined by the facts”

“The best way to tell a big story is to tell a small one”

“The function of art is the renewal of memories of moments of perfection”

“If you finish a project or story with the same story you started with, something has gone wrong”

“Distinction between hard news and soft news is culturally oppressive — a way of diminishing marginalized groups”

“If your words are simple, people can understand them. If people can understand your words, they can repeat them. And if your words can be repeated, your ideas will spread”

“To the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart”

Action & Agency

On doing the work — especially when it's hard, uncertain, or thankless.

“Whatever you do won't be enough, try anyway”

“Urgency strips away vanity. It forces action”

“You are not your grand plans. You are your daily patterns”

“Don't protect them from the work, we make it look easy and beautiful — it's partly our fault they don't understand the lift”

“Do I check with headquarters or do I act boldly?”

“ROI doesn't matter if the return is supporting humans”

“The changing course of the corporate world is possible. People make decisions about where we put our resources — if you believe changing what we prioritize is important, grab hold of it”

“Equity in transportation can be as important as equity in other measures”

“Acceptance, under someone else's terms, is worse than rejection”

Strategy & Adaptation

The practice of strategy — iteration, character, community, and staying responsive to change.

“Strategy is a team sport”

“Strategy is not a one time event but many iterations”

“Success depends less on executing a perfect plan and more on responding in character to changing circumstances”

“The modern world is optimized for convenience, not improvement”

“Great founders are rarely building in isolation. They plug into communities that shorten the learning curve”

“None of us is as smart as all of us working and thinking together”

“The function of debate is to ensure that arguments don't survive in a vacuum”

“Assess criticism on its merits”

“Its hard to bond when you're being too careful”

“The modern world is optimized for convenience, not improvement”

Community & Culture

How communities form, what they believe, and how culture moves forward.

“Communities with the most immigrants often have the most positive views of immigrants”

“We dream our culture forward and create the world as we want it to be rather than investing our energy in critiquing the world as it is”

“Optimism is a force multiplier”

“Happiness is the ultimate rebellion”

“There is joy in being simultaneously preposterous and profound”

“We take ourselves very seriously, except when we decide not to. Then we take not taking ourselves seriously very, very, very seriously.'

Self & Relationship

What we owe ourselves and each other — in love, in conflict, in how we show up.

“Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die”

“We over share publicly and under reflect personally”“The more you know yourself, the better you can know others”

"It's not a revolutionary act to tell the truth. Did you mean it? Can you defend it? Did you say it with love?"

“Love is radical acceptance”