ECHOES OF WISDOM

I have seen a large number of good people tear down

good things in their lives.

It wasn't through a fall from grace or a scandal that I

saw this happening, but through their small daily

decisions which they never thought through. In these

decisions, they would grasp a business opportunity

without proper consideration, commit in a relationship

in the heat of an emotion, spend money on an impulse,

or speak without thinking. Every decision of theirs

seemed manageable when considered individually but

together, these decisions created a pattern of living a life

made of reactions and not reflections, feelings and not

foundations.

They were always the same intelligent people making

foolish choices not because they were less informed but

because they lacked wisdom. Indeed, they knew what

they wanted but they didn't think it necessary to ask

whether they should have it, or when, or how to get it

without destroying what already existed.

And I the uncomfortable truth I had to confront was

this: I saw mirrors in them and me.

I was not doing the same dramatic things but I could see

the pattern. There were impulsive decisions which felt

so right at the moment but were costly when looking

back. There was also the lack of clear direction always

moving but without asking where. And lastly, there was

no real planning as I was only reacting to whatever

came next, believing that the motion was the same as

progress.

I would not finish what I started. I would say yes

without thinking through what yes actually required. I

would pursue opportunities without asking if they are

aligned with the person I want to be. I was like a ship

full of sails but lacking a rudder a lot of hustling, in

fact, good speed, but drifting wherever the wind took

me.

This is when I came to my senses: More opportunities,

information, or motivation were not what I needed; only

wisdom was what I needed. Wisdom of the sort that

teaches one to pause before committing. Wisdom of the

sort that lets one determine which is good and which is

best. Wisdom that creates a life built on intention rather

than accident.

The book here is the outcome of that search not penned

by someone who has reached his goal, but by one who

saw the danger quite early and changed his path. One

who is coming to terms with the fact that wisdom is not

about being flawless; rather, it is about having a

direction. It is about substituting impulsiveness with

intentionality, confusion with clarity, and drifting with

purposeful movement.

If you ever confronted the view of your own patterns

impulsive decisions, lack of clear direction, feeling busy

but that you're not really building anything lasting and

thought, "There must be a better way," then this book

is meant for you.