It’s stepping up and doing what needs to be done, to be the person we want to be, and the life we want to live. This is being a player, not just a spectator. To live up to our potential, find our prosperity and happiness. Taking responsibility is to make it our mission to live to the fullest we can. We need to be jolted out of our complacency, to have our laziness challenged. That sort of life never belong to us, it’s neither fulfilling nor authentic.įar too many people shun responsibility, then complain life is not what they expected it to be. There is a part of us, a childlike part, that wants to be taken care of.

Other people play their parts, but the shape of our lives has a lot to do with how we show up.

We all need to wake up and accept the only person responsible for our life is ourselves. Instead of just drifting through life hoping everything works out (as I did once). As your eyes open, you’ll see that your state of health, happiness, and every circumstance of your life has been, in large part, arranged by you - consciously or unconsciously.’ Dan Millman/Socrates ‘It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others, or circumstances, for your predicament. Action makes knowledge not just a function of thought, but of everything you are. Study and practice both play off each other. When you practice, you become what you practice (as Aristotle said). It’s not the abstract, sterile world of a book, now it’s inside, in the flesh, the bones, the blood. It deals with your hopes, fears, inspiration, motivation, failure, and more. What you learn on the way cannot be found in books. The only way is to get some materials and practice what you have studied. No amount of reading books or watching vids can make never you an artist. Knowledge is good, but the experience is better.

Life demands right action if knowledge is to come alive.’ Dan Millman/Socrates Life requires more that knowledge it requires intense feeling and constant energy. ‘No amount of knowledge will nourish or sustain your spirit, it can never bring you ultimate happiness or peace. Below I outline some of the lessons I picked up from it. It’s the wisdom of Socrates that’s most interesting here. Despite his success, he still feels there’s something is missing in his life. He’s aided by a mysterious garage owner called Socrates. It tells the story of a young man on a journey to find his place in the world. Years after reading the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior, again I’m reminded why I like it so much.

Way of the peaceful warrior