If John Adams had a blog...
At the age of 20, John Adams wrote in his Journal on July 21, 1756 the following entry."I am resolved to rise with the sun and to study Scriptures on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings, and to study some Latin author the other three mornings. Noons and nights I intend to read English authors. . . . I will rouse up my mind and fix my attention. I will stand collected within myself and think upon what I read and what I see. I will strive with all my soul to be something more than persons who have had less advantages than myself."
I've not been very disciplined in keeping a journal. Keeping tabs on my day is not something I regularly do, but often wish I had. I also write down lots of dreams and goals that will never come to fruition. If only a few were to happen, that would be fine.
David McCullough notes the following in his book John Adams, after the above entry."But the next morning he slept until seven and a one-line entry the following week read, 'A very rainy day. Dreamed away the time.'"
Perhaps I too will make a fine President one day.
3 comments:
What a great book. Here are my two comments on your post:
1) How many 20-year olds do you know who value education so much? Or who show that level of maturity?
2) I have a theory. The reason these people from hundreds of years ago could take the time to read English authors and study Latin is because there was nothing else to do.
Seriously. You ever go out in the woods and spend an entire day at your campsite? Now think about doing that for days and weeks on end. Heck I'd know 5 languages with time like that on my hands.
I suppose that raises the question: With as many options we have today for our free time, is it even MORE noble in our era than in theirs to devote yourself to such disciplines?
Remember ole John didn't have distractions like the big sports game or Internet!
Yeah, but he didn't have all of the distractions that we have today and yet he still failed to follow through with his goal of reading.
You could say distractions are excuses. It all boils down to self-discipline.
I'm sorry, I was so inspired by the quote that I was going to come make a comment, but I was distracted by the Pacman game in the sidebar. Whew, there goes an hour of my day. What was I going to do here?
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