WORDS OF WISDOM
The Pen is mightier than the sword Ed Chapman believes that the wider we read the more rounded we become, ‘with an understanding of a variety of viewpoints and across broad subjects, critically including reading those that we do not agree with in order to better understand where they are coming from’. Here he explains.
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he power of words is quite astonishing, hence the saying ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’*. Just one example, I was reading an article today where Ukrainians were explaining how their own parents living in Russia don’t believe that their cities are being flattened by shelling. They truly believe that Putin is saving Ukraine from the Nazis and is liberating the country without targeting any civilian buildings or infrastructure. To a much lesser extent, the words we say as leaders or coaches are critically important as well. I am sure we all have stories in our head about who we are or what skills we have, or lack, based on what we have been told by parents, teachers, bosses, etc. in the past. Once wielded, we cannot take back things we have said, no matter how much we would like to. Therefore, it is my belief that the wider we read the more rounded we become with an understanding of a variety of viewpoints and across broad subjects, critically including reading those that we do not agree with in order to better understand where they are coming from. Below are some books that I either constantly reread or having read them recently have added them
childhood books that you read contain wisdom and truisms that only come to light as an adult; Alice in Wonderland is full of quite deep philosophical musings when read with that tilt in mind. The best fiction writes also manage this feat by taking real world problems or commentaries on life and weaving them in to the stories. Terry Pratchett is in my view the best in the world at this, with an economist currently working on an inflation index named after one of his characters.
to that list, and also some podcast episodes that I treat the same. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that “no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man”, and I believe this to be true with books as well. Even the beloved
‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ was first written by novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu, chief minister to King Louis XIII, discovers a plot to kill him, but as a priest he is unable to take up arms against his enemies.
Sapiens: a brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Official blurb: “Homo sapiens rules the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money, and human rights. Starting from this provocative idea, Sapiens goes on to retell the history of our species from a completely fresh perspective.” This is a truly fantastic and fascinating book which I have re-read on multiple occasions and each time take something different away. I first read this book after about the 47th person on various podcasts recommended it as their favourite book of all time.
CLUBHOUSE EUROPE 31
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