Control is illusory. No matter what university you go to, no matter what degree you hold, if your goal is to becomes master of your own destiny, you have more to learn.
Interpretation
True mastery of one's destiny requires continuous learning and adaptation.
Michael J. Fox's quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing that while we may strive for control over our lives, that control is often an illusion. Regardless of our education or qualifications, the journey of self-mastery is ongoing, suggesting that humility and a commitment to lifelong learning are essential for shaping our destinies.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal growth.
I find as long as I acknowledge the truth of something, then that's it. I know what it is and then I can operate. But if I overestimate the downside of something or the challenge of something and I get too obsessed about the difficulty of it, then I don't leave enough room to be open to the upside, the possibility.
My whole life, meeting people is like a blind date, because I feel like they've already seen the video on me.
There are no moments you have frozen in amber. It's moving, it's changing, so appreciate what's good about right now and be ready for what's next.
There's always failure. And there's always disappointment. And there's always loss. But the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of those holes are vacuums.
Certainly people have a lot tougher situations than I've had to deal with. But I will say we are all dying from the moment we are born. This is not just rehearsal.
I'm a dad, I'm a husband, I'm an activist, I'm a writer and I'm just a student of the world.
I came out for exercise, gentle exercise, and to notice the scenery and to botanise. And no sooner do I get on that accursed machine than off I go hammer and tongs; I never look to right or left, never notice a flower, never see a view - get hot, juicy, red - like a grilled chop. Get me on that machine and I have to go. I go scorching along the road, and cursing aloud at myself for doing it.
There is an old saying, or should be, that it is a wise economist who recognizes the scope of his own generalizations.
Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.
The bulk of mankind is as well equipped for flying as thinking.
If I were a physician, and if I were allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence. For even if the Word of God were proclaimed in the modern world, how could one hear it with so much noise? Therefore, create silence.
For to err in opinion, though it be not the part of wise men, is at least human.
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