The Sufi way is through knowledge and practice, not through intellect and talk.
Idries ShahRead
Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right effort, right time, right people, right materials.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of aligning effort with one's circumstances and resources in order to achieve goals effectively.
Idries Shah highlights the futility of mismatching efforts and approaches to tasks based on an individual's nature or abilities. He suggests that for any objective, success hinges on using the correct amount and type of effort at the right moment, supported by the right people and resources. This wisdom implies that thoughtful consideration of context is far more important than a one-size-fits-all approach to work and achievement.
Themes
EffortSuccessWorkContextResources
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speaker might use this quote to encourage students to find the right strategies for their studies.
More from Idries Shah
All quotes →To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.
Idries ShahRead
You have not forgotten to remember; You have remembered to forget. But people can forget to forget. That is just as important as remembering to remember - and generally more practical.
Idries ShahRead
Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal. Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.
Idries ShahRead
To be obsessed by the idea of freedom, for instance, is itself a form of slavery. Such people are in the chains of the hope of freedom, and are therefore able to do little else than struggle with them.
Idries ShahRead
The proverb says that 'The answer to a fool is silence'. Observation, however, indicates that almost any other answer will have the same effect in the long run.
Idries ShahRead
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Without using the word, everyone started forgiving each other again. Just like that, from the no of all nothingness: you have a big tense mess and out of it comes some joy. It must be magic.
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Hard work and humility are essential for spiritual sadhana.
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The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection [from transgression]. It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance. It becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is al-Taqwa. It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry, and its food and drink are knowledge, love, dependence, repentance and servitude.
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