Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Here's Why You Should Read "The Lessons of History"

Episode Date: November 24, 2017

If you want to gain some much-needed perspective on the current political, social, and economic zeitgeist, and get an informed idea of what will come next, then you need to read this book. Because whether we’re talking our (extremely entertaining) political pageantry, (extremely troubling) racial and social antagonisms, or (extremely naive) grievance and entitlement worship, know this: It has all happened before and, human nature being what it is (hardened), it will play out again in more or less the same ways. So yes, let’s look doe-eyed to Washington to solve all our problems, conveniently forgetting that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that every system of government we’ve ever created has ultimately been destroyed by crooks and villains. Right, let’s enthrone the ideas that we have no personal responsibility for the conditions we face in life and that the individual exists only to serve the collective whole, conveniently forgetting that these beliefs have resulted in some of the most tyrannical and deadly regimes in all of history. Sure, let’s burn the rich and redistribute all their wealth, conveniently forgetting the catastrophic consequences of the French Revolution. Durant’s wife Ariel said it well: “The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.” If you want to better understand and navigate the world as it is, then you want to better understand and navigate it as it was. It’s that simple. Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Let it be our pride that we ourselves may put meaning into our lives, and sometimes a significance that transcends death. People ask me for book recommendations on various topics. They ask me what book I am currently reading and what books I have recently read and what my favorite books are and so forth. And as an avid reader, I am always happy to oblige and get some book recommendations in return as well. I also just like to encourage people to read as much as possible because I think that knowledge benefits you much like compound interest benefits your bank account in that the more you learn, the more you know, and the more you know, the more you can do, and the more you can do, the more opportunities you have to succeed. And on the flip side, I also believe that there is little hope for people who aren't perpetual learners. I know that might sound a little bit

pessimistic or cynical to you, but let's face it, life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic. And if we look around, we can find plenty of evidence that it simply suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant. So if you are a bookworm and you're on the lookout for good reads, or if you'd like to just get into the habit of reading more, then this book club is for you. The idea is very simple. Every week, I'm going to share a book that I've particularly liked, and I'm going to tell you why I liked it and give you several of my key takeaways from it. I'm also going to keep these episodes short and sweet so you can quickly decide whether or not a book is likely to be up your alley or not. quite simply one of the most educated, intelligent, incisive, and articulate people I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Now, if you want to gain some much-needed perspective on the current political,

social, and economic zeitgeist, and also get an informed idea of what is probably going to come next, then you want to read this book because whether we are talking about our extremely entertaining political pageantry or our extremely troubling racial and social antagonisms or our extremely naive grievance and entitlement worship, know this. Everything we're seeing now has happened before and human nature being what it is, hardened, stubborn, things are probably going to play out again in more or less the same ways. So it's kind of ironic when we look doe-eyed to Washington to solve all of our problems, conveniently forgetting that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that every single system of

government that we've ever created has ultimately been destroyed by crooks and villains. And so that is probably where we are headed today. Similarly, yeah, let's enthrone the ideas that we have no personal responsibility for the conditions we face in life, and that the individual exists only to serve the collective whole, conveniently forgetting that these beliefs have resulted in some of the most tyrannical and deadly regimes in all of history. And sure, let's burn the rich and let's redistribute all of their wealth, conveniently forgetting the catastrophic consequences of the French Revolution. You see, I think Durant's wife, Ariel, said it very well when she said that the present is the past

rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding. So if you want to know how to better understand and navigate the world as it is, then you want to better understand and navigate it as it was. It's really that simple. And that's why I think that studying history is one of the most profitable ways for us to improve our chances of doing well in the world by looking to people that have done well in the past and by looking to situations in the past and how people have dealt with them well and poorly, we can reflect on our own situations and our own attitudes and our own behaviors and hopefully learn how to make better decisions and improve our chances of getting what we want out of life. So with all

that being said, let's now get to the takeaways. Here's the first one, quote, since practical ability differs from person to person, the majority of such abilities in nearly all societies is gathered in a minority of men. The concentration of wealth is a natural result of this concentration of ability and regularly recurs in history. The rate of concentration varies, other factors being equal, with the economic freedoms permitted by morals and the laws. And just as a quick note, when he says men, of course, he means both men and women.

He's not saying that men alone possess the majority of abilities. But anyways, my note on this takeaway here is, I think that it very elegantly summarizes why there will always be haves and have-nots and why Marxist ideologies are fundamentally flawed, biologically flawed even, and will probably never produce anything but what they already have produced, which is untold amounts of death, misery, and suffering. As we've seen from its various implementations around the world, even when you take from each according to ability and give to each according to need, inequality still grows. It's just baked into us. People are not born equal in physical and psychological capacities and character and no matter how many declarations or constitutions we write, this will never change

because more than anything else, nature loves differences and is engaged in a never-ending process or experiment, if you will, of selection and evolution. Therefore, it is just inevitable that some people are going to come better supplied to meet the tests of survival than others. And accordingly, that some people are going to come out on top more often than others in the various competitions of life, including business and moneymaking. And the most obvious example of this is what we saw in the 19th century in England and America with laissez-faire capitalism, where men of outsized ambition and ability built the foundations of modern society as we know it in really just a few decades. And despite their many sins and abuses, and there were many, these were not the best people, morally speaking. These industrialists raised the average person's standard of living to

a level never before seen in history. And all of this is why I think people who whine about how unfair it is that others have more things than them, more money than them, more possessions than them, whatever, are almost always below average in ability and initiative and almost always have very little to show for themselves. And it's also why I think that you or I or anyone else doesn't owe these people anything. There's absolutely no shortage of money and opportunity for any of us living in first world countries. And I am wholly convinced that with enough determination, enough grit, enough hard work, anyone who's in good physical and mental health can develop a skillset and work ethic that will allow them to earn at least $75,000 per year, which is about the point where the emotional benefits of income drop off

precipitously for most people living under normal conditions. And I think that's true regardless of how people were raised, regardless of their education, regardless of anything else. And anyone that hasn't done this yet is simply choosing not to. Whether they realize it or not, that's the reality. That's the reality. this episode and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at Muscle for Life Fitness, Twitter at Muscle for Life, and Facebook at Muscle for Life Fitness. Okay, next takeaway, quote, generations of men establish a growing mastery over the earth, but they are destined to become fossils in its soil. And my note here is that humility is a powerful virtue. It's a difficult virtue to develop as well. And honestly,

especially for people like me who tend toward aggression and enterprise, because while those qualities are definitely useful, they also can lead to dangerous arrogance. And that's something that I try to remain cognizant of in my life. And therefore, simple stoical reminders like this are worth reflecting on, I think. Takeaway number three, quote, let it be our pride that we ourselves may put meaning into our lives and sometimes a significance that transcends death. And my note here is that I believe that life is inherently meaningless, inherently has no purpose.

inherently meaningless, inherently has no purpose. And if we don't strive to give our lives meaning and strive to find a purpose, then our lives are probably not going to amount to very much. And this is why I personally am much more driven to achieve significance and nobility in my life than just happiness. Because one, I don't think that happiness is something you can pursue. I think it's something that simply ensues as a side effect of how we live our lives, how we conduct ourselves every day. And two, because dedicating my efforts to a course that is greater than myself is, for me, just far more satisfying than chasing pleasurable stimuli. Takeaway number four, quote, so the conservative who resists change is as valuable as the radical who proposes it, perhaps as much more valuable as roots are more vital than graphs.

as roots are more vital than graphs. It is a, and that's graphs, by the way, G-R-A-F-T-S, not graphs, G-R-A-P-H-S. Anyways, continuing. It is good that new ideas should be heard for the sake of the few that can be used, but it is also good that new ideas should be compelled to go through the mill of objection, opposition, and contumely, which means disrespectful or insulting language. Okay, continuing. This is the trial heat which innovations must survive before being allowed to enter the human race. It is good that the old should resist the young and that the young should prod the old. Out of this tension, as out of the strife of the sexes and the classes, comes a creative tensile strength, a stimulated development, a secret and basic unity and movement of the whole. And I chose this not to make a political statement, but simply because

it's a timely reminder that the conservative elements of a society or group, and by conservative, I mean the dictionary definition of conservative, not the political one. So not a Republican, but more someone who holds to traditional attitudes and values and who is cautious about change or innovation. So anyway, this is, I think, a reminder that the conservative people in a society or group do play a vital role in its overall health by enshrining what works in culture and law and resisting the proposed changes of progressive thinkers who have the burden of proving that their ideas will in fact be better than what we have, will be better than the status quo. Because nothing is ever perfect and nothing ever will be perfect. But when you have something working, your number one priority should be keeping it working. And then your number two priority should be making

it work better. So the conservative elements of society or of groups are more focused on the former, on just keeping what's working there and working. And the more progressive elements of society, the more radical elements of society are more interested in the latter, proposing new and hopefully better ways to do things so everything works even better. Okay, the fifth and final takeaway. Consider education not as the painful accumulation of facts and dates and reigns, nor merely the necessary preparation of the individual to earn his keep in the world, but as the transmission of our mental, moral, technical, and aesthetic heritage as fully as possible to as many as possible for the enlargement of man's understanding, control, embellishment, and enjoyment of life. And my note here is that very simply put, I think

that people who don't consistently educate themselves on how to be and do better in life have very little chance of creating a life that is merely satisfactory, let alone extraordinary. Nobody, no matter how good their starting circumstances are, comes into the world with all of the knowledge and wisdom that they're going to need to do all the right things well and make all the right decisions at the right times. And the only way to escape this ignorance and increase our odds of making it is education. And that's why almost all of the most effective and successful people that I've known and read about spent tremendous amounts of time educating themselves in many different areas of life.

And despite that, we're still painfully aware of how little they really knew in the grand scheme of things. Hey there, it is Mike again. I hope you enjoyed this episode and found it interesting and helpful. And if you did, and don't mind doing me a favor and want to help me make this the most popular health and fitness podcast on the internet, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on

how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in.

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