Ideas Become Character Through Action

One conclusion I've come to recently is that convictions are not fully embodied by sitting alone in a room full of good books, and reading them. No matter how good those books are.

I may know a great deal about soccer or tennis, but I will never become a good player without practicing and playing. Knowledge alone is not enough. To embody my knowledge I have to put what I know into practice.

I think the same principle applies to every field.

What is the practice of someone who becomes good at writing software? Building programs.

What is the practice of a business man? Doing Business.

And what is the practice of someone who becomes good at articulating ideas? It is engaging with them - discussing, speaking and writing.

Thought is concretized only when it is translated into action. When an action is repeated consistently, it becomes practice. Thought is no longer merely abstract—it becomes something concrete, or at least symbolically manifested through words.

But a person will only write or speak or build consistently if he places great value on what he thinks and decide to do.

To me, this is how human life works. We are beings that generate thoughts and put them to use. When we use our minds to understand what is going on, and create something evidently valuable in possession of that knowledge, our self-esteem grows. We become people who trust our own ability to think and act. As self-esteem develops, life becomes a virtuous cycle—a snowball of virtue, progress, and reward.

I don't write my Substack for other people, although I'm happy when others understand what I have written. I write for myself. Realizing that was one of the best discoveries of my life.

I write to document my thinking because I don't want to lose it. I regard my thoughts as important parts of my life.

And by writing, I discover my mistaken beliefs. Others point them out as well. By correcting them, I improve both my understanding and my ability to express my ideas. My thinking becomes clearer.

At the same time, my wife, my children, my friends, and life itself constantly remind me that clarity of thought alone is not enough. If I fail to act on what I know, my clarity accomplishes little. I get stuck.

A healthy character is formed by both thinking and acting—not only one, not only the other. As one hero once said: “as man is a being of self-made wealth, so he is a being of self-made soul”.