Virtues are a hard sell these days--there is very little to find sexy about developing wisdom. Wisdom is quiet and solitary. It depends only on itself for value and self-worth. Wisdom will forever reward us with authenticity, a state where we live our principles, pursue our passions, and fulfill our purpose in life.

 

Yet knowing what is wise and what is unwise is not enough. Virtues, even well articulated, are useless when never wielded. Character must be practiced and tested in order to reap any of its benefits; like a sword left to rust, our character becomes soft when we avoid opportunities for growth.

 

Philosophy teaches us how to live and why, but without action, without creating and sustaining changes in our daily habits, philosophy is only words.

 

A focus of The Forged Life is to teach actions that we can take to build our character. As Aristotle wrote, “we are what we repeatedly do.” It is our habits that forge our character, and our character informs our actions. Therefore, our character writes our destiny.