Monday, June 23, 2008

The Atlas List

I FINALLY completed Atlas Shrugged the other day, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Here's some of my top quotes and thought provoking observations...

Living with a purpose:
"...what's the most depraved type of human being?"
"The man without a purpose."

The kind of people to aspire to be:
"The kind who never asked you for faith, hope and charity, but offered you facs, proof, and profit."
Words to live by(?):
"I swear by my life and love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
Related to this doctrine of rational self-interest, I also watched "The Bucket List" this weekend. For those who don't know the premise, a termally ill cancer stricken odd couple decide to live out their dreams in their remaining months. It was a pretty good movie with some genuinely sad moments, but it made me wonder - why wait until a terminal diagnosis? Ayn Rand would, that much is clear.

Why not live out your dreams right now? I do think that the younger generations are probably more in tune with this philosophy. Perhaps they sometimes confuse material goods for spiritual ones, as credit card debts among Gen Y would indicate, but I think by in large, Gen Y values friends and family much more than punching the clock.

What's on your Atlas List?







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