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Monday, July 30, 2012

Jefferson's 10 Rules

On my recent visit to Monticello, Jefferson's Virginia farm estate, I ran across something called "Jefferson's 10 Rules", and I liked them so much I thought I'd share them here with perhaps a little commentary:


  1. Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.
  2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
  3. Never spend money before you have earned it.
  4. Never buy what you don't want because it is cheap.
  5. Pride costs more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
  6. We seldom repent of having eaten too little.
  7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
  8. How much pain the evils cost us that never happened.
  9. Take things always by the smooth handle.
  10. When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred.

I thought these were wise aphorisms worth sharing. I particularly like numbers three and four. I think if people followed those two, they would have much less stress and strife in their lives.

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