#payitforward Ninja

Virtue. Virtues. That sounds good. What are they though? Do you know what your virtues are? First let’s figure out what our mythical #pif Ninja has for virtues and then we’ll see if there is any crossover. Afterall we do not necessarily think you have to reinvent yourself to become more Ninja-like. The whole idea is that it’s already in there somewhere. You just have to find it.

A long time ago before there was TV or frozen pizza guys with the big brains had lots of time to just think. And write. So they’d come up with big ideas and write them down. And so guys like me, and girls and guys like you, who are taking the time to read through all this stuff, had lots to say about the the traits and characteristics that make someone good, or successful, or valuble. The great thing about writing about this stuff is that it helps you understand where YOU stand on who YOU want to be. Take old Ben Franklin for example.

Ben Franklin’s 13 Virtues:

Apparently, when Ben was a youngster riding a slow boat to Philly (from London, an ~80 day trip….see what I mean about time to think) he wrote down these 13 virtues for “regulating his future conduct”. Think of it as the “Ben Franklin Mission Statement”. He based them on one of his favorite bible verses (Philippians 4:8). They included things like “frugality”, “industry”, and “justice”. The descriptions he gave the virtues included phrases like “make no expense but to do good to others or yourself, i.e., waste nothing” and “eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation” (check out the link to the article and the list of virtues in the post-script of this post). Let us not go overboard on the historical significance Ben Franklin’s personal mission statement- and let us not even go overboard on the content of his virtues. There are two things I take from his virtues that are relevant to a wannabe Ninja. First, have a plan, and stick to the plan. Actually, that’s pretty good advice for almost every situation. Even if your plan doesn’t work out, at least you’ve thought about whatever it is you are doing (living, giving a presentation, having a party) and if the wheels come off you’ll probably have a pretty good idea of when they might, and how you can react. Second, there are a few overarching themes here: Moderation (take it easy, don’t waste your money, don’t eat too much, don’t drink too much, etc). Resourcefulness (be productive, try not to waste time, make sure the stuff you do is worthy of your valuable and limited time). Kindness (almost always better than being mean). You get the idea- Ben came up with 13 things he thought were important to live the life he envisioned living. This is perhaps the best lesson: Ben Franklin had a vision of the life we wanted to have, and he prepared a roadmap to get there in the form of these virtues. Personally, I think 13 is on the high side. Maybe come up with five or ten themes you think are important.

MORE LESSONS FROM GREEKS AND CATHOLICS:

Another source for virtue inspiration are the ancient Greek philosophers (Aristotle, Plato) and later, Catholic Catechism. The Greek guys came up with four: Temperance, Wisdom, Justice, and Courage. Later, the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love (or Charity) were added, to create the concept of the Seven Heavenly Virtues. Again, what you call yours, or how you describe what is important to you is somewhat irrelevant- just check out the themes here and compare it to the three themes listed in the previous paragraph.

HAVE A PLAN. USE OUR RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE YOUR PLAN DOESN’T SUCK:

These virtues are the building blocks for your #payitforward lifestyle. You have to have an idea of what you believe in and you have to live those beliefs to really be a #payitforward Ninja. So try to think about these concepts for your life. Think about which are most important to you. Use the resources in this post to get some inspiration- click through the links to stumble around and find your own resources. Then come back next week and for all of our #payitforward Ninja series to learn some more about becoming the ultimate #pif Ninja. Remember: have a plan, and try to make sure your plan doesn’t suck. Resources after the signature to help with both. Got ideas for us? Hit us in the comments or write us at: contact@foyble.com. GO!

Posted by Brian

Special Internet High Five to Dan “pronounce it ‘stoomer’” Stummer for helping to research this post!

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Thanks for reading the foyble blog and for your continued support of foyble. You can join our movement at www.foyble.com. You can reach the author of this post, Brian Foy, via email at BJFOY@FOYBLE.COM

Resources for this post:

Learn more about Ben Franklin, his boat ride, and mission statement:

http://www.flamebright.com/PTPages/Benjamin.asp

Old Greek dudes, Catholic Catechism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_virtues

A really big long list of possible virtues with some quotes to go with ‘em: http://www.virtuescience.com/virtuelist.html

More old Greek dude Philosophy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_four_cardinal_virtues