Schema

Veritas — Latin for ‘Truth.’ In Roman culture, Veritas was personified as the goddess of truth. Today, the word still symbolizes the pursuit of ultimate, objective reality.

Stress-testing the maps we live by

Co-created with Alan.

Concepts are representations (models) of reality. The chief aim of our species is to eliminate all false perceptions — to grasp The Real. Those that have achieved this blessed state are called Enlightened.

Immanuel Kant referred to this ultimate reality as the Ding an sich or Thing-in-itself. Since access to it is always mediated by the mind one must be ruthless in eliminating fallacy (false relationships).

That's why introspection, recommended by all major spiritual traditions, is so important.

Practically, the path to peace and progress comes down to persistently applying two essential questions:

Is this true?
If so, to what extent?

These simple tests — when applied with earnest — yield incredible results.

In my day to day life I use these questions as scalpels to carve through any half-truth cast my way.

“Follow your passion and the money will come.”

Kind of. Passion fuels persistence but if you aren't solving problems for people that have money, you're fighting an unnecessary, uphill battle.

"Hard work always pays off."

Not necessarily. Especially if you define payoff in terms of dollars generated. It is more important to work on the right things. Pick a market where you can reasonably anticipate that the amount of spend allocated to your type of product or service will grow annually and identify a low-cost way to benefit from this surge in demand.

"No pain, no gain."

Only sometimes. It is incumbent upon us to progress in the most elegant way possible and to avoid suffering at all costs. Performing regular cost/benefit analyses is of enormous benefit here. This simple test helps you answer the question "Am I willing to suffer for this?". If yes, "Why?". If your response to the second question is based on something ephemeral (short-term gain) and not something transcendental (freedom, peace, moral obligation) it's probably worth reconsidering the investment of time and energy.

Ignorance is not bliss. It’s painful.

Dispel myth. Enjoy your life.