Will

By Zach Horwitz

RATING

10 Out of 10

*This book personally resonated with me on a massive scale so take my rating with a grain of salt. I was also the guy to hand write Will Smith a letter in 2012 (Mike Lowry changed my life), thinking that I could catch his attention as a “green” actor looking for a foot in the door. So, it’s safe to say that I may have rose colored glasses when it comes to The Fresh Prince.

**This was all pre-slap so don’t cancel what’s left of my reputation. Oh and don’t worry, he didn’t ever respond.

THEMES

KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PAGE

These are direct quotes from the book. There were so many sections that I wanted to touch on that using direct quotes is the best way to highlight my take always.

“It’s better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war”

“It is nearly impossible for the quality of your life to be higher than the quality of your friends”

“Hope sustains life. Hope is the elixir of survival during our darkest times. The ability to envision and imagine a brighter day gives meaning to our suffering and renders it bearable. When we lose hope, we lose our central source of strength and resilience”

“Be nice to everyone on your way up. Because you just might have to pass them again on your way down”

“It’s better to die than to walk around scared”

“Everything is impermanent. Your body is going to get old; your best friend is going to graduate and move to another city. Your parents are going to die. Everything changes; it rises and falls. Nothing and no one is immune to the entropy of the universe. That is why self-destruction is such a terrible crime. It’s hard enough as it is”

“Change can be scary, but it’s utterly unavoidable. In fact, impermanence is the only thing you can truly rely on. If you are unwilling or unable to pivot and adapt to the incessant, fluctuating tides of life, you will not enjoy being here. Sometimes, people try to play the cards that they wish they had, instead of playing the hand they’ve been dealt. The capacity to adjust and improvise is arguably the single most critical human ability”

“What you think of yourself is a fragile construct”

“It’s impossible to build something that is of higher quality than the quality of the people around you”

“As long as you do things for the approval of others (women), you will never be free. That is a descending hell. When a woman sees that she can bend you, she loses trust in you. We need you to be solid; we need your ‘Yes’ to be a ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’ to be a ‘No’. As long as you are twisting and contorting and selling yourself out for the affection of others, you will always be untrustworthy”

“The ocean is the ultimate woman, a magnificent feminine environment. If you can understand her, you’re understanding us all. The ocean holds all the chaotic glory of mother nature, and no amount of power or intellect will ever be able to control or manipulate her. She doesn’t care how you’re feeling, or how you want her to be. All of the things that happen in a woman’s psyche and body are analogous to the ocean. The beauty, the storms, the nourishment, the danger, the moods and weather patterns, birth and death. The ocean will not be conquered or subdued; your only hope to truly enjoy her is to love her, respect her and surrender”

“Minimizing internal talking became my practice for maximizing my awareness. I had always seen the world as my battle field; I now understand that the true combat zone was my mind”

“To love and be loved is the highest human reward and ecstasy. Allowing the best within you to serve and unleash the best within others is the most intense of human pleasures”