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“Life’s tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.” — John Wayne

Choosing who we listen to and learning from life’s mistakes can help

PaulThomasMorgan
4 min readDec 2, 2020
“John Wayne, Hona 1970 en el set de Big Jake.” byTxemari — Argazki.

—So speaketh the prophet, John Wayne.

I know, this quote sounds pretty harsh — but then, this is JW. We can’t necessarily expect loving overtures from the man, the cowboy, the legend.

And it tickled me, for various reasons, including just how ‘on brand’ it was for him. But the real reason it became the title is because of just how true it is.

And I’m not looking to be disrespectful, I’m simply thinking of those who choose to be adamantly attached to opinions, outlook, perspective — with no curiosity.

These people aren’t looking for more information to expand their knowledge on the subject; they’re looking to be right, with the limited information they’ve accrued.

We’ve all met someone like this. They once heard a soundbite that they liked, or who told it, and that ‘fact’ became their living, breathing truth.

“It is what we know already that often prevents us from learning.” —Claude Bernard

And there’s a fervor to this attachment to finite information. A digging down, being adamant they know…

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PaulThomasMorgan
PaulThomasMorgan

Written by PaulThomasMorgan

Compassionate champion of the human condition and its potential. In awe of this experiment called Life. Writes about emotions, acceptance, empathy, action.

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