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Wisdom isn't found in more words. It's found in fewer, better ones. A meditation on the power of restraint and the true cost of endless speech.
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There is a particular kind of power that
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lives in restraint. Not the power of
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volume, not the power of being heard,
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but
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>> [music]
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>> the power of knowing when not to speak.
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We live in an age of endless commentary.
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Everyone has opinions. Everyone
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broadcasts [music] them.
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The noise is deafening,
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and most of it
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accomplishes nothing.
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It simply fills space.
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>> [music]
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>> It simply demands attention that was
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never owed.
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The Book of Proverbs is relentless on
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this point.
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>> [music]
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>> Even fools are thought wise when they
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keep silent.
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Not because silence makes them actually
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wise,
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but because the alternative,
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speaking without thought,
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reveals foolishness instantly.
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Consider what happens when you speak
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less. [music]
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Not from fear,
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not from shame,
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but from deliberate choice. You begin to
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hear what others actually need.
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You stop performing. You stop defending
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>> [music]
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>> positions that don't need defending.
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You conserve your words for moments they
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might actually matter.
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James writes about this with precision.
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Everyone should be quick to listen, slow
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to speak, slow
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to become angry.
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>> [music]
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>> This is not passivity.
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This is the inverse.
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It is
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aggressive restraint.
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It takes more strength to hold back
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than to let loose.
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The wise person understands something
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fundamental.
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Most words are currency
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that loses value
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>> [music]
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>> every time it's spent.
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The person who speaks abundantly is like
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someone constantly devaluing their own
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voice.
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But the person who [music] speaks
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rarely, and only when it counts,
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that person's words carry weight.
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Watch someone who rarely speaks.
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When they do,
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people lean in.
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Not because they're louder,
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because they've earned credibility
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through restraint.
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This is not about being silent in the
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face of injustice.
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This is about understanding that your
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voice is not unlimited capital.
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It is finite.
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It matters how you spend it. Most of
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what you're tempted to say today will be
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forgotten by tomorrow.
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Ask yourself,
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>> [music]
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>> is this one of the words worth keeping?