Embark on a transformational journey towards unlocking your fullest potential with Brian C. Johnson’s groundbreaking book, Areté. Packed with empowering insights and actionable strategies, this masterpiece is your roadmap to greatness. Prepare to be inspired, challenged, and empowered as you dive into the depths of personal growth and achievement.
Ready to unlock your true potential and live a life of purpose and fulfillment? Keep reading to discover the transformative wisdom within Areté!
Table of Contents
Genres
Motivation, Inspiration, Personal Development, Career Success, Self-Help, Psychology, Leadership, Achievement, Philosophy, Empowerment
Areté (2023) explores the ancient Greek concept of the excellence of character, and how it can be applied to modern life in order to find fulfillment, lead with courage, and realize one’s full potential. Blending philosophy, psychology and storytelling, it provides insights and practical exercises aimed at cultivating wisdom, justice, courage, and self-mastery.
Areté by Brian C. Johnson is a compelling guide to reaching one’s fullest potential. Through a blend of philosophy, psychology, and practical advice, Johnson outlines a path to personal excellence and fulfillment. From cultivating a growth mindset to harnessing the power of intentionality, each chapter offers valuable insights and actionable steps for readers to implement in their own lives. By embracing the principles of Areté, individuals can overcome obstacles, unleash their strengths, and achieve their most ambitious goals.
Review
Areté is a game-changer for anyone seeking to break free from limitations and live their best life. Johnson’s writing is both engaging and insightful, providing a refreshing perspective on personal growth and success. The book’s practical exercises and real-life examples make it accessible to readers of all backgrounds, while its profound wisdom resonates long after the final page. Whether you’re striving for career advancement, personal fulfillment, or simply a greater sense of purpose, Areté is a must-read that will inspire and empower you to reach new heights.
Introduction: Unlock ancient Greek wisdom so you can live to your fullest potential every day
The word Areté roughly translates from Greek to mean excellence or virtue. But the term has come to represent far more than just admirable qualities. Areté is the philosophical ideal of living to one’s fullest potential.
The ancient philosophers who used this term believed that everyone had the innate potential to live heroic and virtuous lives; they called this potential an inner genius. It is the fullest expression of what makes you, you. They also believed that this ideal was about living modestly, between the extremes of excess and austerity. Virtuous living was not about outward success but inward character building. In modern times, this means living with self-awareness and self-discipline, finding the courage to pursue ambitious goals through consistent daily practice, and in doing so, mastering yourself. In short, virtuous living is a pathway to achieving Areté.
This summary turns this ancient ideal into a framework that can help you unlock your greatest potential, no matter what you’re passionate about. By focusing on specific objectives, and working to achieve them on a daily basis, you too can unlock your heroic potential and live a more fulfilling life. Ready to undertake your own hero’s journey? Let’s begin!
Seek truth and know yourself
When asked, What do you want out of life? most people respond with the simple statement: to be happy. But our modern version of happiness – personal fulfillment, success, and meaningful relationships – is quite different from those of ancient philosophers like Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius or Seneca.
For instance, Aristotle thought that to be happy, you must live all your potential to the fullest in everyday life, and express your innate character in all your actions and circumstances. According to this definition, expecting happiness to arise from external aspects of your life – like wealth or career – is akin to building your house on sand: unstable and liable to crumble. For Aristotle, to be truly happy, you must know your core virtues, endeavor to correct your weaknesses, and consistently work towards your highest goals.
While this might seem like an extreme view in modern life, the virtues of seeking truth and knowing yourself are timeless. Embracing and pursuing truth through serious self-reflection forms the foundation of any heroic journey.
Of course, part of this exercise is being able to look at yourself and your behaviors, and withhold judgment long enough to get a more realistic view. This is particularly important when deciding how you might address weaknesses in yourself through cultivating corresponding strengths.
To begin activating your heroic potential, reflect on what you hold to be fundamental, lasting truths that have stood the test of time. You might have learned these truths by reading great works of philosophy or religion, which are largely concerned with defining truth. Or your highest truths might have come through experience, deep reflection, or relationships with mentors and teachers.
Whatever your highest truths are, write them down. Try to limit yourself to three-to-five central truths, and bear these in mind going forward.
Stating your truth can help you in the next phase of unlocking your potential, which is seeking self-knowledge with courage and compassion. That’s because everyone has areas in life where they fall short of their ideals. Maybe you dream of being a great dancer, but struggle to motivate yourself to practice every day. Or perhaps you long to be a good public speaker, but your nerves and fears keep you from seeking out opportunities to hone your skills. Whatever your goal, self-knowledge is key. And understanding your truths is a crucial step in gaining self-knowledge.
Once you’ve written down your foundational truths, try using them to clarify your values. You’ll need to know your top values and why they resonate with you deeply, so that you can then craft a personal plan to put them into action. Try to identify your top ten values, and rank them in order of importance. Once you have this list, brainstorm ways you could put them into practice in everyday life.
Knowing your truths and values will help you shift into a hero’s mindset. Instead of viewing difficult situations or struggles as negative, those on the heroic path embrace challenges as opportunities to build courage and self-mastery, according to their values. A hero turns potential failures into wins, by using them to polish their character.
Once you’ve grounded yourself in your truth and armed yourself with awareness, you’ve laid a solid foundation for your heroic journey. Next, it’s time to find courage and pursue mastery. Let’s explore these objectives now.
Courage moves you beyond your comfort zone
Courage is already widely recognized as a heroic concept, but it isn’t limited to big-budget blockbusters or first responders. In fact, heroic courage is often a lot more subtle and transformative. Let’s linger with the philosopher Aristotle for another moment. Aristotle considered courage to be the virtue that vitalized all the others. To understand why, let’s take a closer look.
According to Aristotle, every living thing expresses a vital force in a state of perfection. A good way to think of it is that an acorn already holds the perfect expression of the mighty oak within its vital force – even if the tree itself will need decades to grow.
For human beings, it takes courage to express everything that is contained within your vital force – known as your entelechy – and become all that you are destined to be. This is true for courage both large and small, from tackling nervous jitters before a team presentation, to facing life-threatening situations with calm and self-control.
If you believe that achieving excellence in the skills you’re currently mastering is the best path to courage, think again. The opposite is actually true. Courage is required whenever you embrace truth, live by your values or learn something new.
Having the courage to fail can be transformative. Every win is preceded by many failed attempts, even for professionals, and practicing courage regularly will help you discover that.
In other words, when you find the courage to take action on your heroic path, and to meet challenges with self-awareness and self-compassion, you’ll have what it takes to tap into your full potential. See failure as a stepping stone to success, and use it to hone your skills. In this way, courage is the key to unlocking your potential, as you face your fears and act in spite of them.
Pursue skill and mastery boldly
Finding the courage to take action will help you achieve the next objective in the heroic journey: to pursue mastery and skill with passion. Skill and mastery are closely related but aren’t entirely the same.
Consider the role of attaining skill at music, art, or sports – it takes daily practice, patience, and persistence in the face of inevitable setbacks. You must find the courage to face the discomfort that comes with slowly strengthening any talent or skill. But this physical and creative expertise is distinct from mastery, which is better defined as the art of skillful living.
Mastery means applying focused energy purposefully, without ego interfering, and in spite of your fear or frustration. Mastery means walking the highs and lows of the journey with grace, by controlling your less helpful reactions to challenging situations. While skills demand a kind of structured grit, real mastery originates from compassion towards yourself when you stumble.
Mastery blossoms not from punishing drive, but from practicing uplifting self-talk through difficulties. Can you allow some lightness to balance your gravity during adversity? Consider crafting affirmations you can repeat in those inevitable moments when you judge your own skill-building too harshly.
Redirect your thoughts to the positive when you’re most tempted to see only your failings, and you’ll begin to master yourself in the process. This builds the muscle of wise inner mentorship – the bedrock supporting any lasting external success.
If you get stuck, try envisioning those heroes who are able to smile amid setbacks. They are the ones whose persistence is fed by tapping into their wells of hope, humor, and vision to sustain them through frustration. That resilience rests more on their gracious mentality, than on their self-discipline or willpower.
Allowing your own vital force, or entelechy, to shine takes patience and good humor in the face of adversity. So, find the courage to pursue it boldly, and master yourself with humility in the process.
Embrace justice to serve others
Now that you’ve cultivated the wisdom, the discipline, and the courage you need for the heroic path, the next objective to practice is an outward-facing one. Living your fullest potential also means supporting others on their own heroic journeys, and helping your community to flourish.
Heroic characteristics meet their true test in service to others. And so, allowing your talents and innate genius to benefit others is a powerful way to keep yourself on track.
For stoic philosophers, like Marcus Aurelius, service to the community was the highest expression of delight and happiness. For the stoics in general, service to others was the real definition of love. This has a whole host of implications for anyone on a journey towards realizing their fullest potential, because actions speak louder than words. Love is less a feeling and more about the actions one takes, or doesn’t take, in service.
It follows then that serving others is love, and it requires action to be fully realized. In society, to love others is also to serve justice, for without equality and justice there can be no loving action that serves everyone alike. In the view of Aristotle and many others, justice means creating the conditions for everyone to thrive by having equal access to human dignity, resources, and social participation.
Thriving in your own heroic journey through daily focus, practice, and self-mastery, can foster an empathy for others that embraces this broader view of justice, and in turn serves the community by sharing it out. Simple daily acts of kindness – like expressing gratitude to a cashier, or listening fully when someone is communicating with you – are ways to serve the community.
Daily acts of empathy and kindness also flex your self-mastery muscles. For instance, choosing not to take a bad day out on a new barista who gets your order wrong is an embrace of justice, a service to others, and a step on your journey to self-mastery. See challenges as further opportunities to demonstrate your values and polish your character. You’ll score extra points if you can chuckle at yourself along the way.
Such service can develop further, too, towards civic and social activism and engagement. For instance, if you revere all life as an intrinsic and ultimate value, you might live this value by volunteering at an animal shelter or community garden. You’ll get the chance to meet people from beyond your own comfortable circles and encounter differences of all kinds. Building community in these ways enriches personal excellence, cultivates resilience, and helps everyone flourish.
That’s because living to one’s fullest isn’t a solitary journey, but a collective one, and wisdom is only gained through experience, action, and reflection. So in clarifying, prioritizing, and putting into practice your highest values through daily discipline and self-mastery, not only do you unlock your own heroic potential, but you actively support everyone and everything around you to flourish too.
There’s no time like the present to begin. You can start your journey on the heroic path now, today, and turn every day that follows into an expressive masterpiece, full of meaning that’s nurtured by your fullest potential.
Conclusion
By looking inward to identify your abiding truths and values, then finding the courage to actualize them through daily practice, you unlock the heroic potential that lies latent within you. This self-mastery allows you to generously apply your strengths to uplift others, which in turn helps everyone thrive by living their own fullest potential. Though this path of mindful self-growth and compassionate contribution requires a lifelong effort, the reward of realizing your innate excellence becomes its own motivating force. For in heeding wisdom’s call towards truth, justice and human dignity, you answer the singular heroic question – what inner gift awaits its release towards noble ends? Your fully expressed humanity beckons.
About the Author
Brian C. Johnson