Little Happier: A Single Letter Reverses the Meaning of This Quotation from Leonardo da Vinci

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Education, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement

4.7 • 13K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2021

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I’d long been haunted by a line from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Notebooks,” but I learned that I’d mistyped a single letter, and had utterly transformed the meaning of the quotation. (I like my version better than Leonardo’s.) Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalmbook.com Leave a voicemail message on: 774-277-9336 For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to happiercast.com/sponsors. Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Do The Thing, Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's tough to stick with workout routines and making time to hit the gym is sometimes even harder.
0:05.0	That's why Peloton offers options that fit into your day with thousands of on-demand classes,
0:09.9	so you can work out when it's right for you. Peloton goes beyond just the bike,
0:14.0	offering classes like yoga, strength training, hit and boxing. Let Peloton help you achieve your
0:19.6	fitness goals. Try Peloton risk-free with a 30-day home trial. New members only, not available in
0:25.1	remote location, see additional terms at onepeloton.com slash home trial. I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is
0:31.8	a little happier. Ever since I was a child, one of my favorite occupations has been to copy down
0:38.8	my favorite quotations. For years, I hand-wrote these passages in what I called my blank books.
0:45.2	At some point, I switched to typing, and now I have two giant documents filled with my favorite
0:50.2	quotations, as well as collections of quotations related to particular subjects, such as the nature
0:56.0	of biography, color, and of course, happiness. Because I love identifying and copying quotations so
1:03.2	much, I take great pleasure in sending out my free daily moment of happiness newsletter where I
1:08.7	highlight one of my favorite quotations each day. Because I do spend a lot of time collecting
1:14.6	copying and rereading quotations, I have fragments of beautiful writing knocking around my head at
1:20.3	all times. In my reading, I've noticed how often visual artists are also great writers.
1:28.7	For instance, in his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote,
1:32.7	Iron Russ from Disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and encold weather becomes frozen,
1:39.0	even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. It is easier to resist at the beginning than at
1:46.7	the end. And also, human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or
1:53.9	more direct than does nature, because in her inventions, nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.
2:02.0	In the past four years, I was haunted by an illuminating observation by Leonardo da Vinci,
2:07.6	also from his notebooks. Intellectual passion drives our sensuality.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.