A Way of Life (in Today’s English)

A Way of Life is the text of an address that Sir William Osler gave at Yale University in 1913. He recommends approaching life as a series of day-tight compartments, which he likens to the water-tight compartments that keep a ship afloat. (an Interesting analogy just a year after the sinking of the Titanic sank). William Osler’s point is that worrying about either the past or the future is a burden that does nothing but reduce your effectiveness. If you focus your attention on what you have to do today, then over time, a string of successful days will make for a successful life. He quotes Thomas Carlyle: Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand. William Osler primarily attributes his own success not to talent or intelligence, but to good habits, consistently practiced, day after day after day. This is a small book filled with simple, eloquent wisdom that is every bit as applicable today as it was in 1913.