Words of Wisdom — January 28, 2015

Gabriel García Márquez: People Grow Old When They Stop Pursuing Dreams

“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) was a Colombian novelist and among the most significant authors of the 20th century. The recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature, Márquez is probably best known for his masterpiece novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, as well as for Love in the Time of Cholera and his many memoirs. His work is considered the most vivid and prodigious of all magical realism. The quote below comes from Márquez’ 2004 novel, Memories of My Melancholy Whores.

“It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.”

Source: The Guardian

Photo credit: “Gabriel Garcia Marquez 2“. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 nl via Wikimedia Commons.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Collage showcasing a stratospheric balloon soaring over Earth and a close-up of fingers, with "The Nightcrawler" emblazoned at the top, capturing the spirit of a creative renaissance.

Business

How AI is ushering in a creative renaissance

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Two colorful cells with purple nuclei, green cell edges, and radiating filament structures against a black background.

Health

When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow

The findings suggest that biochemical and physical effects of exercise could help heal nerves.

Two people viewed from behind against a blue sky, one wearing a pink top and the other an orange top, share a moment of quiet solace as the person in pink rests their head on the other's shoulder. It’s a serene scene that hints at healing and support after trauma.

Neuropsych

3 emotional intelligence tips for helping a friend in a rough patch

Listen, set boundaries, and point them where to go.

Arms burdened with a large stack of papers, folders, and rolled-up documents, a person exemplifies toxic productivity. Their black bag hangs precariously from their arm as they navigate the weight of their workload.

The Learning Curve

How to break free from your “toxic productivity” cycle

Psychotherapist Israa Nasir explains how a “value-aligned life” can help us crush our goals — without being crushed by the need to accomplish more.

A golden-brown turkey being carefully lowered into a metal pot outdoors, ready for a deep fry amidst the grassy area and wooden fence.

Starts With A Bang

What happens if you deep fry a frozen turkey?

It’s the ultimate setup for a Thanksgiving Day disaster. The physics of water and its solid, liquid, and gas phases compels us not to do it.

Up Next

Culture & Religion

America’s Meritocracy Was a Reality, But No Longer

America’s most meritocratic institutions—schools, universities, and the workplace—are becoming places where inheritance thrives rather than individuals with talent.