Luciano Duarte

It is truly wonderful that Cioran moved to Paris, decided to live without ever holding down a job, and succeeded! Just thinking about this success sparks ideas… It is curious: it seems that something always comes to the rescue of every radical decision of this kind. At least, that is the impression that seems to emerge from reading countless biographies. Someone will surely o...

Injustice is an opportunity. When it occurs, there is a range of possible reactions. The most common are the most natural, ranging from sadness and discouragement to indignation. These are understandable but thoughtless reactions. They neither impress nor elevate. Injustice, however, offers an opportunity for personal growth—not only to avoid being affected by it and to overc...

This must be repeated endlessly: the art of life is to consciously make it a transformative process in which the individual becomes what he intends to be. To this end, it is necessary first to visualize, then to deliberate, and finally to remain faithful to the plan of action. Of course, there will never be a perfect execution, and it is only natural that everything will cons...

It is very rewarding when we finally manage to consciously turn a bad experience into a good feeling. No amount of instruction compares to what we learn after actually doing it, even when, in theory, we already knew what to expect. Doing it once, however, is helpful, but it is not enough. Because just as surely as we learn from doing it, after a while our mood will fluctuate....

It is not difficult to discern what is in accordance with or contrary to one’s own nature; what is difficult is to resolve not to go against it, and to act in accordance with that resolution. The devil is always lurking; the will is always in danger of betraying itself. And although, at times, everything seems very clear, no one is better than ourselves at convincing ourselve...