Sir William Osler was one of the leading men of medicine in the past generation. When asked to address students at Yale University, he wondered what he could say that would be most beneficial to those young people.
Dr. Osler came across a statement by Thomas Carlyle: “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what clearly lies at hand.” From this seed thought Dr. Osler developed a message that has been remembered across the years.
Two lines stood out in that Yale speech: “Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy, and enthusiasm.” And “The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well.”
Here is advice that can guide all of us – young and old – into continuously fruitful and productive lives.
John.
