Natural Born Heroes

A selection of quotes from Natural Born Heroes:  How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall.

Empathy, the Greeks believed, was the source of strength, not softness; the more you recognized yourself in others and connected with their distress, the more endurance, wisdom, cunning, and determination you could tap into.

 

Heroism isn’t some mysterious inner virtue, the Greeks believed; it’s a collection of skills that every man and woman can muster so that in a pinch , they can become a Protector.

 

You are fit if you can adapt to the demands of your environment with ease and imagination.

The primary story is about resistance fighters on Crete battling the Germans during World War II, but McDougall weaves in the stories about Greek mythology, parkour, paleo diets, British historians, and his own experience visiting Crete.

The main story is really interesting, but overall the book is kind of a mess because it jumps around so much.  And as you can glean from the subtitle, the stories seem a bit exaggerated.

Beauty

It is foolish to wish for beauty. Sensible people never either desire it for themselves or care about it in others. If the mind be but well cultivated, and the heart well disposed, no one ever cares for the exterior.

Anne Brontë – Agnes Grey