In my youth, I read Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and there was a line like: “Look at who surrounds you now – in five years, you’ll become like them.” The main idea was: surround yourself with businessmen, and in five years you’ll become a businessman yourself. I got really inspired by this idea and once even refused to visit a former classmate because she was a single mother – something I was terribly afraid of becoming. Anyway, I regret that now.
So why am I writing this? Later in life, I met all kinds of people—people at different financial levels, with different spiritual development, with various mental health struggles, even with suicidal thoughts. I think Covey’s principle shouldn’t be taken as dogma—that whole “success-only mindset, I only befriend people richer and more successful than me,” and so on. I think that’s a road to nowhere.
I feel closer to the Biblical ideas: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others,” or “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Because when you give desirably you will never have to.
In 1974, 23-year-old Dan Jury made a life-altering decision to move his 81-year-old grandfather, Frank Tugend, out of a nursing home and into his own apartment to care for him full-time.
Everything that you are will disappear after you pass away. Pride fades. Greed fades. Ego fades. Nothing remains forever. The only thing that lingers is the way you touched others lives with kindness or with harm. Choose wisely.
Peter Kropotkin (1842–1921) was a Russian anarchist and philosopher who believed that mutual aid—helping and cooperating with others—was the key to human progress. Unlike capitalism, which focuses on competition, Kropotkin argued that people thrive through solidarity and working together.
His famous book, *Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution* (1902), challenged the idea that only the strongest survive. Instead, he showed how cooperation exists in nature and human societies, proving that kindness and teamwork are just as important as strength.
Kropotkin’s ideas inspired labor movements, anarchists, and socialists in the 20th century. Even today, his message matters: in a world of inequality and isolation, building strong communities and sharing knowledge can create a fairer, better future.
By spreading compassion and working together, we can follow Kropotkin’s vision—a world where everyone supports each other, not just the powerful few.
