World Dream Bank home - add a dream - newest - art gallery - sampler - dreams by title, subject, author, date, place, names

Ten Rules of Life

1994/5/4 by Wayan

Not a dream today--a book. "They Went Thataway" by Malcolm Forbes. 175 capsule biographies of people who died strangely.

After about 100 I notice I'm getting morbid. But death is like potato chips, I guess--you can't eat just one. Though I don't really care as much about their strange deaths as their strange lives.

I'm struck how many famous achievers had quite short successful periods after decades of obscurity, or died as failures and became revered posthumously, or trailed off from success into mediocrity and poverty, or... no pattern at all. Greatness seems... random! After reading them all, I find the very idea of a "successful life strategy" laughable. Well, I do see a few helpful guidelines--but they're all negative.

THE TEN RULES OF LIFE

  1. If you rule something big, don't retire.
  2. If you steal, don't rob Americans. Americans have guns.
  3. Don't conquer the known world and then take up drinking.
  4. If you're creative, act out--we already think you're crazy, so why not?
  5. Don't fight. Run.
  6. Stay out of Ancient Rome.
  7. When you lose a loved one, sigh and find another.
  8. Don't fly small planes in a storm.
  9. Discounting your critics isn't enough; don't even listen.
  10. Never let a guy stick leeches on your face.
Stone tablet in desert with ten commandments on it. Dream sketch by Wayan. Click to enlarge.

Heed this hard-won wisdom from the past! Whatever these famous people did... don't. Just don't.



LISTS AND LINKS: death - life-paths and -arcs - advisory dreams - book-inspired dreams - humor - essays and rants - tales of the waking world - dreamed that night: Coyote's Vault & Love or Hate?

World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sk - Sl-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites