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Quick Summary: What if the greatest lessons on life came from someone who was dying?
Tuesdays with Morrie is Mitch Albom’s deeply personal account of reconnecting with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is battling ALS.
Through their Tuesday meetings, Morrie shares profound wisdom on love, purpose, and what truly matters.
One mind-blowing lesson? “Learn how to die, and you learn how to live.” In accepting mortality, we start appreciating life in ways we never did before.
Tapan’s Verdict: Dig Deep 🧐
Actionable Insights from Tuesdays with Morrie
The Tension of Opposites is Life Itself
Morrie describes life as a pull on a rubber band, you want one thing, but reality often tugs you in another direction.
You take things for granted, even when you know you shouldn’t.
The lesson? Life is about balance, not extremes. Accept the contradictions, and you’ll suffer less.
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Most People Sleepwalk Through Life
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important.
Are you truly living, or just going through the motions? Morrie’s antidote: Stop chasing empty successes.
Instead, devote yourself to loving others, your community, and creating something meaningful.
This same lesson has been highlighted in the book, the Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life by Boyd Varty, which is also one of my most gifted books.
Meaning doesn’t want more; when you’re in deep touch with your wild self, you know you have enough and are enough.
Love is the Only Rational Act
The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
We resist love because we fear vulnerability.
But as Morrie reminds us, love is not a weakness, it’s the one thing that makes life worth living.
If You Learn How to Die, You Learn How to Live
Morrie doesn’t sugarcoat death. He embraces it. Why? Because knowing we’ll die should change how we live.
What would you do differently if you truly accepted that time is limited?
This is also an important idea in stoicism, explained through memento mori.
Memento mori, remember death. These are important words. If we kept in mind that we will soon inevitably die, our lives would be completely different.
Money Can’t Hug You Back
These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes.
Material success means nothing if it replaces real human connection, and often, our relentless pursuit of more is driven by the Diderot Effect, a cycle where acquiring one thing leads to the desire for more
Instead of chasing things, chase experiences, relationships, and purpose.
Status Will Get You Nowhere
If you’re trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. If you’re trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you.
Instead of seeking approval, live with an open heart.
Death Ends a Life, Not a Relationship
Love, wisdom, and memories live on even after someone is gone.
This is Morrie’s final lesson, what we leave behind isn’t our achievements, but the love we shared.
Memorable Quotes
Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel.
People haven’t found meaning in their lives, so they’re running all the time looking for it. They think the next car, the next house, the next job. Then they find those things are empty, too, and they keep running. Once you start running, I said, it’s hard to slow yourself down.
Death ends a life, not a relationship.
