Maxim Monday - Introduction

Recently, I've been changing my life and trying to become healthier, more organized, and learning to relax though websites like Zen Habits, Art of Manliness, and others.

In February Art of Manliness published an article about how and why to write a personal manifesto. It sounds like a good idea, but I had a similar idea that fits me a bit better. I have been studying the Delphic Maxims. In an effort to study them better, I've decided to start "Maxim Monday." I don't want the Maxims to take over the site; I still want to write mostly about my projects and opinions. I think once per week is a good starting point.

Of course, when I thought of this two months ago, I looked to see if it had been done before. "Maybe I could join a blog project," I thought. Star Foster of Pantheon had just written about the first few in May. That stopped me, mostly because I didn't want to look like an imitator. Now, I realize that is stupid. The Maxims are attributed to the Seven Sages of Greece that lived ~600 BC. I could never be the first one, so if I want to write about them, I should. Besides, if she had done her articles years ago, I know they wouldn't have phased me for some reason.

Many people have started writing about the Delphic Maxims since Star Foster, but few actually kept with it. That means there are tons of articles about Delphic Maxim 1 and practically none about Maxim 20 and on. I've decided to do something different that lets me break out my dice again.

Randomization Rules (For Those Who Care)

Each week, I'm going to roll 3d10, each representing one digit of the Maxim. If the first die is odd, I will treat it as a 1, otherwise it is a zero. To prevent overlap, I'll keep a list of those I've already written and skip them when I roll the next. So, if I roll 35, and I've already written about 20 and 25, I'll write about 37 (because I'm not counting the ones I've written). Anything higher than what remains on my list is a reroll.