A Summary of How to Become an Original Writer in Three Days (Ludwig Borne) -

In How to Become an Original Writer in Three Days, Ludwig Borne tells us about the importance of thinking for ourselves, and deliberately freeing ourselves from the influence of others — because that is the only way to create something truly great, and more importantly, it is what the world needs.

With the birth of every new mind comes the birth of beautiful new thoughts. With every individual, the world is reborn. And yet, somehow, the unnecessary and distracting scrawl of life and teaching conceals and obscures these original texts.

Borne tells us that new and great thoughts can only be achieved through solitude. To do so, you must leave the company of others, but even if you do, you may still come across books written by others. You may throw your books away, but then how do you free yourself from the conventional knowledge you have acquired at school?

In the true art of self education, what is most needed and most beautiful, but also rarest and often poorly accomplished, is the art of making oneself ignorant. Just as in a million men only a thousand are thinkers, in a thousand thinkers only one truly thinks for himself.

We often think of our pursuit of knowledge as if there were something to discover, which we will recognize once we encounter it.

True striving in the cause of learning is not a voyage of discovery like that of Columbus, but a journey of adventure like that of Ulysses.

Having the ability to think for yourself but being afraid do so is shameful and cowardly.

He who listens to his inner voice Instead of the cries and clamor of the market, he who has the courage to teach to others what his heart has taught him, will always be original.

The practical application to become an original thinker:

Take a stack of paper and write. Write everything that goes through your mind for three consecutive days with neither hesitation nor hypocrisy. Write down what you think of yourself, what you think of your wife, what you think of the war with the Turks, what you think of Goethe, of Fonk’s trial, of the Last Judgment, of your superiors. At the end of the three days you will scarce be able to believe what new, unheard-of thoughts have come to you. And that, my friends, is how to become an original writer in just three days!

Originally published at https://unearnedwisdom.com on September 23, 2019.