Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c1159IR // #c1159Synthesis

"a man had no right to pray he might win a cavalry charge if he had never learnt how to ride, or triumph over master-bowmen if he could not draw a bow, or bring a ship safe home to harbour if he did not know how to steer"

— In our words · Source: Cyropaedia (Xenophon)

[Use when]

Your plan for a hard outcome leans on luck in places where training would do.

[Why it matters]

Cyrus recalls his father's rule that some outcomes are earned through learning and training, and that asking for luck without that work is asking for something forbidden.

Filed under situations:When you must decide and the facts aren’t in

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