The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children by Ronald F. Ferguson & Tatsha Robertson

Author:Ronald F. Ferguson & Tatsha Robertson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: parenting
ISBN: 9781946885616
Publisher: BenBella Books
Published: 2019-02-05T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

The Philosopher (Role #5)

THE PRESCHOOLER WHO DEBATED ARISTOTLE IN THE BATHTUB

When entrepreneur and philanthropist Sangu Delle was five years old in Ghana, he and his physician father would get into deep debates about Aristotle, Socrates, and the Bible. Dr. Delle was often away from home making medical calls in outlying villages, but as Sangu recalls, “During those times he was around, I would always be with him in the mornings.”

While his father bathed, Sangu scrubbed his back and peppered him with probing questions. The time with his father only lasted ten minutes, but the length of these talks mattered less than their depth.

“He wanted to know why he was born, and when he was going to die, and what happens after death,” recalled Dr. Delle. “He would question certain elements of Christianity and ask hard, thoughtful questions.”

Once, after studying his picture Bible, little Sangu wanted to discuss a question that had occurred to him while reading about Jesus. “I asked him, ‘What is the most important virtue?’ and he said, ‘That’s a heavy question.’”

Two days later his father returned with an answer. “Humility,” he said. But young Sangu pushed him. “Why humility?”

Dr. Delle wanted his kindergarten-age son to share his sense of duty to alleviate suffering, so one reason for telling Sangu that humility was the most important virtue was to teach his intelligent son not to feel superior to those less fortunate than he was, and especially the refugees who visited their home at night.

But there was another reason for his answer. Dr. Delle believed humility is what leads people to continue striving to achieve. A person “should never believe he has reached his maximum,” he says. “That’s why I never praised Sangu much. There are no limits to success and intellectual achievement.”

Even today, Sangu says, with all he has accomplished, “I choose to be critiqued rather than be praised. I’m uncomfortable with flattery. And I fear hubris because I think it will seed demise.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.