The Difference Between Virtue + Knowledge and Confidence + Belief

In the times we are living in, it will be of great help for anything you are dealing with to ask yourself: Do I know what I am doing? Do I have the knowledge and experience? Or is it just my ego pushing my confidence and feelings to believe I know and can do something… Something that I am not capable to perform?

“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”

— Epictetus

We live in times in which noticing the difference between what has a base—what is real and true—is becoming a great problem. “Virtue” is only acquired by the disciplined and pragmatic one; by that person who can open their eyes to what is true, who is capable of accepting reality, and who does not have a view of the world based on what is convenient. Virtue is a mix of knowledge put into practice in real-time. With that discipline, experience and wisdom become an adjective for the human who puts himself to the task, commitment, constancy, and effort required to say, “I am capable of doing it.” And it is very important to say: “That which is worth understanding is never simple.”

“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”

— Seneca

It is of great help for us humans to see the reality in which we live. Real problems can only be solved with real knowledge, real experience, and real tools—a pragmatic and raw vision of things as they are, or as they are happening. The most important professionals in the world are actually the best witnesses of this effect: you cannot perform a heart transplant just because you believe you can, and you cannot become a Business Coach just because one morning you woke up and wanted to be an expert in the economy policy. We live in dangerous times in which “deep fakes” are a great problem, especially in the profiles of people on social media claiming to be something they are not.

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

— Marcus Aurelius

With my words, I am not saying it is not possible to become what you want to become, nor am I trying to limit people. Rather, it is a wake-up call to all of us to remember that all that is good, true, beautiful, and of service has been created through years and years of study, work, and experience and by hardworking and responsible man and women—not a sudden outburst of ideas with no foundation in a mind without knowledge, filled only with self-confidence. What I intend to communicate is that everything of good nature that you want requires time, discipline, and dedication. If you ask me, “What should I do to have an orange?” my answer will be: First you need time, then property with good soil, and an orange seed. Then you need to plant the seed, water it, make sure the soil remains fertile, and take care of the plant until the oranges on that tree start growing. Only then can you cut it from the tree you planted with your own hands. With that, I wish to explain that in order to value and understand something, there is no better way than knowing 100% of the process required to get that which you want to have… and never expect anyone to understand that which they have not created from zero.

“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.”

— Epictetus

With all the above, this article is calling whoever reads it and wishes to make things of good nature happen, to understand or remember that all that exists and has value does not come from pretension. As a believer in God, it is clear in my mind that God created the universe, nature, man, and woman. When you think that He created us in His own image, it is easy to understand that the human species is unique from all life in this world. We feel, we suffer, we smile, we wish… we prevent, and we create. Therefore, it is easy to see that God gifted us with intelligence, with the ability to have a vision of the future and plan accordingly. Because of that, we were given the perfect biological computer “The Brain”, capable of creating science, mathematics, industry, medicine, agriculture, engineering, and so much more. It is easy to see we are His creation and that it is not a simple coincidence that the human being is considered the only living creature with consciousness and the ability to look after each other, have a vision of the future and use the past, and present to compare and plan what will be. When the human fears and respects God, they thrive; a pretentious mind will always try to go against nature, morality, time, and logic to deny what is true and to justify their desires, fetishes, and caprices.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

— Genesis 1:27

A conscious mind knows that to have food, a house, and a fruitful life, he will need to work, study, and respect nature, time, and the process to achieve that which a heart of good nature desires. “Merit” is the word. We must distinguish between a human who sacrifices—avoiding vices, partying, alcohol, drugs, vanity, unnecessary expenses, nonsense excessive travel, comfort-driven communities, and living out of reach of their reality—versus a person who pushes himself through solitude and effort as disciplines required to become a person who deserves a prosperous life. This is a person capable of being independent and sharing the fruit of his work with the ones he loves. Not to mention that virtue is not only intellectual, it is also physical. A virtuous person is considered he who cares for his health and becomes mentally, intellectually, and physically strong. It is a person who understands nature and the nature of being human. As a man, the right concept of masculinity requires virtue, consciousness, and the fear and respect of God and nature. Only then can he protect and provide, ready for whatever comes, within the margins of what is humanly possible.

“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”

— Proverbs 13:4

To all the above, it is important to add that the stronger disciplines you adopt, the more knowledge, virtue, and experience will create consciousness. A conscious person will hesitate to do evil; a good and conscious person will never weaponize his intellectual or physical virtues to manipulate, steal, humiliate, or force people to do what he wants. As this article is written by a man, I can also say that as men, we want to be loved and respected by women, but it is also important to say that women should be that way only to a man who fears and respects God, who respects her the same way he wants to be respected… “WE SHOULDN’T ASK FOR THAT WHICH WE ARE NOT CAPABLE AND WILLING TO OFFER”, and has a strong moral compass. One of the biggest problems in this modern society is that many modern men do not respect God; they have no virtue, and their brains are flooded by video games, TV sports, alcohol, drugs, pornography, and a pretentious attitude of believing with no foundation that they are of value. This is a problem that the “Deep Fake” effect is not helping to resolve; it is destroying the good nature of man, and women, unfortunately, are also touched by this terrible ripple. Due to that, we will find kids with no good parents, men incapable of being loyal, protecting, and providing, and women with hypergamy not willing to be faithful or loyal, at the cost of their own dignity.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

— 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

It would be incredible to see men and women across the globe plant their feet on the ground, come back to the moral values established by God and His commandments, and accept truth as it is. Only then can they put themselves to the task to work, study, be patient and constant, and start to build a real life without pretension. We must become capable of stepping away from that which only uses, destroys, and creates lies, to build a life in which there is nothing to hide. A life in which virtue will be present, with good will and educated decisions. A reality that does not need alcohol, drugs, or degeneration to escape from it, because we made our reality one from which we do not need to escape—a life worth living.

“The truth shall set you free.”

— John 8:32

Written by: Rhet A. Marini