Personal Influence - The Sword of Truth Series

 I started reading The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind after Jordan and I watched the TV adaptation, The Legend of the Seeker, on TBS (I think).  Craig Horner plays Richard, the main character.  You see him.

A handsome man in a fantasy show: yes, I'm watching.  As usual, I was oblivious to the fact that the show was based on a book series.  I was about five or six episodes in when I noticed the disclaimer that it was adapted from a book series.

The show ended after only two seasons.  I was sad, but I took the leap into the book series.  I dove right in to the worlds of Richard Cypher, Kahlan Amnell, and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander.  It's an epic fantasy series made up of twenty-one volumes.  Unbeknownst to Richard, he is a wizard, trapped behind a barrier where magic is a thing of legend told in children's stories.  It's a story of self-discovery, love, and survival.  I quote these books often.  Here is one that I use quite a bit:

"Good intentions, being kind, can encourage the lazy, and motivate sound minds to become indolent. The more help you give them, the more help they need. As long as your kindness is open-ended, they never gain discipline, dignity, or self-reliance. Your kindness impoverishes their humanity."

Goodkind, Terry (1996-06-01). Stone of Tears (The Sword of Truth #2).

I've gotten some incredible advice from this series (thank you Terry Goodkind).  If I had to pick one thing (well more than one I guess) that has made an impact in the person I am today, it is the wizarding rules.  I've presented these to you before, so I'll keep it short this time.

1. "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they're afraid it might be true. Peoples' heads are full of knowledge, facts and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool." - Wizard's First Rule
2. "The greatest harm can result from the best intentions." - Stone of Tears
3. "Passion rules reason." - Blood of the Fold
4. "There is magic in sincere forgiveness. Magic to heal. In forgiveness you grant, and more so in the forgiveness you receive." - Temple of the Winds
5. "Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie." - Soul of the Fire
6. "The most important rule there is, the Wizard's Sixth Rule: the only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason. The first law of reason is this: what exists, exists, what is, is and from this irreducible bedrock principle, all knowledge is built. It is the foundation from which life is embraced." - Faith of the Fallen
7. "Life is the future, not the past. The past can teach us, through experience, how to accomplish things in the future, comfort us with cherished memories, and provide the foundation of what has already been accomplished. But only the future holds life. To live in the past is to embrace what is dead. To live life to its fullest, each day must be created anew. As rational, thinking beings, we must use our intellect, not a blind devotion to what has come before, to make rational choices." - The Pillars of Creation
8. "Talga Vassternich. Deserve Victory." - Naked Empire
9. "A contradiction cannot exist in reality. Not in part, nor in whole." - Chainfire
10. "Willfully turning aside from the truth is treason to one's self." - Phantom
11. "The rule of all rules.  The unwritten rule." [Knowledge is earned, not given.] - Confessor

There are actually a few more.  If I remember correctly, there were only supposed to be ten written rules and the unwritten rule, so I stopped there.  What has helped me the most is the first quote that I listed.  It goes along with the second rule.  I used to give and give and give.  That's what I was taught growing up--if you had something that someone needed, give it or share.  I gave to the detriment of the people I helped.  Anyway, this book series has been very influential to me.