3 Insights
“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly: they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” — Aldous Huxley
“An independent mind requires three things: knowledge, critical thinking, and discipline. It’s a vessel to be filled, a fire to be kindled, and a mountain to be conquered.” — Gurwinder Bhogal
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” — C.S. Lewis
What I Learned this Week
Linn Ullmann, a Norwegian author spoke about her father, Ingmar Bergman in an interview with Vogue.
She started by saying: “My father was a very disciplined and punctual man; it was a prerequisite for his creativity. There was a time for everything: for work, for talk, for solitude, for rest. No matter what time you get out of bed, go for a walk and then work, he’d say, because the demons hate it when you get out of bed, demons hate fresh air.”
Waiting to “feel inspired” often leads to stagnation, but taking small steps, like starting with a walk, generates momentum. James Clear writes in Atomic Habits about this: “The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved.”
She continues, “So when I make up excuses not to work, I hear his voice in my head: Get up, get out, go to your work.”
The Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 was not just the collapse of a city. It was the dramatic conclusion of an ancient civilization—the last ember of the once-mighty Roman Empire. For over a thousand years, Byzantium stood as a bridge between East and West, guarding the remnants of Roman law, Greek philosophy, and Christian tradition. But by the mid-15th century, the Byzantine Empire had shrunk to little more than Constantinople itself, a shadow of its former glory.

Founded by Constantine the Great in 330 AD as the “New Rome,” Constantinople was a marvel of the ancient world. But in 1453, the city’s defenders faced an enemy unlike any they had encountered before—a young and ambitious Sultan named Mehmed II, leading the rapidly rising Ottoman Empire.
Sultan Mehmed II was just 19 years old when he ascended to the throne, yet his vision was crystal clear: to capture Constantinople and solidify Ottoman dominance. His army of over 100,000 soldiers included the fearsome Janissaries, elite warriors trained from childhood to excel in battle. And his artillery? Revolutionary.

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI, in stark contrast, faced near-impossible odds. The empire he ruled was reduced to a few square miles of land. Constantinople, once the greatest metropolis on Earth, was now a collection of decaying neighborhoods and scattered ruins.
The siege began in April 1453. For several weeks, the defenders held out, repelling wave after wave of Ottoman assaults. But Mehmed’s relentless bombardment took its toll. The walls that had stood for centuries began to crumble. On May 29, after a night of fierce fighting, the Ottomans breached the city’s defenses. The final stand was heroic but hopeless. Emperor Constantine XI, refusing to flee, died fighting alongside his men.
The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning of a new chapter in world history. Under Ottoman rule, Constantinople became Istanbul.
The fall also sent shockwaves through Europe. It was a wake-up call to the Christian kingdoms, a reminder of their vulnerability. The loss of Constantinople disrupted trade routes to Asia, spurring explorers to seek alternatives—leading, ultimately, to the Age of Exploration and some might argue the discovery of the New World.
The story of Constantinople’s fall is more than a tale of military conquest. It’s a testament to resilience, ambition, and the inexorable march of history. Empires rise, and empires fall. But in their moments of triumph and tragedy, they shape the world in ways that echo through the ages.
Reflections
Q: What kind of challenges do you face right now in your life? How can you turn your misfortune into lessons, gold, and profit?
The Real Con 111