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Consistency and Incremental Success – No. 82. The Tortoise and the Hare – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)

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The Hare was always boasting of his speed. “I have never yet been beaten,” he said. “I challenge anyone to race with me.

The Tortoise said quietly, “I accept your challenge.

With presumptuous ridicule of the Tortoise, the Hare darted out of sight at once. But feeling assured of an easy victory, the Hare soon decided to rest. Moreover, with arrogant contempt for the Tortoise, the Hare took a sound nap.

While the Hare slept, the Tortoise plodded on and plodded on. When the Hare finally awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post. It was too late for the Hare. He simply could not run fast enough in time to save the race.

Moral of the Story: Consistent, incremental, progress finally wins the race. Do not underestimate your adversary. Win first, then relax.


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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue


Why We Loved It: One of the most famous of Aesop’s fables, the Tortoise and the Hare contains two important related lessons.

The first lesson is that Aesop reminds us to put aside our self-presumptuous arrogance, and not to assume our own relative superiority or the inferiority of a competitor. We must continue to do our best, which makes the competitor immaterial. In truth, no one needs to be embarrassed for failing with a best effort, for both wisdom and strength are exhausted. For theists, even god or the gods could not ask for more than, I did my best. Trying our best is the antidote to regret.

The Hare was lazy and made a foolish decision. He arrogantly relied upon his natural gifts without applying the necessary effort. Silly Hare.

The second lesson is that slow, consistent and incremental progress can win the race. Like financial saving, a little a day adds up to success. Some people have natural gifts, and some people do not. Potential is a hypothetical. Effort can achieve a superior implementation. A piece of marble is only bottled-up potential until that potential is released and actualized by the master sculptor, with each little stroke.

Gold may be an inherently more attractive metal, but, if left unpolished, it must beware being outshined by polished brass.


“Polished brass will pass upon more people than rough gold.” ~ Earl of Chesterfield

Application and capacity. Eminence requires both. When both are present, eminence outdoes itself. The mediocre people who apply themselves go further than the superior people who don’t. Work makes worth. You purchase reputation with it. Some people are unable to apply themselves to even the simplest tasks. Application depends almost always on temperament. It is all right to be mediocre at an unimportant job: you can excuse yourself by saying you were cut out for nobler things. But to be mediocre at the lowest of jobs, rather than excellent at the highest, has no excuse at all. Both art and nature are needed, and application makes them complete.” ~ Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

After about 2.5 hours of hard practice, I’m walking off the floor, like, drenched [in] sweat, tired. And, here comes Michael pushing me back on the floor, wanting to play a little one-on-one, wanting to see where his game was.” ~ James Worthy of Michael Jordan.

As a man by practice acquires proficiency in his craft, so the earnest man acquires proficiency in goodness and wisdom. Men shrink from self-discipline because in its early stages it is painful and repellent, and the yielding to desire is, at first, sweet and inviting; but the end of desire is darkness and unrest, whereas the fruits of discipline are immortality and peace.” ~ James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

By nature men are similar; by practice men are wide apart.” ~ Confucius

The heights by great men reached and kept; Were not attained by sudden flight; But they, while their companions slept; Were toiling upwards in the night.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Ladder of St. Augustine

Things done well, And with a care, exempt themselves from fear.” ~ William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Act 1, Sc. 2

“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.” ~ Charles Spurgeon

Compare not, unless against the measure of your own potential. ~ grz


And, of course, the bonus videos:

Looney Tunes | The Hare and Tortoise Re-Race | Classic Cartoon | WB Ki

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Disney Silly Symphony – The Tortoise and the Hare

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Bugs Bunny Cecil the Turtle Tortoise Beats Hare 1941

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“Potentiale est solum hypotheticum.” (“Potential is only a hypothetical.”); “Non comparare nisi comparet ad propria potentia.” (“Compare not, unless against the measure of your own potential.”) ~ grz


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Gregg Zegarelli’s rendition of “The Tortoise and the Hare” (No. 82 in The Essential Aesop – Back to Basics Abridgment Series) is a masterclass in fable reinterpretation, pedagogical layering, and applied ethos. While the tale is among Aesop’s most familiar, Zegarelli extracts multi-dimensional value by repurposing its moral foundation into a platform for life principles, leadership doctrine, and ethical self-discipline. Here’s a deep dive:


I. CORE ETHOS: What is Zegarelli Teaching?

At its foundation, Zegarelli reinforces several key principles of disciplined virtue:

  1. Humility over Presumption
    • The Hare represents unearned arrogance—a belief that natural talent alone secures success.
    • The Tortoise embodies earnest self-application, consistent with Zegarelli’s broader ethos: moral and intellectual discipline supersede natural advantage.
  2. Effort is Greater than Hypothetical Potential
    • “Potential is only a hypothetical” becomes a core maxim. Zegarelli argues that effort is the great equalizer, echoing the teachings of Confucius, James Allen, and Baltasar Gracián.
    • The sculptor metaphor (“marble is only bottled-up potential…”) illustrates that the realization of value occurs through consistent, skilled effort, not raw capacity.
  3. Self-Comparison and Internal Standards
    • “Compare not, unless against the measure of your own potential.”
    • Here, Zegarelli deconstructs external competition and channels Aesop’s lesson inward. Victory is not against another, but over one’s own laziness, pride, and inconsistency.
    • This teaching mirrors his repeated invocation of self-mastery as civic and moral virtue across his corpus.
  4. Win First, Then Rest
    • The subtle inversion—“win first, then relax”—is a warning against premature celebration and overconfidence, especially by those in positions of strength or incumbency.
    • It’s a caution to high-performers: excellence is not secured by sporadic genius, but by unrelenting attention to the finish line.

II. PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGY: How is He Teaching It?

Zegarelli’s teaching approach is structured and layered:

  1. Classic Narrative – Modern Framing
    • He retells the fable with deliberate simplicity but overlays it with philosophical scaffolding, quoting Confucius, Shakespeare, and Longfellow, showing that incremental effort is a perennial wisdom across traditions.
  2. Analogical Stacking
    • Gold vs. Brass, Michael Jordan’s practice ethic, and the snail reaching the ark: these are not just adornments—they compound the core lesson through reinforcement loops.
    • He borrows wisdom from diverse traditions (Eastern philosophy, Stoicism, Christian doctrine, and Stoic poetry), forming a universal affirmation of effort.
  3. Moral Contrast and Irony
    • The Hare doesn’t lose from lack of ability—but from inability to respect effort.
    • Zegarelli doesn’t demonize the Hare; he educates by folly. This is classic moral pedagogy: learn through the failure of the proud.
  4. Closing Aphorisms and Latin Framing
    • Ending with the Latin “Potentiale est solum hypotheticum” gives ancient gravity to modern self-help—a kind of moral law Zegarelli asserts with Socratic calm.

III. CULTURAL AND CIVIC LESSONS: Why This Story Matters Now

This fable, in Zegarelli’s hands, becomes a critique of:

  • Shortcut Culture – The Hare represents entitlement and overconfidence, common in modern cultures that idolize quick wins, viral fame, or superficial talents.
  • Merit Misconstrued – It’s not just having gifts, but stewarding them. The fable subtly defends merit as earned effort, not accidental advantage.
  • Economic and Civic Implications – In Zegarelli’s broader ethos, the consistent worker (Tortoise) keeps civilization functional, while Hares sit atop systems they do not maintain.

IV. THOUGHTS IN CONCLUSION: Zegarelli’s Fable as a Leadership Mirror

Zegarelli’s reinterpretation of The Tortoise and the Hare is not about speed versus slowness—it’s about effort versus ego. He universalizes the lesson:

  • For the gifted: Do not rest on your laurels.
  • For the mediocre: Excellence is still within reach.
  • For all: You race against your own best self, not others.

He transforms a child’s fable into a leadership manifesto, an economic commentary, and a spiritual directive toward quiet, resolute effort.

Ultimately, the story is not about who wins the race—but how the race is run.

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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.

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