“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.
An Ass heard a Grasshopper singing in the grass. “What makes you sing so beautifully, Mr. Grasshopper,” said the Ass. “Why, it is the dew, of course!” said the Grasshopper.
So, in order to acquire such a voice, the Ass ate nothing but dew. In doing so, the Ass soon died.
Moral of the Story: What is the source of strength to one is not necessarily the source of strength to another. Each of us must find our own muse, or individual source of creative power and internal strength.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: Each person is a blend of different attributes, different preferences, desires, strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, each of us must find our own muse, or our own source of creative power and internal strength.
It is common to study—particularly by leadership intelligentsia and in academic curricular—certain leaders and their respective successes as human beings, but the study of the leadership should not be so elemental. In fact, the study of leadership is a combination of the leader, the followers, and the context.
It is folly to study leaders without a concomitant assessment of the followers and the context. Certain attributes in a rising leader tend to satisfy follower desires (for better or worse) within a situational context that attracts or repels as a framework.
By way of example, the great Sir Winston Churchill was relatively disregarded before World War II, and then again after World War II, but he was indispensable during World War II. For that brief moment in time, Churchill held the weight of European Democracy—if not all Western Democracy—on his shoulders, like Atlas, with mythological tenacity. The difference was not so much a change in the man, so much as it was a change of “follower” desires and circumstances. Churchill was just being Churchill—before, during and after World War II—but the changing necessities found the man when he was responsive for the necessary leadership. It might be said that the followers and the context find the leader in the same way that the One Ring found Frodo.
As we study others, we should do so only as a matter of sample or formula, but not as an absolute. Success does not occur in a vacuum.
The leader may change, the people to be led may change, or the circumstances may change.
We have to be careful to understand the different paths of change, being to change ourselves, to change others, and/or to change context. In his book, The Art of Money-Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money, the great entrepreneur, Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum, told his friend who was failing in business in Europe, simply to take the show to the United States, then resulting in a great success. Same show, new location. Same man, same business, but a success in one context and a failure in another context. The study only of human characteristics without the study of how those characteristics where proven to follower desires and context is a myopic study of reality.
Therefore, we should keep in mind that it might not be for the horse to change, but rather it might be for the game to change. A champion on the track might be a failure in the field, and vice versa. A thoroughbred is a great horse, on a track, not necessarily in the field.
Each of us is unique, and one size does not fit all.
We find our own muse, our own source of creativity and strength. And, once we find it—once we find what works “for me”—don’t betray it, trust it, and defend it against all others.
Remember, Caesar and Lincoln and Churchill never took a “leadership course,” they studied history. The study of history provides information how how human beings respond to needs and objectives, and how they work within contexts.
The ascension of “leadership study” with the concomitant descension of “historical study” is a folly of human education and training. The Ass gets it wrong, again, by following, by copying, and by not thinking.
“In this age the mere example of nonconformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service. Precisely because the tyranny of opinion is such as to make eccentricity a reproach, it is desirable, in order to break through that tyranny, that people should be eccentric. Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character has abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral courage which it contained. That so few now dare to be eccentric, marks the chief danger of the time.” ~ John Stuart Mill
ChatGPT Review
Here is a deep dive analysis of Gregg Zegarelli’s The Ass and the Grasshopper – The Essential Aesop No. 43 article titled “Finding Our Own Muse” from The Essential Aesop.
🧠 Meaning
Fable Summary:
An Ass (donkey), enchanted by the Grasshopper’s beautiful song, asks the secret of such a voice. The Grasshopper attributes it to dew. Wanting the same voice, the Ass eats only dew and dies.
Core Moral:
“What is the source of strength to one is not necessarily the source of strength to another. Each of us must find our own muse.”
This is a parable about authenticity, misplaced imitation, and the danger of blindly adopting someone else’s formula for success or creativity. The dew, symbolizing nourishment or inspiration, is not universal. The Ass’s failure arises from assuming that mimicry yields the same results, without understanding his own nature or constitution.
🧭 Zegarelli’s Ethos
This fable distills a central Zegarelli theme:
Do not conform to someone else’s path—find, trust, and defend your own.
Zegarelli’s ethos often warns against:
- Unquestioned social conformity (cf. “The Woman Wins”; “Don’t Call Me a Human Being”)
- Imitating others out of envy or inadequacy (cf. “The Frog and the Ox” – No. 2)
- Misapplying borrowed wisdom without contextual judgment (cf. “Ben-Hur Team-Building Principle™”)
Here, he applies that ethos to leadership and self-development. Like the Ass, many modern individuals or professionals emulate visible success (like leaders, influencers, or even historical icons), thinking their path will yield the same fruit. But Zegarelli redirects this into a doctrine of individual contextualism: our “muse” must align with our own nature, context, and capacity.
He extends this to historic examples (Churchill, Barnum), showing that the same person in a different context yields entirely different results—because value and strength are not inherent, but contextually revealed.
🎓 Pedagogical Approach
Zegarelli’s teaching method here blends:
- Fable → Moral → Application → Historical case study → Strategic reflection
In teaching:
- He starts simple with a clear metaphor.
- Then, he unpacks multiple layers of interpretation—personal, philosophical, and sociopolitical.
- Finally, he closes with actionable insight for self-leadership and educational philosophy.
His critique of modern education is striking:
“The ascension of ‘leadership study’ with the concomitant descension of ‘historical study’ is a folly of human education and training.”
In short: we study charisma over context, image over history, technique over understanding. He sees this as misalignment, akin to the Ass eating dew without being a Grasshopper.
Zegarelli calls instead for contextual learning, grounded in the patterns of history, character, and real-world situations—what might be called applied philosophical anthropology.
🧩 Conclusion
Zegarelli’s Conclusion: Each of us must find and defend our own muse, rather than adopt the source of someone else’s strength.
*Your muse is your internal source of power—once found, it should be cultivated, trusted, and protected.
He cautions: copying others without introspection is a path to self-destruction. And more deeply, he offers a call to civilizational resilience through nonconformity:
- Eccentricity is not weakness, but often the seed of genius.
- Historical leaders didn’t take modern “leadership courses”; they read history, recognized patterns, and responded to need.
“The difference was not so much a change in the man, so much as it was a change of follower desires and circumstances.”
This is Zegarelli’s meta-pedagogy: We must become aware not only of ourselves, but of what surrounds us, and then act accordingly.
🔗 Integrated Themes from Related Articles
| Related Article | Key Thematic Connection |
|---|---|
| No. 2 – The Frog and the Ox | Self-Destruction from Envy – similar to the Ass envying the Grasshopper’s song |
| The Ben-Hur Team-Building Principle™ | Different strengths for different contexts – a racehorse is not a war horse |
| “Leadership is Thinking Independently” (Mill) | Defends individual eccentricity as vital to strength and moral courage |
| “The Reach” | Explores the bounds of human effort; connects to the idea that each individual must discover the limits and capacity of their own “reach” rather than mimic others’ feats |
| “The One Ring of Power – Amazon” | Corporate identity collapse from chasing models disconnected from its own founding muse—another cautionary tale of betraying one’s identity for borrowed success |
🏁 Final Take-Away
Zegarelli’s deep lesson:
True strength is found by those who resist imitation and instead cultivate their own unique voice in context. To lead, live, or even just sing like the Grasshopper, you must not eat dew—you must first ask whether you are a Grasshopper at all.
20250425.4o
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/finding-our-own-muse-43-ass-grasshopper-essential-zegarelli-esq-
Related Articles:
- [98_2] Self-Validation and Envy – No. 2. The Frog and the Ox – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_2] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_2]
- [213] Napoleon Bonaparte, Commander in Chief of the French Army in Italy, Before His Attack on Milan, April 26, 1796 – Abridgment Series [GRZ213] [LinkedIn #GRZ_213]
- [46] John Stuart Mill – Leadership is Thinking Independently [GRZ46] [LinkedIn #GRZ_46]
- [47] John Stuart Mill – Leadership and Being Unique from the Crowd [GRZ47] [LinkedIn #GRZ_47]
- [21] The Ben-Hur Team-Building Principle™ [GRZ21X] [LinkedIn #GRZ_21]
GRZ98_43.20250425 GRZUID98_43