What is an Axiom?

Recently I had the chance to attend the Willow Creek Leadership Summit and hear Bill Hybels speak. During his talk he discussed points taken from his then upcoming book, Axiom. It just made sense to me that having a list of proverbs by which to guide your decisions in life would make life easier. I couldn't wait to get a copy of the book. After getting into it I found the book to be everything I expected.

As a result of hearing Mr. Hybels and then reading his book I decided to come up with a list, or I should say document a list of axioms that I use for my different rolls. I've collected these axioms for years and just never thought to write them down. Mr. Hybels gave me a great idea...

Introducing:  

David's Axiom Guide 

(or DAG for short).

I'll be using this blog to document the axioms I use to guide my decision making. Most will not be original but borrowed from others. Having them documented and collected, I think will help me with quicker and more consistent decision making. Feel free to use DAG and share your thoughts.

[Put] DAG on it, get it done.

The following are some definitions of Axiom that I pulled together to set a better feel for what the word really means:

Mathematical Terms and Notions - a statement which is assumed to be true, and is used as a basis for developing a system. Any system of logic starts by saying clearly what axioms it uses.

Human Kinetics - A principle widely accepted for its own merit.

The Logic Classroom - is a first principle or premise.

Wikipedia - In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be self-evident. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other (theory dependent) truths. 

NumberNut - An axiom is a mathematical rule. This basic assumption about a system allows theorems to be developed. For example, the system could be the points and lines in the plane. Then an axiom would be that given any two distinct points in the plane, there is a unique line through them.

Glossary of Bridge Terminology - A self evident principle or fact.

The Free On-line Dictionary - A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate.

Merriam-Webster On-Line - a maxim widely accepted on its intrinsic merit.

YourDictionary.com - a statement or proposition that needs no proof because its truth is obvious, or one that is accepted as true without proof.

Vocabulary.com - truism, assumption, maxim, adage, aphorism, postulate.