Our job is not to “go with our gut” or fixate on the first impression we form about an issue. No, we need to be strong enough to resist thinking that is too neat, too plausible, and therefore almost always wrong. Because if the leader can’t take the time to develop a clear sense of the bigger picture, who will? If the leader isn’t thinking through all the way to the end, who is?
Choose not to be harmed – and you won’t feel harmed.
Not me,” you think.
Take what you’re afraid of – when fear strikes you – and break it apart.
They can throw us in jail, label us, deprive us of our possessions, but they’ll never control our thoughts, our beliefs, our reactions. Which is to say, we are never completely powerless.
Everything about our animalistic brains tries to compress the space between impression and perception. Think, perceive, act – with milliseconds between them.
We’re soft, entitled, and scared of conflict. Great times are great softeners. Abundance can be its own obstacle, as many people can attest.
In fact, half the companies in the Fortune 500 were started during a bear market or recession. Half. The.
Passion is form over function. Purpose is function, function, function.
There’s no need to sweat this or feel rushed. No need to get upset or despair. You’re not going anywhere – you’re not going to be counted out. You’re in this for the long haul. Because when you play all the way to the whistle, there’s no reason to worry about the clock. You know you won’t stop until it’s over – that every second available is yours to use. So temporary setbacks aren’t discouraging. They are just bumps along a long road that you intend to travel all the way down.
The writer Anne Lamott jokes in Bird by Bird, “Ever wonder what God thinks of money? Just look at the people he gives it to.
Pride takes a minor accomplishment and makes it feel like a major one.
When the people around you dump a fortune into trinkets they can’t take with them when they die, it might seem like a good investment for you to make too. But of course it isn’t. The good things in life cost what they cost. The unnecessary things are not worth it at any price. The key is being aware of the difference.
The world is, after all, indifferent to what we humans “want.” If we persist in wanting, in needing, we are simply setting ourselves up for resentment or worse.
What humans require in our ascent is purpose and realism. Purpose, you could say, is like passion with boundaries. Realism is detachment and perspective.
But the person who has rehearsed in their mind what could go wrong will not be caught by surprise.
How you do anything is how you can do everything. We can always act right.
Most of us begin with a clear idea of what we want in life. We know what’s important to us. The success we achieve, especially if it comes early or in abundance, puts us in an unusual place. Because now, all of a sudden, we’re in a new place and have trouble keeping our bearings.
Are we doing things for the right reasons? Or do we act because we haven’t stopped to think? Or do we believe that we have to do something?
Remember, a castle can be an intimidating, impenetrable fortress, or it can be turned into a prison when surrounded. The.