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Buddhists believe that we are the cause of our own suffering. We can’t control the fact that bad things are going to happen, but it’s how we react to them that really matters, and that we can learn to control. Even if you don’t accept that this is true in all cases, giving it consideration in moments of unhappiness or anxiety will often give you a new perspective and allow you to relax your grip on a negative story.
Richa Chadha TW: @RichaChadha IG: @therichachadha
My mother told me, “You have to lift off the back foot while taking a step forward, or you will not be able to move ahead.”
Max Levchin TW: @mlevchin affirm.com
Neil Strauss TW: @neilstrauss IG: @neil_strauss neilstrauss.com
The book I’ve given most as a gift is Under Saturn’s Shadow by James Hollis, a Jungian analyst. I’ve underlined ideas on every single page. The thrust of the book, in his words: “Men’s lives are as much governed by role expectations as are the lives of women. And the corollary is that those roles do not support, confirm, or resonate to the needs of men’s souls.”
“Learn more, know less.”
Veronica Belmont TW/IG/FB: @veronica veronicabelmont.com
Patton Oswalt TW/FB: @pattonoswalt pattonoswalt.com
My favorite failure is every time I ever ate it onstage as a comedian. Because I woke up the next day and the world hadn’t ended. I was free to keep fucking up and getting better. I wish at least one catastrophic failure on everyone pursuing the arts. It’s where you’ll get your superpowers from.
Lewis Cantley cantleylab.weill.cornell.edu
We may be approaching a time when sugar is responsible for more early deaths in America than cigarette smoking.
Jerzy Gregorek FB: tim.blog/happybody (redirect) thehappybody.com
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, I learned self-mastery: to constantly improve myself so I would be ready for any possible disaster. I also learned that when disaster happens, it means that something is being asked of me. I need to improve. The whole scenario is so clear while aging. After 35 years old, no matter what we do, we’ll get worse.
“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”
I asked him, “If I put firefighting gear on the winner of a marathon and the winner of an Olympic sprint and sent them to the 40th floor, who would be faster?” He stared at me for more than a minute without saying anything. Then I said, “Now you know how you slowed down firemen in New York by training them for endurance and not power.”
Here are my 11 favorite poems to read when I am feeling depressed (11 is the master power number): “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop “Leaving One” by Ralph Angel “A Cat in an Empty Apartment” by Wisława Szymborska “Apples” by Deborah Digges “Michiko Nogami (1946–1982)” by Jack Gilbert “Eating Alone” by Li-Young Lee “The Potter” by Peter Levitt “Black Dog, Red Dog” by Stephen Dobyns “The Word” by Mark Cox “Death” by Maurycy Szymel “This” by Czeslaw Milosz
Aniela Gregorek FB: tim.blog/happybody (redirect) thehappybody.com
If I have nothing positive to say, I don’t say anything. It makes my life easier and happier.
Amelia Boone TW: @ameliaboone IG: @arboone11 ameliabooneracing.com
“No one owes you anything.”
We live in a world that’s rampant with entitlement, with many people believing that they deserve to be given more. My parents raised me to be self-sufficient, and impressed upon me that the only person you can really depend on in life is you. If you want something, you work for it. You don’t expect it to be given. If others help you out along the way, that’s fantastic, but it’s not a given. I believe that the key to self-sufficiency is breaking free of the mindset that someone, somewhere, owes you something or will come to your rescue.
Sir Joel Edward McHale, Lord of Winterfell TW/IG: @joelmchale joelmchale.com
Don’t just do the thing that people expect you to do or go for the money. That might work out for a while, but you will harbor some serious resentment as you get into your 40s if you do that. I see it all the time. It sucks.
Ben Stiller TW: @RedHourBen FB: /BenStiller thestillerfoundation.org
Anna Holmes TW/IG: @annaholmes annaholmes.com
Andrew Ross Sorkin TW: @andrewrsorkin andrewrosssorkin.com
Persistence matters more than talent. The student with straight As is irrelevant if the student sitting next to him with Bs has more passion.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt TW/IG: @hitrecordjoe hitrecord.org
Wendy MacNaughton TW/IG: @wendymac wendymacnaughton.com
Vitalik Buterin TW: @VitalikButerin Reddit: /u/vbuterin
be interdisciplinary.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks TW/FB: @rabbisacks rabbisacks.org
Leadership on the Line by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky,
I decided that I would write a personal response to 9/11 to be published on the first anniversary. It was called The Dignity of Difference.
Julia Galef TW: @juliagalef FB: /julia.galef juliagalef.com
Her TED Talk, “Why You Think You’re Right—Even If You’re Wrong,” has more than three million views.
Turia Pitt TW/IG: @TuriaPitt turiapitt.com
My personal favorite book is The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester.
If they want to turn their finances around, I give them The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape.
Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.
Annie Duke TW/FB: @AnnieDuke annieduke.com
seek out dissenting opinions. Always try to find people who disagree with you, who can honestly and productively play devil’s advocate. Challenge yourself to truly listen to people who have differing ideas and opinions than you do.
Jimmy Fallon TW/IG: @jimmyfallon tonightshow.com
Esther Perel IG: @estherperelofficial FB: /esther.perel estherperel.com
The advice to ignore is “What is your five-year plan?”
Maria Sharapova TW/IG: @MariaSharapova MariaSharapova.com
She is the author of Unstoppable: My Life So Far.
Adam Robinson TW: @IAmAdamRobinson robinsonglobalstrategies.com
And those books are Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, The Crack in the Cosmic Egg by Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler, and, perhaps most of all, The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes.
