The Passion Paradox Quotes

“Those who are most focused on reaching some external barometer of success are often the same people who struggle most to enjoy it.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“A better approach to finding your passion is to lower the bar from perfect to interesting, then give yourself permission to pursue your interests with an open mind.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“There’s an old Eastern proverb that says, “The master has failed more times than the student has even tried.” We’d all be wise to take it to heart.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Life without balance can cost you your health. Life without balance can cost you your spirituality. Life without balance can cost you your wealth and your happiness. So find things to motivate you from all areas of life. Your success depends on it.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Not every moment of harmonious passion is necessarily pleasing, but overall, it is deeply fulfilling. It aligns closely with the ancient Greek notion of eudaimonia, or a kind of happiness that results not from overwhelming pleasure but from striving to meet one’s full potential by engaging in activities that one considers meaningful.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“music, harmony occurs when a combination of tones is played simultaneously and in perfect accord. It’s a sound that is nearly impossible to describe, yet immediately recognizable. You know it not only because you hear it, but also because you feel it. Everything clicks. There is complete concordance.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Interest is an invitation to exploration, drawing your attention toward activities that have the potential to grow into something greater.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“The notion that enduring love need not always manifest as an immediate and powerful attraction traces itself all the way back to the ancient Greeks, who viewed love as a practice of continually learning about and growing closer to one’s partner—more a process of cultivation than an instant connection. Instead of being preoccupied with searching for the perfect match, for centuries, people worked to develop intimate bonds over time.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Passion and addiction are close cousins.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“relentless pursuit of an objective can also serve as an escape. Throwing ourselves wholly into a passion shrinks our world, overshadowing whatever inner struggles we may be facing and making us feel comfortable and in control. Our obsessions become a refuge.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“As we’ll discuss in a few pages, the line between what we consider a destructive addiction and a productive passion is a fine one, if such a line exists at all.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“We’re not wired to simply be content. We’re wired to keep pushing.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“We don’t get hooked on the feeling associated with achievement, we get hooked on the feeling associated with the chase.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“The sensation of being wholly consumed by an activity, idea, or person is familiar to anyone who has had even just a brief dance with passion.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“assimilated new meanings, transitioning from suffering to rage to love and, finally, to overwhelming desire.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Focusing on the process creates daily opportunities for little victories. These little victories serve as waypoints on the path of mastery, helping to sustain your motivation over the long haul. Process spurs progress, and progress, on a deep neurochemical level, primes us to persist.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“The great paradox, however, is that although external achievement is never a primary goal of harmonious passion, when you become completely immersed in what you’re doing for the joy of the activity itself, it is often a by-product. Those who focus most on success are least likely to achieve it. Those who focus least on success, and focus on the process of engaging in their craft instead, are most likely to achieve it.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Have you ever met an interesting person—let alone a deeply passionate one—who is balanced?”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“It’s a bit paradoxical, but the key message here is, what is important doesn’t necessarily get our attention; what gets our attention becomes important.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Those who focus most on success are least likely to achieve it. Those who focus least on success, and focus on the process of engaging in their craft instead, are most likely to achieve it.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Those who go big or go home often end up going home. Those who go incrementally over a long period of time often end up with something big.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“Psychologist Stan Beecham, who counsels numerous elite athletes and high-ranking executives, also believes that our relationship with fear is utterly critical to what we will accomplish in our lives: “It’s all about fear. If you kill fear, you win. If you kill fear, you have your best year ever. If you kill fear, you train like a mad man. If you kill fear, you go to college for free. If you kill fear, you stand on the podium, you get paid, you have strangers walk up to you and call you by name. When fear dies, you begin to live.”20”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life

“While there are plenty of voices telling you to find your passion, there are hardly any telling you how to be passionate.”
― Brad Stulberg, The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life