From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Starting a business is an exciting venture, often filled with enthusiasm, borrowed money, and a fair share of ignorance. In fact, a certain level of ignorance can be beneficial for an entrepreneur. If you were fully aware of the potential obstacles ahead, you might hesitate to start.
This is where people expect me to reveal some magical formula I've discovered in the caves of Indonesia. You're going to be disappointed. I'm about to tell you some of the simplest, most mundane things in the world. They're so basic that many people don't even want to bother with them. But trust me, these basics are far more important than attending a breathwork class three times a week.
When you don't know your self-worth, you're more docile and easier to control by the 'machine.' That's the cult-like structure society is built around.
There's thousands of people out there- men and women- probably waiting for me to drop dead so they can take my position, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've done the show with a blown-out back, with one leg, coming off laryngitis, coming off or having a 103 degree fever.
What we perceive to be the absolute truth of the world around us is a complex reconstruction, a virtual reality created by the complex machinations of our minds. We have no idea about the world that we inhabit and what the brain is doing is really creating an entire shortcut that enables us to understand the world without being able to physically really understand the reality in which we inhabit, which is a mind-blowing concept.
When we have the vocabulary to describe our feelings, we can create a mental model in our brains around our experiences. I'm feeling anxious because I'm uncertain about the outcome.
Community brings out the good… the encourager in people. You could be on a treadmill next to someone who's having a hard time, and it just brings it out of you.
The key to getting over war is to talk about it. Nobody will think of you as the weak link- they'll either help you, point you to help, or perhaps even tell you they're going through the same. We all need to be more open; we're all going through something and communication is important.
I believe the most effective strategy for maintaining resilience is mastering the art of self-soothing. The ability to calm oneself instantly, at any moment, stands out as a pivotal skill. It enables you to recover from setbacks and face adversity more effectively. Being able to soothe and calm yourself enhances your clarity of thought, which is invaluable during challenging times.
I think when you have early trauma that gets disrupted, your mind gets separated from your body. Your mind becomes this sort of distracted, dissociated place to go when this alarm in your body—if your parents are screaming at each other or your dad's an alcoholic—there's only so much a child can take.
Populism is the act of politicising and mobilising ignorance to the point of political and moral insanity.
When I say books can save us; books can be our dear friends, our amazing teachers, our loyal companions of the road, I really mean it, because it happened to me.