From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
The way you eliminate fear is to approach your situation from every angle, almost as though it were a logic puzzle. I like to think of it as approaching like a tortoise, not like a hare.
Inventors shouldn't be afraid to take risks. They should embrace failure and learn from their mistakes. I created 5,127 prototypes of the first Dyson bag-less vacuum cleaner and only the last one was right! Not being afraid to fail is something I think all successful entrepreneurs have in common.
Ancient philosophy almost hasn't been bettered as a kind of therapeutic toolbox in 2400 years, and have a certain aesthetic to them which makes you feel part of a long tradition.
It was not wealth or fame that these people wanted... These individuals had, in their own minds, observed a particular customer need that wasn't being met. They were wired in such a way, that this need seemed obvious to them.
The more we recognize that we are the ocean and the waves represent different aspects of our being, the less any individual wave of difficulty will consume, overwhelm, or define us.
We have these floods of ideas when we allow ourselves to slow down – you get this pent-up energy that flows out of you.
We often talk about misinformation and disinformation, but the deeper issue is the speed and flow of trust, because we're responding to feeling rather than expertise and credibility.
In fact, imposter syndrome is a symptom that we are leading because leaders are doing something that's never been done before and so of course you will feel like an imposter, because you are one! Who can guarantee something is going to work? Not you, not anyone.
We have to interact with everyone so no one feels left out or ashamed; these negative emotions can kill curiosity and creativity.
Comedy delivers the cerebral and the hyperbole, it can be funny and serious. You can see that ability for the pendulum to swing both ways when you watch the best comedians perform.
There's some psychological evidence which shows that people who have experienced very little suffering in their lives often have very low tolerance for difficulty and strangely enough, lower kindness.
You can have the best AI in the world and the best robots in the world, but if they aren't integrated well with the humans, then you will lose.