From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
There is something about the female psyche which is intensely social, and the most trivial conversations become part of the process of bonding. They may appear trivial but there will be a lot more un-stated below the surface - a form of commitment.
Status is kinetic. Those who have it can give it to those who don't. Anointment refers to these ritualistic events that can be major: in a biblical sense, you're anointed by a king and all sorts of good things follow. In modern life, you're anointed if you're admitted to and graduate from a prestigious university. But anointment also happens on a much smaller scale, many times a day.
The 'compare and despair' generation is constantly bombarded with unrealistic portrayals of success, leading everyone to feel inadequate, regardless of their achievements. We all have flaws and recognize our weaknesses, and there will always be someone who seems better in some way.
We live in a society where our pursuit of authenticity is more important to us than ever, but we've created a society which is also extraordinarily fake. I want to understand this and understand how we can fight back.
I don't think about myself as a woman in these contexts, I think about myself as a human. We should take advantage of our qualities and not trying to change or hide them.
Art, for him, is a crucial means for turning thinking into doing in the world.
Silence is, by definition, an absence—an absence of voice, opinion, and life. It begins so subtly that it often goes unnoticed. We start by withdrawing or withholding our genuine thoughts from conversations, replacing them with what we presume others want to hear. As it continues, silence essentially means we cannot fully be ourselves. We find ourselves editing parts of who we are, censoring our thoughts and feelings—and we do this to each other, often without realizing it.
For the entrepreneurial spirit to manifest as successful business and social endeavours, we need a nurturing environment and an infrastructure that celebrates the human will to solve problems and progress.
I believe a key issue is this newfound ability to hide behind our screens, which gives a false sense of impunity, allowing people to express themselves without restraint. The more time we spend glued to our screens, the less we engage in meaningful, real-world exchanges.
It's okay to have differences... it's okay to have different religions... it's okay to not agree on everything. However, respect should always be there. Sometimes you have to listen before you talk.
The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity....
The people in the advanced countries now face a choice: we can express justified horror, or we can seek to understand what may have led to the crimes. If we refuse to do the latter, we will be contributing to the likelihood that much worse lies ahead.