From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
My argument is that happiness shouldn't be pursued deliberately. Happiness is more of a by-product, a downstream effect of making sound decisions, and adopting the right mindset. I cite a quote from Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, in his book, 'Man's Search for Meaning'. He posits that success shouldn't be sought deliberately but rather, it's something that materialises when one is engaged in meaningful endeavours. This logic applies perfectly to happiness as well.
We take ethics very seriously – and it's important to never fool the user. It must be clear that you are dealing with a digital person, not a real person, and at the same time you cannot create any dependency.
I'm not about legacy, I sweat the small stuff and don't think too much about the big picture. I don't have big lofty goals, I just have goals I can execute, and sometimes experiments I run.
These three facets of attention—focus, panoptic, and hyper-reflection, are inherent human abilities, each vital in its own right. Their harmonious cultivation is instrumental in leading a fulfilling and meaningful life. They are not merely skills, but essential components that enrich our understanding and interaction with the world.
Humans encounter difficulties and cover our innate purity, eventually forgetting our essential nature. We begin to believe that our personalities, our particular abilities or habits, are who we truly are, losing sight of the truth that lies beneath the surface.
Truth is an aspiration which none of us can ever know that we have attained. Nobody has a pipeline to the truth; nobody is imbued with divine revelation. We seek truth through institutions like science, journalism, governance, justice systems and record keeping. These are the bodies that make us collectively more suited to attain the truth.
My hands have been known mostly for the leather gloves that I've used as an instrument to punish opposing fighters. Outside the ring, though, I want my legacy to be the man with bare hands that offered kindness and hope to those in need.
The smartest being on planet Earth is life itself. Life creates with abundance, not with scarcity. Life does not want to kill the tigers for the deer to survive. Life basically says more deer, more tigers, more everything.
This realization that everywhere you look is home and everywhere you look there is something new and beautiful and wonderful to discover. It is a real lesson in Earthling and Earth appreciation.
Freedom of expression, the right to explore, the right to have the adventure of intellectual discovery is a deep personal right precisely because it is a deep personal pleasure.
I don't really think about legacy, I'm more interested in my next thing, my next project… my writing is driven by a love of music, and an affection for being around music, and for telling stories… I don't have a grand plan; this is my life.
In real life, emotions rarely arrive in neat, isolated packages. They're layered, overlapping, constantly shifting. Pure happiness, for instance, is rare; most of the time it's tinged with something else. And music, more than words, captures that mixture.