From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Inside each of us are monsters and angels- there are no divisions between good and bad people- and I've seen how those times of insecurity can make us do terrible things to each other.
In comparing alternative explanations, it is not necessarily the one with the most evidence apparently in its favour that we should choose but the one with least evidence against it. One solid piece of evidence can demolish a hypothesis.
My biggest fear isn't the fight itself. I don't get nervous about the physical aspect of fighting. My nervousness stems from the fear of losing, not living up to my own expectations of victory in front of an audience.
Everything you do in life that's worthwhile entails some risk, that's the nature of exploration and the nature of adventure.
People who learn fast and who have some level of 'natural' talent may go home from practice early because they don't have to work as hard as others to get to their target level of achievement, but when you study super-achievers, you find that instead of going home early, they work late, and really pull-away from the crowd.
My wife quipped that we're all going to die and it just happened to be her turn. Her pragmatic and humorous attitude was a guide as to how to accept what is unchangeable and inevitable.
Connection is not a nice to have. When we lose the right kinds of connections with others, we start to feel we don't exist.
If our senses are really how we understand the world, and there are differences in those sensory windows, then our internal world will be different. Perhaps these differences explain the diversity of beliefs.
You are the king (or queen) of your castle. When you step off land into the ocean, you're at the mercy of the most powerful energy source there is – you can paddle out into the water with a picture in your mind of what the surf might be like and what waves might come, and things can change… the wind… the tide… the swell…
My approach is always to redirect their focus from this nebulous concept of confidence to the concrete tasks at hand. These are tasks they have successfully completed numerous times. Whether they feel confident or not is irrelevant; the real key is maintaining focus in the moment.
Music allows us to express our soul and feelings in a way that's very difficult to replicate with words. I've spent more of my life playing music than I have speaking, and I find it a much more effective way of communicating my feelings and thoughts than words have ever been.
Fear isn't just a neurophysiological phenomenon; it's also socio-cultural. We're enculturated to fear; it's something that we inherit, acquire, and learn – which implies that there is possibility of 'unlearning' our fear.