From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Built into her edict, is not to feel any guilt if you find happiness or joy after her death. That is an extraordinarily generous piece of advice.
Only one second in time you can find peace – now. There's only one second you can be happy – now. There's only one place you can find peace and happiness. Where you are. This is it, it's not out there somewhere, it's in you.
No one chooses their level of creativity. Understanding the neurological underpinnings of our reactions to art doesn't detract from the beauty and awe these creations inspire.
My dad always said you can't win until you don't care. That's how I approached it. My goal was to ski the best I could, as fast as I could, and I didn't care. I would rather crash than come to the finish line knowing I could have done better.
Connection is why we're here. It gives purpose and meaning to our lives. The ability to feel connected is neurobiologically wired into us.
The most common mistake is to stop challenging when things are going well. I recognise failure as not having made a business better than when you were first involved.
There has never been a time at which Enlightenment values predominated in any culture. They have always faced pushback from forces that are embedded in human nature – tribalism, deference to authority, magical thinking, vulnerability to cognitive illusions and biases.
I genuinely believe that you can train yourself to see trouble as opportunity and realise that the best time to make money is when other people are most fearful.
On a personal level, the best defense against materialism and greed is to give money away. You need to be charitable, engage in philanthropy.
I believe wisdom can be seen as a beacon, guiding us towards the noble, beautiful, and authentic aspects of life. It's the mark of a wise individual to have a clear understanding of their path, a path that not only promotes positivity but also steers others towards it. Moreover, wisdom bears an element of compression, of brevity - a distillation of knowledge, capturing the core, the very essence of understanding.
I've noticed that wealthy people don't build resilience often because they think they're protected by their money. To a certain extent, this is true. As the money goes however, there's no strength… there's no kernel behind the money that allows them to see through the problems of life. Your happiness comes from inside.
Magic is this incredibly weird bondage and discipline you make where you say to someone, 'do this thing to me that's morally wrong… you have my consent…' – once you give your consent, the morality changes.