From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Be a curious explorer of other people's emotions. Don't approach people as if you know how they're feeling. We often make mistakes when reading other people's emotions because we bring in our own cultural values and belief systems.
Your attention hasn't collapsed, it's been stolen from you by big forces. Once we understand those forces, we can begin to build meaningful solutions.
You are surrounded by an endless series of expanded layers of social networks. Your inner core is 5, which extends to 50-150, 500 and eventually out to around 1500. As you go out through the networks, the number of people included increases, the average quality of these relationships declines.
Fear is healthy, fear is natural, and if anyone's ever told you they've been to combat and were never afraid... they're either lying or a sociopath. Fear is a very good reaction; it makes you think more clearly.
I believe happiness is a consequence, not a goal. If you engage in the right activities that bring contentment, happiness will naturally follow. Viewing happiness as a goal makes it elusive; it's like chasing an illusory concept. Once you grasp it, it tends to dissipate—such is the nature of emotions.
highly motivated teams, who are motivated by the 'end' (the cause) rather than the 'method' (the task)
When discussing consciousness with my three sons, I describe it as an emergent phenomenon. Imagine 80,000 people in a stadium, each one representing a neuron. The collective roar you hear when you approach the stadium might be likened to consciousness.
A great entrepreneur always acts with full intention and without limitation, always striving for the best in everything they do. From an early age I knew I had to rely on myself, look after myself, to not be afraid of anything. It gave me huge confidence and unshakable belief.
Surveys show that, surprisingly, more people fear Alzheimer's disease more than they do cancer. This is due to the fact that Alzheimer's isn't a quick affliction; it extends over a period of 8-20 years, during which individuals slowly lose themselves. This disease methodically dismantles your neural network, a network that represents a tapestry of experiences and connections you've built throughout your life.
Technology claims to be showing us a mirror of what was already present in society- racism, conspiracy theories- but in reality, technology is a funhouse mirror with a feedback loop that's engineered to show us the most egregious parts of society… those parts that are better at keeping our attention. The mirror gets more and more warped, but we mistake it for an honest and neutral view of who we are.
The brain's adaptability is astounding. The brain is continuously rewiring; it's different now than it was just 30 seconds ago. That is fascinating and offers great promise.
If you want other people to open their minds, you have to open yours too.