I often interrupt negative thoughts by thinking, “stop thinking that thought.”
The problem is that I just created another thought. And these two thoughts together create self-conflict.
Allowing all thoughts to be just as they are is the only way to cultivate our own peace, our own light.
Two people can experience the same thing and feel completely different about it. Two people can work the same job and take very different lessons away. It’s not so much what we do but about how we pay attention.
Integrity is what happens when no one is watching you.
Self-esteem is self-respect. Self-respect is having integrity. Having integrity is not fooling yourself. Not fooling yourself is difficult. The difficult part is you are the easiest person to fool.
People become infinitely fascinating when you get out of your head and into theirs.
When there’s a work meeting scheduled for 1pm, we show up on time and ready, even if we don’t feel like it.
But when we tell ourselves that we’ll go to bed at 10pm or work out at 8am, or eat at 6pm, we often do not show up on time. We let circumstances, excuses, and energy levels guide our decisions, which we never apply to work meetings.
What if we treated our own schedules like we treat the schedules of others? what if we showed up for ourselves?
What if impressionist painters just had poor eyesight?
The difference between the two is that wisdom must be lived out, while advice does not have to be.
Wisdom is the lived experience of following, not following, and learning from the mistakes of not following one’s own advice.
Advice can be given by anyone, regardless of their personal experience.
Be wary of those who don’t follow the advice they dispose. Trust the wise instead.
When a question is posed to the group: always immediately raise your hand and answer. After a question is asked there’s a moment of hesitation that silences the room for a split second. What follows is an avalanche of hands and volunteers. Don’t let that hesitation sink in. Raise your hand even if you’re not sure what you are going to say.
Does anyone have a question for the speaker?
Would anyone like to volunteer to be in the magic trick?
I just found this $100 bill. Does anyone want it?
Don’t hesitate. And don’t be afraid that you won’t know what to say. You’ll figure something out.
The inner scorecard is the only scorecard that matters.
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