7 Jonathan Fields Quotes from How To Live A Good Life on Priorities, Productivity, and Contribution

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Excerpt: What does ‘living a good life’ mean to you? Read 7 of our favorite quotes from How To Live A Good Life by Jonathan Fields and live better.

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Introduction: Who Is Jonathan Fields?

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Jonathan Fields is a warm soul. He inspires possibility by producing rich and in-depth media that is shared all across the world. I first got to know Jonathan through his education venture, Good Life Project where he and his team lead a global community in the quest to live more meaningful, connected and vital lives.

They produce a top-rated podcast and video-series with millions of listens and views in more than 150 countries, where Jonathan regularly shares conversations with the world’s leading voices, like Sir Ken Robinson, Elizabeth Gilbert, Milton Glaser, Brene Brown, Gretchen Rubin and hundreds more.

Evolving from this venture came his wholesome, yet easy-to-digest book, How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science and Practical Wisdom. Fields describes this book as a wake-up call and a path to possibility, complete with 30-days of inspiring, actionable explorations — It’s not just a book to be read, it’s a gateway to a better life, to be lived.

What I like most about Fields is the genuine vibe I get when I listen to him and look into all of his ventures. As far as my intuition tells me, he’s not scheming, he’s not in it for the quick buck, and he isn’t trying to take any shortcuts. His warmth radiates from his purpose and you can feel his authenticity in trying to connect and better the lives of others in all that he does.

Below, you’ll find 7 of our favorite quotes from How To Live A Good Life.  Before you continue, I’d like to start you with the question that he typically ends all of his interviews with, “What does ‘living a good life’ mean to you?”  It’s not an easy question to answer, but with some quality reflection time and soul searching, you might come across an answer that could completely change your life. 

Because once you define what a, “good life” is to you, you can redefine how you spend your days, hours, and minutes to fulfill that vision and desire. Spend some time with that thought and then take a glance at some of the excerpts from his book below. We hope you enjoy :)

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The List:  7 Warm Jonathan Fields Quotes from How To Live A Good Life on Priorities, Productivity, and Contribution.

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“What if you don’t so much have a passion or purpose as much as you pursue something, or a bunch of things, with passion and a sense of purpose?  And what if the deeper you get into that exploration or pursuit and the more competent you become, the more interested you get in doing and learning and discovering on a fiercer, more engaged, dare I say a more ‘passionate’ or ‘purposeful’ way?”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“Remember, the thing you strive for isn’t perfection; it’s not the easy win or the avoidance of failure.  It’s the gift of growth, the opportunity for evolution.  Life in a box is not life well lived.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“Knowing what you want out of life, and who you want in it, means nothing if you can’t also say no to everything but those people and things.  Until you cultivate the ability to say no to the things that fill your life but not your soul, you’ll never have the space to bring into it the things you desperately want to say yes to.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“Simple truth:  fast and busy are a choice.  We choose to go fast and be busy because we think it’ll get us what we want.  All too often, it doesn’t.  Fast and busy makes life brittle.  It makes us feel like every inch of space in life is locked in and there’s no room to move.  Instead of unlocking productivity and potential, it throttles both.  It deludes us into feeling like we’re getting more done faster, but in reality, we could get the same done in the same or less time with more grace by dialing it back, not forward.  In the end, we’re left feeling dissatisfied and helpless to extract ourselves from the process.  Except we’re not.  It’s all an illusion.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“When we think about giving, we often think about grand gestures, setting aside hours or days to volunteer, mentor, or contribute to some person or group we want to see rise.  Or we think about specific charities, foundations, and organizations to donate to.  But giving even on the smallest level has power.  So often, we miss the momentary opportunities to contribute, the countless moments to be generous, to help, to be of service in the moment, for a moment.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“There is no magic to awesome outcomes.  Whether we’re looking to build a great career, a great relationship, great health, or a great life, it’s all about consistent action over time.  It’s about coming back after things blow up, over and over and over.  Because they will, and we’ll need a way to reclaim our daily routine.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

“We are all capable of contributing to the world in a way that makes a profound difference.  A rare few go big.  Make the big gesture.  Take the big risk.  Expose themselves on a grand scale.  Create and then ride the big wave.  But most of us, myself included, take a different yet equally valid path.  It’s the path of the ripple.  Simple actions, moments, and experiences.  Created, offered, and delivered with such a purity of intention and depth of integrity and clarity that they set in motion a ripple that, quietly, in its own way, in its own time, expands outward.  Interacting with, touching, mattering to people we’ve never met in ways we never conceived.”

Jonathan Fields, How To Live A Good Life

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If you enjoyed these quotes from How To Live A Good Life, then you should read Jonathan Fields’ book in full. It comes warmly recommended.

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