“I’ve made a lot of decisions from my head. I’ve chosen to go in this direction or that one based on finances. Or because something seems like a great opportunity. Or because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings or disappoint them. Or because someone is pushing me toward an agenda that serves them. But when I’ve listened to my heart—when I’ve trusted what my spirit is telling me—that yes has always steered me right.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 185)
“I looked for someone outside of myself to dream up and create what only I could. I eventually realized that no one else can see your big picture. Only you know the journey you’re on. Others can contribute, and you should definitely surround yourself with smart people who lift you higher and share in your vision. But the truth is, even with wise counsel, only you know what your next step should be. All my best decisions in life have come when I’ve tuned in to what felt like the best move for me.”
Oprah Winfrey, via More Myself (Page 193)
“For if we open our eyes and see clearly, it becomes obvious that there is no other time than this instant, and that the past and the future are abstractions without any concrete reality. Until this has become clear, it seems that our life is all past and future, and that the present is nothing more than the infinitesimal hairline which divides them. From this comes the sensation of ‘having no time,’ of a world which hurries by so rapidly that it is gone before we can enjoy it. But through ‘awakening to the instant’ one sees that this is the reverse of the truth: it is rather the past and future which are the fleeting illusions, and the present which is eternally real.”
Alan Watts, The Way of Zen, via Sunbeams (Page 12)
Tony Robbins Quote on Complexity and How It’s The Enemy of Execution
“Complexity is enemy of execution.”
Tony Robbins
Beyond the Quote (Day 380)
I have two bamboo plants. One in my living room and one in my kitchen. The one in my living room is dying. The one in my kitchen is thriving. Same bamboo. Same house. Same caregiver. Same fondness for both. The only difference is their location.
Read More »Tony Robbins Quote on Complexity and How It’s The Enemy of Execution“When you’re doing what you love to do, you don’t get exhausted. You get exhausted from trying to fulfill everyone else’s ideas and ideals about who you should be. When you do that, you’re not being true to yourself.”
Oprah Winfrey, via More Myself (Page 185)
“It’s hard not to begin doubting ourself just a little when, with the stroke of an airbrush, someone slims down your thighs or shaves off half your booty. And if I’m doubting myself, imagine what that does for the young people forced to digest these images of so-called beauty.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 174)
“For me, motherhood came with a litmus test: Is what I’m doing important enough for me to spend time away from my baby? If the answer was no, the task went the way of the Walkman cassette recorder—phased out. I was intent on doing what was best for my child, which, by default, was best for me.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 158)
“It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal. Siddhartha does nothing; he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he goes through the affairs of the world like the stone through the water, without doing anything, without bestirring himself; he is drawn and lets himself fall.”
Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha, via Sunbeams (Page 11)
Ram Dass Quote on Moving Forward and How Your Next Message Is Always Right Where You Are
“The next message you need is always right where you are.”
Ram Dass, Sunbeams (Page 7)
Beyond the Quote (Day 379)
Did you read that right? The next message you need—not the next message you want. Most of us are pretty good at ignoring the messages we don’t want to hear. So much so that many of us, I suspect, become blind and deaf to their presence entirely. The problem, of course, is that those messages tends to be the very messages that we most need to hear. And how do we hear something that we’ve become deaf to? How can we see again the messages that we’ve become blind to? It’s actually quite simple really.
Read More »Ram Dass Quote on Moving Forward and How Your Next Message Is Always Right Where You Are“We vowed that full freedom would forever live at the center of our union. That we’d never seek to own each other, but rather to love and liberate, like birds always free to fly. In place of a mandate to be together, there stood a choice, one we’d continue making every single day on our journey.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 154)
“I can show weakness. I can be real. And when I reveal my true heart, not everyone is going to approve. What I know now is that I don’t need them to.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 144)
“When life forces you to face yourself, what awaits in the mirror is a gift: vulnerability. Your heart is pierced. You’re broken open. You’re hyperaware of what you’re feeling.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 144)
“Believing ourselves to be possessors of absolute truth degrades us: we regard every person whose way of thinking is different from ours as a monster and a threat and by so doing turn our own selves into monsters and threats to our fellows.”
Octavio Paz, Sunbeams (Page 9)
Meaning of the Quote: “Where There’s Hardship, There’s Ease”
“Where there’s hardship, there’s ease.”
Quran
Beyond the Quote (Day 378)
At first glance, this statement seems like a contradiction. Where there’s hardship—tension, angst, and unease, seem to be the more appropriate pairings, wouldn’t you think? And while, yes, those tend to be the default feelings in response to hardship, they certainly aren’t the mandatory responses. In fact, there are no mandatory responses to any situation in life. It’s one of the few things that is actually 100% within our control—how we choose to respond to given situations. This becomes increasingly evident when you see someone masterfully navigate hard situations with ease and grace.
Read More »Meaning of the Quote: “Where There’s Hardship, There’s Ease”“Bliss is a beautiful destination, but you can often only reach its shores after a turning point. It’s as if the universe is testing you to be sure you are strong enough to make it through the murky waters, not just the serene ones, so that you can move to a new and unknown place in yourself.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 140)
“A soul mate connection isn’t just an awareness. It’s a deep sense of knowing, a wave of intuition that permeates your every pore. All the cells in your body rise up on their tiptoes. You don’t see this feeling coming. You can’t prepare for it. You might even try to push it away, as I did. And yet it always surges back, each time with greater force, sweeping you up in its mighty current, thrusting you toward a beautiful shore unknown.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 135)
“We don’t draw loved ones into our lives coincidentally. They’re there to shine a light on our unfinished emotional business, to reveal to us our deepest tendencies. And as my life is proving to me even now, those patterns appear time and time again, often cleverly disguised. And they’ll keep right on showing up until we’re willing to truly look at them.”
Alicia Keys, More Myself (Page 126)
“You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.”
Annie Dillard, Sunbeams (Page 9)
“Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought.”
Matsuo Basho, Sunbeams (Page 9)
“A wise person knows what’s inside their circle of control and what is outside of it. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to remember what is inside our control. According to the Stoics, the circle of control contains just one thing: YOUR MIND. That’s right, even your physical body isn’t completely within the circle. After all, you could be struck with a physical illness or impairment at any moment. You could be traveling in a foreign country and be thrown in jail. But this is all good news because it drastically reduces the amount of things that you need to think about. There is clarity in simplicity.”
Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 21)