“We all need a time and place for ourselves where the walls of our usual lives disappear. Sometimes taking yourself out of the hypnotic context of your everyday life is the only way to begin to be able to listen to the still voice within. When you do, listen carefully. Listen for the ways you whisper to yourself, ‘This is who I really am. This is what I need. This is what I want to do.’ When you hear new whisperings about these things, your gift of a year has rescued some lost piece of yourself and made it possible for you to put more of the you back in your life.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 110)
“We all need balance in our lives. That’s a given. Work and play, friends and family, romance and finance all must be given their due. So far, so good. The problem comes when we put too much on our plate and then insist that everything still has to balance out. It’s simple arithmetic. When you’re overcommitted and insist on balance, everything gets short shrift. When one thing needs special attention, you can’t pay attention to it if you’re insisting on balance.”
Mira Kirshenbaum, The Gift of a Year (Page 96)
Sadio Mané Quote on Luxury and How He Choses To Give Back From What He’s Been Given
“Why would I want ten Ferraris, 20 diamond watches and two jet planes? What would that do for the world? I starved, I worked in the fields, I played barefoot, and I didn’t go to school. Now I can help people. I prefer to build schools and give poor people food or clothing. I have built schools [and] a stadium; we provide clothes, shoes, and food for people in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people from a very poor Senegalese region in order to contribute to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars, luxury homes, trips, and even planes. I prefer that my people receive a little of what life has given me.”
Sadio Mané
Beyond the Quote (273/365)
What an incredibly refreshing perspective coming from one of the worlds premier soccer players whose net worth is upwards of $15 million. Mané is someone who made it out from intense poverty-stricken conditions and could easily choose to live a life of luxury and riches that I’m sure he dreamed of when he was starving, working the fields, or playing barefoot as a young boy. But, he hasn’t forgotten his roots and he chooses instead to live his life giving back “a little of what life has given him.” But, “a little” doesn’t feel, to me, to be the right choice of words.
Read More »Sadio Mané Quote on Luxury and How He Choses To Give Back From What He’s Been GivenNaval Ravikant Quote on Desire and How It Works Against Your Pursuit of Happiness
“Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.”
Naval Ravikant, Medium
Beyond the Quote (272/365)
How many contracts of unhappiness have you signed? And how lengthy are the terms for each? Is the contract of your desire going to take you a week to obtain? A month? 12 months? 48 months? 72 months? Or is the contract you signed more like a 30 year mortgage? Are you really okay with being unhappy for that amount of time? …For any amount of time? And for what? A fancy car? A luxury watch? A playboy mansion? How much of your life are you willing to sacrifice for these things?
Read More »Naval Ravikant Quote on Desire and How It Works Against Your Pursuit of HappinessAlicia Keys Quote from Authors of Forever on Making Meaning—Not Finding It.
“We are born on our own /
And we die on our own /
And we’re here to make meaning /
Of what happens in between /
We could hate, we could love /
We could doubt, we could trust /
But we’re here to make meaning /
For as long as we’re breathing and it’s alright /
Wherever you are, it’s alright /
Whoever you are, it’s alright”
Alicia Keys, Authors of Forever, ALICIA
Beyond the Quote (271/365)
Word choice matters. And with the opening concept of meaning in this above quote, I think Alicia nails it: We’re here to make meaning. We’re not here to find meaning. And I don’t think we’re here to mean nothing. Why be given life if we’re not meant to live? Why be given brains if we’re not meant to think? Why be given eyes if we’re not meant to see? Why be given hands if we’re not meant to touch? Why be given feet if we’re not meant to move? We’re certainly not born just to die—what’s the point in believing that? We’re born on our own, yes, but we’re not alone and we’re not born without what we need to make meaning—of that I’m sure.
Read More »Alicia Keys Quote from Authors of Forever on Making Meaning—Not Finding It.Are You Healed Or Just Distracted?
Excerpt: Are you healed or just distracted? An important question to ask that might surface some un-dealt-with pain, but necessary pain for growth.
Read More »Are You Healed Or Just Distracted?
“Each second we live in a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and will never be again. And what do we teach our children in school? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all of the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you… You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is like you, a marvel? You must cherish one another. You must work—we must all work—to make this world worthy of its children.”
Pablo Casals, Joys and Sorrows
“Success is largely the failures you avoid. Health is the injuries you don’t sustain. Wealth is the purchases you don’t make. Happiness is the objects you don’t desire. Peace of mind is the arguments you don’t engage. Avoid the bad to protect the good.”
James Clear, Blog
Ryan Holiday Quote on Questions and How The Best Questions Lead To The Best Answers
“Tim Ferriss always seems to ask the best questions: What would this look like if it were easy? How will you know if you don’t experiment? What would less be like? The one that hit me the hardest, when I was maybe 25, was, ‘What do you do with your money?’ My answer at the time was ‘Nothing, really.’ Okay, so why try so hard to earn lots more of it?”
Ryan Holiday, Medium
Beyond the Quote (269/365)
The first and last questions listed above were the ones that hit me the hardest: “What would this look like if it were easy?” and “What do you do with your money?” The thing about asking better questions is that they lead to better answers. When you can become the person who asks “the best questions” then you’ll inevitably start getting the best answers—answers that never occur to most people because their minds aren’t even looking in the right places. And the people with the best answers are the ones who almost always get the best results.
Read More »Ryan Holiday Quote on Questions and How The Best Questions Lead To The Best Answers101 Acts of Kindness To Help Recalibrate The World
Excerpt: Instead of doing arbitrary random acts of kindness, do deliberate deeds of recalibration when wronged to help “recalibrate” the world.
Read More »101 Acts of Kindness To Help Recalibrate The World
Rumi Quote on Living in the Heart and How The Words That Follow “I Am” Follow You.
“As you live deeper in the heart, the mirror gets clearer and clearer.”
Rumi
Beyond the Quote (267/365)
Once it happened where a presenter was having technical difficulties with his presentation. The projector wasn’t connecting to the computer properly and the slideshow that he prepared wouldn’t show. As the time was ticking off the clock for his allotted slot, he decided to spontaneously fill the time with an exercise. He asked everybody to turn to the person next to them and ask them to finish the following statement: “I am…”
Read More »Rumi Quote on Living in the Heart and How The Words That Follow “I Am” Follow You.Ryan Holiday Quote on Rules and How They Are The Best and Most Polite Excuse To Living Your Best Life
“Steve Kamb, the founder of Nerd Fitness, told me that the best and most polite excuse is just to say you have a rule. ‘I have a rule that I don’t decide on the phone.’ ‘I have a rule that I don’t accept gifts.’ ‘I have a rule that I don’t speak for free anymore.’ ‘I have a rule that I am home for bath time with the kids every night.’ People respect rules, and they accept that it’s not you rejecting the offer, request, demand, or opportunity, but the rule allows you no choice.”
Ryan Holiday, Medium
Beyond the Quote (266/365)
I have a rule that I don’t eat meat or dairy. I have a rule that I don’t drink alcohol. I have a rule that I don’t do drugs. I have a rule that I only borrow on credit cards what I can pay back at the end of each month. I have a rule that every day I do something for personal growth and something selfless for others. These rules define how I live my life and are undoubtedly some of the best and most polite tools I have to continue living my life this way.
Read More »Ryan Holiday Quote on Rules and How They Are The Best and Most Polite Excuse To Living Your Best LifeKeshavan Nair Quote on Being Lazy and How Productivity is a War, Not a Battle
“When I say I lack the time to exercise, is this really true given that I have time to watch television? Perhaps it is just difficult for me to admit that I may be lazy.”
Keshavan Nair, A Higher Standard of Leadership
Beyond the Quote (265/365)
I am lazy. I am definitely not born with a “do more than I have to” nature. I desire the “comfortable” option. All of the time. I don’t want to wake up early. I don’t want to write every day. I don’t want to exercise. And I definitely don’t want to only ever eat healthy food. The easy way out is always at the forefront of my mind. The mind-numbing activities are always calling my name. And the option to do less is always looking mighty nice. Yet, day-in and day-out, I choose otherwise.
Read More »Keshavan Nair Quote on Being Lazy and How Productivity is a War, Not a BattleKerry Washington Quote on Heroes and How Hero Worship Should Come To An End
In response to the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “It feels like we’re losing so many of our heroes this year, you know, John Lewis and Chadwick Boseman, and it just is like how is this possible? And I really do think there’s something about the idea that we’re being invited to realize that our heroes are human, which means that we all have the capacity to be the heroes of our communities and our lives and our story. The time for hero worship is maybe coming to an end and it’s time for us to all stand up and serve. These singular people can’t shoulder all the weight.”
Kerry Washington, Ellen
Beyond the Quote (264/365)
Our heroes are human. They always have been. They have the same amount of time in their days as we do. They have the same basic needs for survival, too. And they certainly live lives filled with problems and challenges just like each of us. So, what’s the difference between the average human and our “heroes?” I like to think that the scale of their impact and influence is in proportion to how they choose to be selfish and in how they choose to be selfless.
Read More »Kerry Washington Quote on Heroes and How Hero Worship Should Come To An EndWhy I DON’T Do “Pinky Promises”
“We started our relationship based on pinky promises, where we linked our pinkies and kissed our hands to demonstrate that we cannot lie and break that bond. Because like little kids a pinky promise means a lot more.”
Unknown
Beyond the Quote (263/365)
I saw a meme that asked, “Do you trust pinky promises?” with the response, “You are wack if you don’t take these seriously.”
Unpopular opinion: You are wack if you need a promise to be “pinkyed” to be taken seriously.
Read More »Why I DON’T Do “Pinky Promises”Mark Ruffalo Emmy Award Acceptance Speech on Using Privilege To Fight For Those Less Fortunate
“[Our story] asks a big question, how are we going to deal and honor and take care of each other and our most vulnerable people? And we do that with love, and we do that with compassion, and we do that by fighting for them. And that’s what we have to do today. We have to come together with love, for each other. And if you have privilege, you have to fight for those who are less fortunate, and more vulnerable. And that is what is great about America, our diversity. One thing I’ve learned from my wife and children, is that we’re stronger together when we love each other and we respect each other’s diversity. And so we have a big, important moment ahead of us. Are we going to be a country of division and hatred? A country only for certain kind of people? Or are we going to be one of love, and strength, and fighting for those—all of us—so all of us can have the American dream and the pursuit of life, and liberty, and love, and happiness, in this great country of ours? That’s what we’re facing right now. So get out and vote, make a plan, and vote for love and compassion and kindness. I love you all. Thank you so much.”
Mark Ruffalo, Emmy Award Acceptance Speech
Beyond the Quote (262/365)
Our first priority is to ensure that we are able to care properly for ourselves. Next, is to ensure that we are able to properly care for our family and loved ones. What’s next is where we are all given a destiny altering choice that can—quite literally—reshape the structure of our world. We can choose to either move from “properly cared for” to “overly cared for” or we can choose to continue broadening our circle of care outwards. In other words, with privilege, we can choose luxury or greater impact. The path you choose, and the degree to which you choose to follow that path, can alter the very essence and purpose of your life.
Read More »Mark Ruffalo Emmy Award Acceptance Speech on Using Privilege To Fight For Those Less Fortunate