🤔 Morning thoughts (May 13 - 19)
Every Sunday I share a quote and a reflection on it for each day of the week.
Themes of the week: Courage, commitment, awareness, purpose, attention, resourcefulness, time.
Sunday - May 19, 2024
"True courage knows fear. It knows how to fear that which should be feared. Honest people value life passionately, they hang on to it like a precious jewel. And they pick the right time and place to surrender it, to die with dignity."
Takuan Sōhō, Musashi
Appreciating life means being grateful and respectful of every moment without forgetting that nothing is owed to you. There’s no such thing as a fair life, only the life you care for and cultivate.
Saturday - May 18, 2024
"When we convene day upon day in the same space at the same time, a powerful energy builds up around us. This is the energy of our intention, of our dedication, of our commitment."
Steven Pressfield, Turning Pro
Your habits shape your commitment and your commitment shapes your habits. Character is not something you stumble upon, it’s something you deliberately build.
Friday - May 17, 2024
"Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment. And in the mere witnessing of these choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness."
Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
When you pay attention to the moments, that’s when you actually live them. Be the witness to your own life and live a life you’d die to witness.
Thursday - May 16, 2024
"What teachers and professors never told her was about the dark side of finding your purpose. The part where it consumes you. Where it becomes a destroyer of relationships and happiness. And still, she wouldn’t trade it. This is the only person she knows how to be."
Blake Crouch, Recursion
Your purpose should never override your ultimate goal - being at one with life and the people in it. What others call obsession is just another form of being present and it can take over if you let it. There can be such a thing as being too present. Manage it and never forget what truly matters.
Wednesday - May 15, 2024
"Attention energizes, and intention transforms. Whatever you put your attention on will grow stronger in your life. Whatever you take your attention away from will wither, disintegrate, and disappear. Intention, on the other hand, triggers transformation of energy and information. Intention organizes its own fulfillment."
Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
The hardest part of growing towards the person you want to become is being able to intentionally pay attention to all areas of life you need to grow in. Something’s gotta give. What will you sacrifice along the way?
Tuesday - May 14, 2024
However desperate the situation and circumstances, don’t despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them. When without resources, depend on resourcefulness. When surprised, take the enemy itself by surprise.
Sun-tzu, The Art of War (fourth century B.C.)
There’s only one place where you’ll always find whatever you need the most. Inside yourself.
Monday - May 13, 2024
The richest person in the world and the poorest both get twenty-four hours in a day. The same seconds tick by for everyone. There are no refunds for time spent poorly, and no bank can lend you time. So while it’s practical to measure your wealth and opportunities in money terms, the currency that really matters is time.
Scott Galloway, The algebra of wealth
Budget your time like you would any currency. Learn what your spending habits are, control them and make them intentional. Spend your time with the urgency and quality your best self would.
I'm very interested in the way you are expressing your own values, beliefs, and commitments over time through the lens of curation of statements by others. You do of course make your own comments, but the combination of the quotes with your notes is a very effective means of sharing your context. It's been a pleasure to read the quotes, and in the process, be getting to know you this way over time.