Gratitude, Desire, and a Money Paradox

Personally, I have gone in the other direction instead by compiling a “reverse bucket list” to make the ideas in this chapter practical and workable in my life. Each year on my birthday, I list my worldly wants and attachments—the stuff that fits under Thomas’s categories of money, power, pleasure, and honor. I try to be completely honest. I don’t

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“For a few weeks, I started each morning by writing “What do I actually want?” at the top of a blank page.

It’s surprising how useful it is to keep asking the same question. Each time, my answer became more precise.

Once I knew what I wanted, I turned it into action steps.”

One of my favorite pieces of modern wisdom ever uttered comes from Jim Carrey:

“I’ve often said that I wish people could realize all their dreams and wealth and fame so that they could see that it’s not where you’re going to find your sense of completion ... No matter what you gain, ego will not let you rest. He will tell you that you cannot stop u

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