People say ‘be yourself’ because they want you to resist the impulse to conform to what others want you to be. But you can’t be yourself if you don’t learn who are, and you can’t learn who you are unless you think about it.

We need to stop fearing boredom and be comfortable with what is going on around us, whether it’s exciting or not. This is an argument made eloquently by my colleague Ellen Langer, who defines mindfulness as the practice of actively noticing new things. You can do that only when you are not distracting yourself.

Where we invest our time also has a Return on Energy (ROE).

Joy is a form of rebellion in a system that profits from fear

Out of all the “regulars” I’ve interacted with in all the places I’ve worked, the strongest bonds have always been with the people that made me feel safe to be myself no matter what emotional state I was in.

Prove you can do hard things When a teenager asks why they need to learn calculus, what should you say? You know they will never use it in adulthood, outside of certain career choices. You could say, “It’ll help you get into college,” but then they’re left wondering why… Show more

do you ever find it weird that as a culture we decided that “progress” just means advancement in technology and numbers on a spreadsheet, and that things like moral advancement, human joy, positive relationships, fulfillment, psychological development, and purpose don’t count?

Steve Jobs calling to build Apple "slowly and carefully" Powerful to see that led to a 3 trillion dollar company

instinctual adventurer