Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl
Summary
A harrowing look into the realities of the holocaust and a psychiatrist’s battle to survive. Exceptional book that almost makes you cry as you read it. Highly recommend
Rating: 4/5
Notes
Frankl traces neuroses to the failure of the sufferer to find meaning and a sense of responsibility for his existence
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in suffering
Success is the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself
The salvation of a man is through love and in love
Art, humor and nature were key to survival, even if for brief moments
Fundamentally, any man can decide what shall become of him, mentally and spiritually
Nietzsche ‘he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how’
What matters is a specific meaning of a person’s life in that moment
Find meaning in life and always think about what you would think on your death bed
Live as if you were living for a second time and had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now
Notes from 2nd time reading:
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in suffering
No man can tell another what his purpose is. Each of us must find out for ourselves.
Don’t aim for success: the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you will miss. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued, it must ensue of one’s dedicated to a cause greater than one self
A man can get used to anything but do not ask how
The truth - love is the ultimate and highest goal which man can aspire
The salvation of man is through love and in love
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way
If there’s meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. Without suffering and death, the human life cannot be complete
It doesn't really matter what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us
Life means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and fulfill the tasks it constantly sets out for each individual
Live life as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now
Suffering ceases to be suffering the moment it finds meaning
Happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue
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Make Something Wonderful
Steve Jobs
Summary
The life of Steve Jobs in his own words
Rating: 5/5
Notes
Make something wonderful and put it out there
‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’
When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)
Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.
You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times
Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times
We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true
Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see
Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions
Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.
The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow
To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results
The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle
Hire people better than you are
You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life
It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you
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