The Inner Game of Tennis
Timothy Gallwey
Summary
A great relatively short read about focusing on what’s in front of you. A favourite among sports psychologists for elite athletes.
Rating: 4/5
Notes
Do not let the ego mind taint your thinking
Focus on one specific thing at a time and not the result
First inner skill to develop is non judgemental awareness
Let go of self-judgement
Trust yourself and feel what it’s like to make a change, don’t overthink it
The value of a human being is not measurable by wins/losses
Winning is overcoming obstacles to reach a goal, but the value in winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached
One cannot control winning or losing, but the effort that goes into winning
Focus your attention on the present moment, the only one you can really live in
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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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Free E-book download here