Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki
Summary
Book of teachings from Shunryu Suzuki, the man who popularized Zen Buddism in the US and West
Rating: 4/5
Notes
The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt and open to all possibilities
If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything - it is open to everything
The real secret of the arts - always be a beginner
We do not exist for the sake of something else. We exist for the sake of ourselves
Without experiencing and concentrating on breathing, it is impossible to attain absolute freedom
The best policy to control people is to let them do what they want and watch them
The true purpose of zen is to see things as they are, observe things as they are and to let everything go as it goes
When practicing zaizen, do not try to stop your thinking. Let it stop itself and if something comes into your mind, let it come in and let it go out. It won’t stay long
Doing something without any particular achievement is enough
Moment after moment we are creating something and this is the joy of our life
Don’t hold onto anything you have done, merely reflect on it
The secret of practice is it cannot be perfect but without being discouraged, we must continue it
When you are you, that is true zazen
When you call back to yourself in the present moment, then there’s no problem
Instead of gathering knowledge, you should clear your mind. If your mind is clear, true knowledge is already yours
True communication depends on us being straightforward with one another
Everything comes out of emptiness - when we reach this understanding, we find the true meaning of our life
To find pleasure in the suffering is the only way to accept the truth of transiency
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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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