Brain Food – No. 548 – October 29, 2023
Timeless ideas and insights for life. (Read the archives).
Clear Thinking
“What we consider defining moments, like promotions or a new house, matter less to life satisfaction than the accumulation of tiny moments that didn’t seem to matter at the time. In the end, everyday moments matter more than big prizes. Tiny delights over big bright lights.”
— Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results
Insight
1.
“You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.”
— Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk
2.
“I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across so that the knowledge that might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has difficulty in laying his hands.”
— Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlett
3.
“Life is not just about peaks and valleys, about wins and losses. Life is about the journey. You hear that all the time. You’ve got to absorb that. You’ve got to know that. The journey has to become the destination because there is no true destination. There is no endpoint. There is no goal. All rivers run to the sea and yet the sea is not full. Life goes on; accept what life gives you. The sun rises the morning after you win the championship or lose in the first round.”
— Paul Assaiante, Run to the Roar
Tiny Thought(s)
1.
A sign of character is the ability to learn from people you might not like.
(Click here to share on Twitter)
2.
The older I get, the more I realize how valuable it is to let go of the anchors holding you back.
When someone makes a mistake, forgive them. When someone wrongs you, move on. When someone slights you, let it go. When someone tells you they didn’t mean it, believe them. When someone tries to pull you down, let them go.
Moving forward helps a lot and doesn’t cost a thing.
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Thanks for reading,
— Shane
P.S. My kids laughed at this huge herd of elk.
P.P.S. The Financial Times called Clear Thinking a must-read business book in October. If you’ve been thinking about grabbing a copy, now is a great time to do it. Currently, the hardcover at Amazon is at its lowest price ever in the US. Canada is 31% off. India is 31% off. And the U.K. 24% off. For other countries, click here.
P.P.P.S. I’m booking speaking for next year now.