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346: Finding Clarity While Navigating Change with Marc Lesser
“If it’s not a paradox, it’s not true.” So says today’s guest Marc Lesser, long-time mindfulness teacher and business leader. In his latest book, he considers what would happen if Homer Simpson, the Buddha, and Alice in Wonderland walked into a proverbial bar. How would each react to tricky situations? What would be the integrated way forward? We also talk about being asked to leave his previous company, Brush Dance, after fifteen years and how he navigated a new phase of his career as a result.
More About Marc: Marc Lesser is a speaker, facilitator, workshop leader, and executive coach. He is the author of five books, including the Zen of Business Administration, and his latest, Finding Clarity: How Compassionate Accountability Builds Vibrant Relationships, Thriving Workplaces, and Meaningful Lives. Marc’s podcast Zen Bones: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times features interviews, supportive tools for creating more meaningful work, and potent mindfulness practices to develop yourself, influence your organization, and change the world.
🌟 3 Key Takeaways
Humans have evolved to be anxious and dissatisfied (two distinct purposes of evolution to stay alive and to pass on our genes). During meditation practice, or throughout your day, ask yourself: What does it feel like, in my body, to be satisfied? To not need or want anything?
“There are even gaps in our efforts to close all these gaps between what we want and what is. Very little goes exactly as we might want it to, and if it ever does, that doesn’t last long.”
Wholeheartedness as the cure for exhaustion. As David Whyte says, “The antidote to exhaustion isn’t rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”
✅ Try This Next
The next time you feel anxious or stressed, try flipping your thoughts with these two prompts: “The story I’m telling myself is…” followed by “The story I want to live by…”
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Marc on the web, IG: @marclesser, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
Articles: Stop Giving Away Your Power, Cutting Through Frustration, Surprise Yourself, “The World is Its Own Magic” (a quote by Shunryu Suzuki in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind)
TEDxPresidio: Leadership, Attention, Focus
📚 Books Mentioned
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chaede-Meng Tan
🎧 Related Episodes
Marc’s podcast: Zen Bones: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times
Pivot: 327: 🐺The Wolf You Feed — On Addiction, Recovery & Codependency — and What We Get Wrong About All Three with Eric Zimmer
Free Time: 001: All-in on Heart-Based Business
❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :)
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter
💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey
☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts
📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/346
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
View all episodes
By Jenny Blake
4.8
189189 ratings
“If it’s not a paradox, it’s not true.” So says today’s guest Marc Lesser, long-time mindfulness teacher and business leader. In his latest book, he considers what would happen if Homer Simpson, the Buddha, and Alice in Wonderland walked into a proverbial bar. How would each react to tricky situations? What would be the integrated way forward? We also talk about being asked to leave his previous company, Brush Dance, after fifteen years and how he navigated a new phase of his career as a result.
More About Marc: Marc Lesser is a speaker, facilitator, workshop leader, and executive coach. He is the author of five books, including the Zen of Business Administration, and his latest, Finding Clarity: How Compassionate Accountability Builds Vibrant Relationships, Thriving Workplaces, and Meaningful Lives. Marc’s podcast Zen Bones: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times features interviews, supportive tools for creating more meaningful work, and potent mindfulness practices to develop yourself, influence your organization, and change the world.
🌟 3 Key Takeaways
Humans have evolved to be anxious and dissatisfied (two distinct purposes of evolution to stay alive and to pass on our genes). During meditation practice, or throughout your day, ask yourself: What does it feel like, in my body, to be satisfied? To not need or want anything?
“There are even gaps in our efforts to close all these gaps between what we want and what is. Very little goes exactly as we might want it to, and if it ever does, that doesn’t last long.”
Wholeheartedness as the cure for exhaustion. As David Whyte says, “The antidote to exhaustion isn’t rest. The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”
✅ Try This Next
The next time you feel anxious or stressed, try flipping your thoughts with these two prompts: “The story I’m telling myself is…” followed by “The story I want to live by…”
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Marc on the web, IG: @marclesser, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
Articles: Stop Giving Away Your Power, Cutting Through Frustration, Surprise Yourself, “The World is Its Own Magic” (a quote by Shunryu Suzuki in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind)
TEDxPresidio: Leadership, Attention, Focus
📚 Books Mentioned
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chaede-Meng Tan
🎧 Related Episodes
Marc’s podcast: Zen Bones: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times
Pivot: 327: 🐺The Wolf You Feed — On Addiction, Recovery & Codependency — and What We Get Wrong About All Three with Eric Zimmer
Free Time: 001: All-in on Heart-Based Business
❤️ Enjoying the show? I'd be grateful for a rating and/or review! Even better? Share this episode with a friend :)
💌 Get my curated weekly(ish) PivotList newsletter
💻 Check out Jenny’s Pivot courses on LinkedIn Learning: Figuring Out Your Next Move, Holding 1:1 Career Conversations With Your Team, Managing Introverts, Coaching New Hires, and Coaching New Managers
💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Pivot listener survey
☎️ Submit a question or comment for future episodes
🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to ‘casts
📝 Check out full show notes at http://pivotmethod.com/346
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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