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Category: Arts > Literature > FlashBooks Podcast | In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan – Audio Book Summary
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BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller, Jay Papasan
Success is sequential, not simultaneous
Focus is a matter of deciding what things you're NOT going to do.
If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.
Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results.
The trick to success is to choose the right habit and bring just enough discipline to establish it.
To achieve an extraordinary result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands. This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work issues,
The ONE Thing advocates a simple path to success: determine your ONE most important priority in every major category of your life — and then simply work backwards from there; chunking down your ONE thing into smaller single things that you can do this year, this month, this week, this day, and in this very moment.
Tweetable summary:
Think BIG, but focus on ONE SPECIFIC thing at a time
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Category: Arts > Literature
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Category: Arts > Literature > FlashBooks Podcast
In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1996)
The real story of creativity is more difficult and strange than many overly optimistic accounts have claimed. For one thing, as I will try to show, an idea or product that deserves the label creative' arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a single person And a genuinely creative accomplishment is almost never the result of a sudden insight, a light-bulb flashing on in the dark, but comes after years of hard work.
Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives for several reasons First, most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity. We share 98 percent of our genetic makeup with chimpanzees Without creativity, it would be difficult indeed to distinguish humans from apes.
Real creativity can only emerge once we have mastered the medium or domain in which we work.
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. The author's objective is to offer an understanding of what leads to these moments, be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab, so that knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists to politicians and business leaders, poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he clearly explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world…
Whether this transformation will help the human race or cause its downfall is not yet clear. It would help if we realized the awesome responsibility of this new role. The gods of the ancients, like Shiva, like Yehova, were both builders and destroyers. The universe endured in a precarious balance between their mercy and their wrath. The world we inhabit today also teeters between becoming either the lovely garden or the barren desert that our contrary impulses strive to bring about. The desert is likely to prevail if we ignore the potential for destruction our stewardship implies and go on abusing blindly our new-won powers. While we cannot foresee the eventual results of creativity of the attempt to impose our desires on reality, to become the main power that decides the destiny of every form of life on the planet at least we can try to understand better what this force is and how it works. Because for better or for worse, our future is now closely tied to human creativity. The result will be determined in large part by our dreams and by the struggle to make them real. This book, which attempts to bring together thirty years of research on how creative people live and work, is an effort to make more understandable the mysterious process by which men and women come up with new ideas and new things. My work in this area has convinced me that creativity cannot be understood by looking only at the people who appear to make it happen. Just as the sound of a tree crashing in the forest is unheard if nobody is there to hear it, so creative ideas vanish unless there is a receptive audience to record and implement them. And without the assessment of competent outsiders, there is no reliable way to decide whether the claims of a self-styled creative person are valid.
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Category: Arts > Literature
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In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life by Dr. David Perlmutter
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Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life by Dr. David Perlmutter
The bestselling author of Grain Brain uncovers the powerful role of gut bacteria in determining your brain's destiny. Brain Maker details the complex microbiome that lives in the human gut and how it affects the brain. Rising rates of Alzheimer's disease, mood disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), multiple sclerosis, autism, and other conditions are linked to imbalances in the thousands of microorganisms that colonize the gut, primarily bacteria. Disruptions to this microbiome can begin at birth for children born via cesarean section because these babies do not acquire their mother's microbiome traits from the birth canal. Instead, they pick up less beneficial bacteria from exposure to skin. Then there is the ultra-clean, antibiotic-laden, high stress lifestyle and low-fiber diet of the United States and other wealthy nations. Finally, exposure to environmental toxins also leads to disruptions to the microbiome.
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Category: Arts > Literature > FlashBooks Podcast
In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
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You don't need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself. That's the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone. A manifesto for the digital age, Steal Like an Artist is a guide whose positive message, graphic look and illustrations, exercises, and examples will put readers directly in touch with their artistic side.
When Mr. Kleon was asked to address college students in upstate New York, he shaped his speech around the ten things he wished someone had told him when he was starting out. The talk went viral, and its author dug deeper into his own ideas to create Steal Like an Artist, the book. The result is inspiring, hip, original, practical, and entertaining. And filled with new truths about creativity: Nothing is original, so embrace influence, collect ideas, and remix and re-imagine to discover your own path. Follow your interests wherever they take you. Stay smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring the creative you will need to make room to be wild and daring in your imagination.
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Category: Arts > Literature
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In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
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BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Blink is author Malcolm Gladwell's follow-up to the book that put him on the map The Tipping Point which was about how small ideas morphed into big trends. With his follow-up title, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking , Gladwell takes a more psychological approach towards his writing, with a focus on Rapid Cognition aka: quick thinking; or thinking without thinking. A large part of the book is based on research about the adaptive unconscious a part of the brain that helps us make good decisions without realizing that we're even making them. Blink is about the decisions that seem to be made on a whim, but in actuality, are nowhere near as simple as they seem. Why are some people so great at making decisions, while others are paralyzingly indecisive? Why do some folks possess a consistently reliable instinct or intuition, while others almost always seem to be off the mark? What *really* makes us tick at work, at home, and in our relationships? And why is it that sometimes, the best decisions we make both in life and in business are almost impossible to explain to others? In Blink, Gladwell dives into all of the above masterfully combining science and story to get us thinking about our lives from a new and different perspective.
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In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on “Lateral Thinking” by Edward de Bono
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The first practical explanation of how creativity works, this results-oriented bestseller trains listeners to move beyond a “vertical” mode of thought to tap the potential of lateral thinking.
SIMILAR BOOKS:
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In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
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A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere, The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. hat keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid the roadblocks of any creative endeavor be it starting up a dream business venture, writing a novel, or painting a masterpiece? Bestselling novelist Steven Pressfield identif ies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. The War of Art emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome the obstacles of ambition and then effectively shows how to reach the highest level of creative discipline. Think of it as tough love . . . for yourself. Whether an artist, writer or business person, this simple, personal, and no-nonsense book will inspire you to seize the potential of your life.
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In today’s episode of the FlashBooks Podcast, we’ll be getting into an audio book summary on Zero To One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
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Zero To One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Focus:
You should read this book summary if:
Crucial quote:
“Every culture has a myth of decline from some golden age, and almost all peoples throughout history have been pessimists. Even today pessimism still dominates huge parts of the world. An indefinite pessimist looks out onto a bleak future, but he has no idea what to do about it. This describes Europe since the early 1970s, when the continent succumbed to undirected bureaucratic drift. Today the whole Eurozone is in slow-motion crisis, and nobody is in charge. The European Central Bank doesn't stand for anything but improvisation: the U.S. Treasury prints In God We Trust on the dollar; the ECB might as well print Kick the Can Down the Road on the euro. Europeans just react to events as they happen and hope things don't get worse.”
This book is essentially a collection of lectures delivered by Peter Thiel during his teaching years at Stanford. Along with co-author (and former student) Blake Masters — Thiel has put together a hard-hitting set of standards for entrepreneurs, startups, and thought-leaders to carefully consider when building the next big thing of the future.
Quite frankly, certain sections of the book are so ridiculously well put together that one just sits there and thinks after reading them. Chapter after chapter, Thiel gives example after example of how to successfully build the future.
But Why Listen To Thiel? Well, Peter Thiel has played a role in partnering with, inspiring and/or investing in some of the most successful tech entrepreneurs in the United States (and probably the world) including:
Oh, and by the way — all of the above named companies are worth at least $1 billion each. That's a serious chunk of change. Reading Zero To One is sort of like taking a peek into the mind of one of the most successful multi-billionaire investors alive today… In these FlashNotes, we'll get into the top 10-12 key take-aways from the book, including:
Ready? Let's get into it.
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In today’s episode of the podcast, we’ll be getting into the big ideas and actionable insights from The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy
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This book will give you the key to the most awesome power within your reach!
This remarkable book has already helped readers the world over achieve the seemingly impossible just by learning how to bring the incredible force of the subconscious under their control. Now you, too, can learn these powerful techniques for changing your life simply by changing your beliefs.
Dr. Murphy combines time-honored spiritual wisdom with cutting-edge scientific research to explain the influence of the subconscious mind on everything you do. And he presents simple, practical, and proven-effective exercises that can turn your mind into a powerful tool for improving your everyday life. Filled with inspiring real-life success stories, this invaluable user’s guide to your mind will unlock the secrets to success in whatever endeavor you choose.
Inside you’ll discover how to use the subconscious mind to:
With this book as your guide, there are no limits to the prosperity, happiness, and peace of mind you can achieve simply by using The Power of Your Subconscious Mind.
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In today’s episode of the podcast, we’ll be getting into the big ideas and actionable insights from The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn't be this way. There is a formula for success that's been followed by the icons of history from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.
These men and women were not exceptionally brilliant, lucky, or gifted. Their success came from timeless philosophical principles laid down by a Roman emperor who struggled to articulate a method for excellence in any and all situations.
This book reveals that formula for the first time and shows us how we can turn our own adversity into advantage.
Review
A book for the bedside of every future and current leader in the world.
An absolute must-read.
First came Marcus Aurelius, then Frederick the Great . . . and now there's you. This surprising book shows you how to craft a life of wonder by embracing obstacles and challenges.
In this tight, engaging book, Ryan Holiday shines a bright, powerful light on the path to living and leading well. Read it, learn from it, and get cracking!
My life has been beset with obstacles. It takes practice (and pain) to surmount them and achieve success. Ryan's book is a how-to guide for just that.
Ryan Holiday has written a brilliant and engaging book, well beyond his years. . . . It is invaluable.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
PREFACE
In the year 170, at night in his tent on the front lines of the war in Germania, Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire, sat down to write. Or perhaps it was before dawn at the palace in Rome. Or he stole a few seconds to himself during the games, ignoring the carnage on the floor of the Colosseum below. The exact location is not important. What matters is that this man, known today as the last of the Five Good Emperors, sat down to write.
Not to an audience or for publication but to himself, for himself. And what he wrote is undoubtedly one of history's most effective formulas for overcoming every negative situation we may encounter in life. A formula for thriving not just in spite of whatever happens but because of it.
At that moment, he wrote only a paragraph. Only a little of it was original. Almost every thought could, in some form or another, be found in the writings of his mentors and idols. But in a scant eighty-five words Marcus Aurelius so clearly defined and articulated a timeless idea that he eclipses the great names of those who came before him: Chrysippus, Zeno, Cleanthes, Ariston, Apollonius, Junius Rusticus, Epictetus, Seneca, Musonius Rufus.
It is more than enough for us.
Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.
And then he concluded with powerful words destined for maxim.
The impediment to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.
In Marcus's words is the secret to an art known as turning obstacles upside down. To act with a reverse clause, so there is always a way out or another route to get to where you need to go. So that setbacks or problems are always expected and never permanent. Making certain that what impedes us can empower us.
Coming from this particular man, these were not idle words. In his own reign of some nineteen years, he would experience nearly constant war, a horrific plague, possible infidelity, an attempt at the throne by one of his closest allies, repeated and arduous travel across the empire from Asia Minor to Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Austria a rapidly depleting treasury, an incompetent and greedy stepbrother as co-emperor, and on and on and on.
And from what we know, he truly saw each and every one of these obstacles as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity. The power he held never seemed to go to his head neither did the stress or burden. He rarely rose to excess or anger, and never to hatred or bitterness. As Matthew Arnold, the essayist, remarked in 1863, in Marcus we find a man who held the highest and most powerful station in the world and the universal verdict of the people around him was that he proved himself worthy of it.
It turns out that the wisdom of that short passage from Marcus Aurelius can be found in others as well, men and women who followed it like he did. In fact, it is a remarkable constant down through the ages.
One can trace the thread from those days in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire to the creative outpouring of the Renaissance to the breakthroughs of the Enlightenment. It's seen starkly in the pioneer spirit of the American West, the perseverance of the Union cause during the Civil War, and in the bustle of the Industrial Revolution. It appeared again in the bravery of the leaders of the civil rights movement and stood tall in the prison camps of Vietnam. And today it surges in the DNA of the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.
This philosophic approach is the driving force of self-made men and the succor to those in positions with great responsibility or great trouble. On the battlefield or in the boardroom, across oceans and many centuries, members of every group, gender, class, cause, and business have had to confront obstacles and struggle to overcome them learning to turn those obstacles upside down.
That struggle is the one constant in all of their lives. Knowingly or not, each individual was a part of an ancient tradition, employing it to navigate the timeless terrain of opportunities and difficulties, trial and triumph.
We are the rightful heirs to this tradition. It's our birthright. Whatever we face, we have a choice: Will we be blocked by obstacles, or will we advance through and over them?
We might not be emperors, but the world is still constantly testing us. It asks: Are you worthy? Can you get past the things that inevitably fall in your way? Will you stand up and show us what you're made of?
Plenty of people have answered this question in the affirmative. And a rarer breed still has shown that they not only have what it takes, but they thrive and rally at every such challenge. That the challenge makes them better than if they'd never faced the adversity at all.
Now it's your turn to see if you're one of them, if you'll join their company.
This book will show you the way.
INTRODUCTION
This thing in front of you. This issue. This obstacle this frustrating, unfortunate, problematic, unexpected problem preventing you from doing what you want to do. That thing you dread or secretly hope will never happen. What if it wasn't so bad?
What if embedded inside it or inherent in it were certain benefits benefits only for you? What would you do? What do you think most people would do?
Probably what they've always done, and what you are doing right now: nothing.
Let's be honest: Most of us are paralyzed. Whatever our individual goals, most of us sit frozen before the many obstacles that lie ahead of us.
We wish it weren't true, but it is.
What blocks us is clear. Systemic: decaying institutions, rising unemployment, skyrocketing costs of education, and technological disruption. Individual: too short, too old, too scared, too poor, too stressed, no access, no backers, no confidence. How skilled we are at cataloging what holds us back!
Every obstacle is unique to each of us. But the responses they elicit are the same: Fear. Frustration. Confusion. Helplessness. Depression. Anger.
You know what you want to do but it feels like some invisible enemy has you boxed in, holding you down with pillows. You try to get somewhere, but something invariably blocks the path, following and thwarting each move you make. You have just enough freedom to feel like you can move; just enough to feel like it's your fault when you can't seem to follow through or build momentum.
We're dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, our place in the world. We're trying to get somewhere, but something stands in the way.
So we do nothing.
We blame our bosses, the economy, our politicians, other people, or we write ourselves off as failures or our goals as impossible. When really only one thing is at fault: our attitude and approach.
There have been countless lessons (and books) about achieving success, but no one ever taught us how to overcome failure, how to think about obstacles, how to treat and triumph over them, and so we are stuck. Beset on all sides, many of us are disoriented, reactive, and torn. We have no idea what to do.
On the other hand, not everyone is paralyzed. We watch in awe as some seem to turn those very obstacles, which stymie us, into launching pads for themselves. How do they do that? What's the secret?
Even more perplexing, earlier generations faced worse problems with fewer safety nets and fewer tools. They dealt with the same obstacles we have today plus the ones they worked so hard to try to eliminate for their children and others. And yet . . . we're still stuck.
What do these figures have that we lack? What are we missing? It's simple: a method and a framework for understanding, appreciating, and acting upon the obstacles life throws at us.
John D. Rockefeller had it for him it was cool headedness and self-discipline. Demosthenes, the great Athenian orator, had it for him it was a relentless drive to improve himself through action and practice. Abraham Lincoln had it for him it was humility, endurance, and compassionate will.
There are other names you'll see again and again in this book: Ulysses S. Grant. Thomas Edison. Margaret Thatcher. Samuel Zemurray. Amelia Earhart. Erwin Rommel. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Richard Wright. Jack Johnson. Theodore Roosevelt. Steve Jobs. James Stockdale. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Barack Obama.
Some of these men and women faced unimaginable horrors, from imprisonment to debilitating illnesses, in addition to day-to-day frustrations that were no different from ours. They dealt with the same rivalries, political headwinds, drama, resistance, conservatism, breakups, stresses, and economic calamities. Or worse.
Subjected to those pressures, these individuals were transformed. They were transformed along the lines that Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, outlined when he described what happens to businesses in tumultuous times: Bad companies are destroyed by crisis. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.
Great individuals, like great companies, find a way to transform weakness into strength. It's a rather amazing and even touching feat. They took what should have held them back what in fact might be holding you back right this very second and used it to move forward.
As it turns out, this is one thing all great men and women of history have in common. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be) impossible to discourage or contain. Every impediment only served to make the inferno within them burn with greater ferocity.
These were people who flipped their obstacles upside down. Who lived the words of Marcus Aurelius and followed a group which Cicero called the only real philosophers the ancient Stoics even if they'd never read them.* They had the ability to see obstacles for what they were, the ingenuity to tackle them, and the will to endure a world mostly beyond their comprehension and control.
Let's be honest. Most of the time we don't find ourselves in horrible situations we must simply endure. Rather, we face some minor disadvantage or get stuck with some less-than-favorable conditions. Or we're trying to do something really hard and find ourselves outmatched, overstretched, or out of ideas. Well, the same logic applies. Turn it around. Find some benefit. Use it as fuel.
It's simple. Simple but, of course, not easy.
This is not a book of gushing, hazy optimism. This is not a book that tells you to deny when stuff sucks or to turn the other cheek when you've been completely screwed over. There will be no folksy sayings or cute but utterly ineffectual proverbs.
This is also not an academic study or history of Stoicism. There is plenty written about Stoicism out there, much of it by some of the wisest and greatest thinkers who ever lived. There is no need to rewrite what they have written go read the originals. No philosophic writing is more accessible. It feels like it was written last year, not last millennium.
But I have done my best to collect, understand, and now publish their lessons and tricks. Ancient philosophy never cared much for authorship or originality all writers did their best to translate and explain the wisdom of the greats as it has been passed down in books, diaries, songs, poems, and stories. All of these, refined in the crucible of human experience over thousands of years.
This book will share with you their collective wisdom in order to help you accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share: overcoming obstacles. Mental obstacles. Physical obstacles. Emotional obstacles. Perceived obstacles.
We face them every day and our society is collectively paralyzed by this. If all this book does is make facing and dismantling such stumbling blocks a little easier, it will be enough. But my aim is higher. I want to show you the way to turn every obstacle into an advantage.
So this will be a book of ruthless pragmatism and stories from history that illustrate the arts of relentless persistence and indefatigable ingenuity. It teaches you how to get unstuck, unfucked, and unleashed. How to turn the many negative situations we encounter in our lives into positive ones or at least to snatch whatever benefit we can from them. To steal good fortune from misfortune.
It's not just: How can I think this is not so bad? No, it is how to will yourself to see that this must be good an opportunity to gain a new foothold, move forward, or go in a better direction. Not be positive but learn to be ceaselessly creative and opportunistic.
Not: This is not so bad.
But: I can make this good.
Because it can be done. In fact, it has and is being done. Every day. That's the power we will unlock in this book.
The Obstacles That Lie Before Us
There is an old Zen story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, he hoped to teach them a lesson. His plan was simple: He would place a large boulder in the middle of the main road, completely blocking entry into the city. He would then hide nearby and observe their reactions.
How would they respond? Would they band together to remove it? Or would they get discouraged, quit, and return home?
With growing disappointment, the king watched as subject after subject came to this impediment and turned away. Or, at best, tried halfheartedly before giving up. Many openly complained or cursed the king or fortune or bemoaned the inconvenience, but none managed to do anything about it.
After several days, a lone peasant came along on his way into town. He did not turn away. Instead he strained and strained, trying to push it out of the way. Then an idea came to him: He scrambled into the nearby woods to find something he could use for leverage. Finally, he returned with a large branch he had crafted into a lever and deployed it to dislodge the massive rock from the road.
Beneath the rock were a purse of gold coins and a note from the king, which said:
The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.
What holds you back?
The Physical? Size. Race. Distance. Disability. Money.
The Mental? Fear. Uncertainty. Inexperience. Prejudice.
Perhaps people don't take you seriously. Or you think you're too old. Or you lack support or enough resources. Maybe laws or regulations restrict your options. Or your obligations do. Or false goals and self-doubt.
Whatever it is, here you are. Here we all are.
And . . .
These are obstacles. I get it. No one is denying that.
But run down the list of those who came before you. Athletes who were too small. Pilots whose eyesight wasn't good enough. Dreamers ahead of their time. Members of this race or that. Dropouts and dyslexics. Bastards, immigrants, nouveaux riches, sticklers, believers, and dreamers. Or those who came from nothing or worse, from places where their very existence was threatened on a daily basis. What happened to them?
Well, far too many gave up. But a few didn't. They took twice as good as a challenge. They practiced harder. Looked for shortcuts and weak spots. Discerned allies among strange faces. Got kicked around a bit. Everything was an obstacle they had to flip.
And so?
Within those obstacles was an opportunity. They seized it. They did something special because of it. We can learn from them.
Whether we're having trouble getting a job, fighting against discrimination, running low on funds, stuck in a bad relationship, locking horns with some aggressive opponent, have an employee or student we just can't seem to reach, or are in the middle of a creative block, we need to know that there is a way. When we meet with adversity, we can turn it to advantage, based on their example.
All great victories, be they in politics, business, art, or seduction, involved resolving vexing problems with a potent cocktail of creativity, focus, and daring. When you have a goal, obstacles are actually teaching you how to get where you want to go carving you a path. The Things which hurt, Benjamin Franklin wrote, instruct.
Today, most of our obstacles are internal, not external. Since World War II we have lived in some of the most prosperous times in history. There are fewer armies to face, fewer fatal diseases and far more safety nets. But the world still rarely does exactly what we want.
Instead of opposing enemies, we have internal tension. We have professional frustration. We have unmet expectations. We have learned helplessness. And we still have the same overwhelming emotions humans have always had: grief, pain, loss.
Many of our problems come from having too much: rapid technological disruption, junk food, traditions that tell us the way we're supposed to live our lives. We're soft, entitled, and scared of conflict. Great times are great softeners. Abundance can be its own obstacle, as many people can attest.
Our generation needs an approach for overcoming obstacles and thriving amid chaos more than ever. One that will help turn our problems on their heads, using them as canvases on which to paint master works. This flexible approach is fit for an entrepreneur or an artist, a conqueror or a coach, whether you're a struggling writer or a sage or a hardworking soccer mom.
The Way Through Them
Objective judgment, now at this very moment.
Unselfish action, now at this very moment.
Willing acceptance now at this very moment of all external events.
That's all you need.
MARCUS AURELIUS
Overcoming obstacles is a discipline of three critical steps.
It begins with how we look at our specific problems, our attitude or approach; then the energy and creativity with which we actively break them down and turn them into opportunities; finally, the cultivation and maintenance of an inner will that allows us to handle defeat and difficulty.
It's three interdependent, interconnected, and fluidly contingent disciplines: Perception,Action, and the Will.
It's a simple process (but again, never easy).
We will trace the use of this process by its practitioners throughout history, business, and literature. As we look at specific examples of each step from every angle, we'll learn to inculcate this attitude and capture its ingenuity and by doing so discover how to create new openings wherever a door is shut.
From the stories of the practitioners we'll learn how to handle common obstacles whether we're locked out or hemmed in, the kind of obstacles that have impeded people for all time and how to apply their general approach to our lives. Because obstacles are not only to be expected but embraced.
Embraced?
Yes, because these obstacles are actually opportunities to test ourselves, to try new things, and, ultimately, to triumph.
The Obstacle Is the Way.
PART I
Perception
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