Mark Nepo is an American poet, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author of The Book of Awakening. His philosophy and work center on living each day fully, appreciating life in all of its hardships and awe.
CLEAR ALL
Ultimately, nothing in this life is ‘commonplace,’ nothing is ‘in between.’ The threads that join your every act, your every thought, are infinite. All paths of mastery eventually merge. [Each person has a] vantage point that offers a truth of its own.
Resolve to do the things you find to be difficult. That’s what confident people do. They tackle those things that are scary and they get addicted to doing it.
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How could so many intelligent people be so grievously wrong for such an extended period of time? How could they ignore so much overwhelming evidence that contradicted their most basic theories? These questions, too, deserve their own discipline: the sociology of error.
This is how great intellectual breakthroughs usually happen in practice. It is rarely the isolated genius having a eureka moment alone in the lab. Nor is it merely a question of building on precedent, of standing on the shoulders of giants, in Newton’s famous phrase.
Positive energy is your priceless life force. Protect it. Don’t allow people to draw from your reserves; select friends who recharge your energies. . . I’m not asking you to cut people out of your life, but I am asking you to invest your time with people who will push you to be your best.
I was exhilarated by the new realization that I could change the character of my life by changing my beliefs.
Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
Suspicion often creates what it suspects.
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Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.
Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.