Identify leaks and patches to free up resources for new areas. Greatness comes from humble beginnings it comes from grunt work.įind inefficiencies and waste and redundancies. It’s about seeing what goes on from the inside, and looking for opportunities for someone other than yourself. Clear the path for the people above you and you will eventually create a path for yourself.

The better wording for the advice is this: Find canvases for other people to paint on.

Make it about what you feel you must do and say, not what you care about and wish to be. Purpose is about pursuing something outside yourself as opposed to pleasuring yourself. I am willing to endure _ for the sake of this.) Actually, purpose deemphasizes the I. (I am so passionate about _.) Purpose is to and for. We not only need to take this harsh feedback, but actively solicit it. The art of taking feedback is such a crucial skill in life, particularly harsh and critical feedback. A real student is also his own teacher and his own critic. A student is self-critical and self-motivated, always trying to improve his understanding so that he can move on to the next topic, the next challenge. Absorbing what goes on around him, filtering it, latching on to what he can hold. Studious self-assessment is the antidote.Ī true student is like a sponge. The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice, because it prevents us from getting any better. The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction, it also places the ego and ambition in someone else’s hands. It’s about the doing, not the recognition. The other “choices” wash away, as they aren’t really choices at all. Easier in the sense that you know now what it is you need to do and what is important to you. If your purpose is something larger than you-to accomplish something, to prove something to yourself-then suddenly everything becomes both easier and more difficult. Impressing people is utterly different from being truly impressive. Detachment is a sort of natural ego antidote. In this phase, you must practice seeing yourself with a little distance, cultivating the ability to get out of your own head. In reality, this makes us weak.Īrrogance and self-absorption inhibit growth. We build ourselves up with fantastical stories, we pretend we have it all figured out, we let our star burn bright and hot only to fizzle out, and we have no idea why.įor a generation, parents and teachers have focused on building up everyone’s self-esteem. AspireĮvery great journey begins here-yet far too many of us never reach our intended destination. The need to be better than, more than, recognised for, far past any reasonable utility. Ego: An unhealthy belief in our own importance.

The ego is the enemy marcus aurelius