The Famous Comfort Zone

“You need to get out of your comfort zone!” “It’s important to get as far out of your comfort zone as you can!” “You gotta escape your comfort zone!” “You’ll never experience real success or happiness or fulfillment until you get far out of your current comfort zone!” “Everything great happens outside your comfort zone!”

Approximately 12,347 public speakers, business gurus, and motivational mavens have thundered this advice from more than 1,928,342 stages, podiums, and small carpeted areas at the front ends of hotel meeting rooms for the past 20 years. Books are written around this injunction. Podcasts reinforce it. Blogs repeat it. And they all make it sound like the most important and universal advice you can ever hear coming from the mind, or mouth, or preferred media of another human being, while somehow also implying that it’s something revolutionary and great that, after millennia of human history, they’ve finally managed to discover and are willing and eager to tell you at last, now that you’ve heard all the other “secrets” to success so often spoken and written about everywhere else, and yet have strangely found them not quite to work as advertised.

The idea is simple enough. We all have habits, routines, patterns, and surroundings that give us a sense of normalcy, or comfort in knowing what we’re doing, what’s likely to come, and how to function without too much worry or deliberation. We get in a groove. There’s a small circle of light in which we all enjoy a sense of assurance and the warm glow of the ordinary. And as we often likewise feel under toasty bedcovers on a cold morning, we want to stay where we are. The last thing we want to go is get out of that snuggly place of pleasantness. But of course, we have to in order to accomplish anything of importance, or greater value in the world. Yes, and that’s a metaphor for life. We have to get out of our ruts, our actually dangerous comfort zones, in order to live the adventure we’re here to experience and in which alone true value and delight are to be found. That’s the message we’re sold over and over.

But there’s a major flaw in this ubiquitous advice and in how it’s given. Maybe it’s even a fatal flaw. How are we supposed to escape these insidious comfort zones? Well, you know that too. How many times have you been told to “Face your fears!” “Confront your demons!” “Do the thing that worries you most!”

And yet. The greatest exhibitions of excellence and joy I’ve ever seen on basketball courts or football fields, in concert halls and artists’ studios, in college seminars, business meetings, and on any of those stages in all those convention centers and hotel ballrooms where we’ve all been roused to new levels of inspiration, it was always an individual or team operating in the magic of “flow” in which they weren’t anywhere outside their comfort zones at all, but had created a superior and special zone of comfort in being and doing the very best in their various fields of endeavor. Their performances happened precisely in the middle of the sweet spot of a well cultivated and exalted comfort zone. The best TV newscasters, sportscasters, and talk show hosts aren’t nervously “facing their fears” and going “way beyond their comfort zones” in doing their jobs with ease and peak excellence each day. When they’re in front of the cameras, they’re in the very middle of their comfort zones, and that’s why they make it look so easy, with their natural and casual seeming performances.

But, wait, you may think to yourself: Didn’t all these great people now operating at the peak of excellence, didn’t they have to leave previous comfort zones in order to get to the ones they now occupy, and maybe many times, and isn’t that why the motivational speakers are always accosting us with their endless advice to get up off our butts and go and do the same, now and forever?

Well. The advice can seem good, and perhaps important, but even when it seems needed and appears to work, I would like to suggest that the focus of it isn’t quite right. The most successful people in the world don’t get to their peak performance level by simply leaving comfort zones, but rather by learning to take their comfort zones with them wherever they go. The standard motivational speakers and business gurus seem to think of comfort zones as mostly an outer thing, as really all about our normal circumstances or situations where we feel at ease. But what if a comfort zone is really supposed to be an inner thing, an existential state or inward attitude arising from our souls or spirits, and so is something we can bring with us into new circumstances?

Many years ago, when I was trying to go to sleep in my hotel room in New York City without much success the night before I was to undergo my first interview live on national television, an idea suddenly occurred to me that changed everything, settled my unraveling nerves, and allowed me to drift into the needed slumber that alone would prepare me for the high anxiety situation that awaited me only hours to come.

I was to appear on “Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee” at the peak of the morning television show’s popularity, in August of 1994. I had met Regis a year and a half earlier, and was thrilled to be invited to his show to help launch my new book “True Success,” my first nonacademic foray into publishing a book of helpful public philosophy. It was going to be great. The publisher was thrilled and sent their top publicist to be with me backstage, a bright young woman whose husband had written a movie I had just seen and found to be a real delight, the Stanley Tucci film about a restaurant called “Big Night.” But I’m getting ahead of myself. The night before my guest slot, as those in the biz would call it, as I was worried and nervous and scared half to death about making a fool of myself in front of many millions of people, I suddenly said to myself, “Wait a minute. Regis is as comfortable every day there on his set at the ABC Studios as I am in my classroom at Notre Dame (where I was a professor at the time). Our session is just going to be part of a normal day for him. He’s not out of his mind nervous, worried, and scared about it. It’s his comfort zone. That’s why he’s so good at it. So, Ok, I’m going to borrow some of his comfort tomorrow. I’m going to pretend like it’s a normal day for me, too, just like a day in classes at Notre Dame. Regis is going to lend me some of that television comfort and I’m going to use it and feel it and enjoy it and just go and have fun like he does every single day on the show.” And that was miraculous, and worked beautifully. My emotions and attitudes were calmed like a Biblical storm, and I was at peace and even eager, not anxious or scared half out of my mind. And the show went great. And ever since, I’ve managed to carry my comfort zone with me wherever I’ve gone, even if I had to borrow part of it from someone else to make it my own.

Ultimately, it’s an inner thing. It’s an inner game. And just remember that those motivational speakers who are urging you so convincingly to leave your comfort zone are bellowing out their advice from right smack in the middle of their own comfort zone if they’re any good at all. They brought it with them to the speech. So do as they do, not as they say. Take your comfort zone with you wherever you do.

Or here's another metaphor: Expand your comfort zone. Stretch it. Make it bigger. Don't ever abandon it. Either metaphor works, but I like to carry stuff around, and I make sure my zone surrounds me at all times.

But, sure, early in the process of learning how to take it with you, you’ll slip up now and then and find you’ve left your comfort zone behind. And outside it, you may make some progress working through anxiety or facing fear. Good for you. But when you realize that your comfort zone can and should go with you inwardly wherever you go, it will be revolutionary, and freeing, and truly inspiring after all. And then you can be truly great.

Oh, and you know that comfort I borrowed from my friend Regis? I forgot to give it back. Yeah. I still take it with me wherever I go. In fact, I have more than I need, in case you'd like to borrow some. Help yourself.

The Slings and Arrows and You

The Vicar of Wakefield. Today's Great Book was amazing! I found a hard copy at a used book sale and had no idea the treasure I had discovered! Written by Oliver Goldsmith and first published in 1766, it's chock full of lessons and encouragements for us today.

There may be no better and more entertaining novel about appearances and realities, along with the ups and downs of fortune, and how a proper worldview can sustain us through anything. The Reverend Charles Primrose and his family seem to have a wonderful life. Then something bad happens. Something worse follows and they are greatly reduced in their means. And yet, their happiness translates well into their new and much more modest circumstances. Until something else bad occurs and something worse follows yet again, but it's just the prelude of the truly disastrous, which serves as mere prologue to the unspeakably awful. And so it goes. If you have read Phil Knight's account of trying to create the shoe company Nike, in his book Shoe Dog, and have gone away thinking "No one ever had such a string of bad luck as that poor man," then you haven't read The Vicar of Wakefield.

I promise it will surprise you many times and in the end bless you deeply. And more than that. Some excerpts:

It has been a thousand times observed, and I must observe it once more, that the hours we pass with happy prospects in view, are more pleasing than those crowned with fruition. In the first case, we cook the dish to our own appetite; in the latter, Nature cooks it for us. (48)

Conscience is a coward; and those faults it has not strength enough to prevent, it seldom has justice enough to accuse. (67)

(Ok a longish one)

‘Both wit and understanding,’ cried I, ‘are trifles, without integrity: it is that which gives value to every character. The ignorant peasant, without fault, is greater than the philosopher with many; for what is genius or courage without an heart? An honest man is the noblest work of God.

‘I always held that hackney’d maxim of Pope,’ returned Mr Burchell, ‘as very unworthy a man of genius, and a base desertion of his own superiority. As the reputation of books is raised not by their freedom from defect, but the greatness of their beauties; so should that of men be prized not for their exemption from fault, but the size of those virtues they are possessed of. The scholar may want prudence, the statesman may have pride, and the champion ferocity; but shall we prefer to these the low mechanic, who laboriously plods on through life, without censure or applause? We might as well prefer the tame correct paintings of the Flemish school to the erroneous, but sublime animations of the Roman pencil.’

‘Sir,’ replied I, ‘your present observation is just, when there are shining virtues and minute defects; but when it appears that great vices are opposed in the same mind to as extraordinary virtues, such a character deserves contempt.’

‘Perhaps,’ cried he, ‘there may be some such monsters as you describe, of great vices joined to great virtues; yet in my progress through life, I never yet found one instance of their existence: on the contrary, I have ever perceived, that where the mind was capacious, the affections were good. And indeed Providence seems kindly our friend in this particular, thus to debilitate the understanding where the heart is corrupt, and diminish the power where there is the will to do mischief. This rule seems to extend even to other animals: the little vermin race are ever treacherous, cruel, and cowardly, whilst those endowed with strength and power are generous, brave, and gentle.’ (77, 78)

The less kind I found Fortune at one time, the most I expected from her another; and now being at the bottom of the wheel, every new revolution might lift, but could not depress me. (111)

“I ask pardon, my darling,” returned I; “but I was going to observe, that wisdom makes but a slow defense against trouble, though at last a sure one.” (130)

“Our happiness, my dear,” I would say, “is in the power of One who can bring it about in a thousand unforeseen ways, that mock our foresight.” (140)

“Oh, my children, if you could but learn to commune with your own hearts and know what noble company you can make them, you would little regard the elegance and splendor of the worthless. (143)

“Almost all men have been taught to call life a passage, and themselves the travellers. The similitude still may be improved when we observe that the good are joyful and serene, like travellers that are going towards home; the wicked but by intervals happy, like travellers that are going into exile.” (143)

“With such reflections I laboured to become chearful; but cheerfulness was never yet produced by effort, which is itself painful.” (152)

The greatest object in the universe, says a certain philosopher, is a good man struggling with adversity; yet there is still a greater, which is the good man that comes to relieve it. (186)

For the book, click HERE.

Resurrection: The Insight of Easter.

Resurrection. It's about radical transformation and new life. It's about disaster and even death as the doorways for redemption. It's about apparent failure and ultimate success. It's about vivid appearances and unsuspected realities. It's about having these treasures in earthen vessels.

The original disciples, our predecessors and paradigms of faith, abandon the one in whom they had hoped, and give up their aims in despondency—they flee the path and the project, in a failure of both understanding and courage, and thereby provide an example for all of us unfaithful, weak, panicked souls that we need not be shamed by our lack of sturdy steadfastness, but rather inspired that strength can come of weakness, that honor can come of humility, and that the plan for all things is a massive, wonderful turnaround.

In the darkest of times, the light still shines. Happy Easter.

Hemingway, You, and Me

Life coaches now tell us to believe in ourselves, organize our lives better, and remember to breathe. Medieval life coaches would whisper in people's ears, "You're going to die. Remember your mortality." What was up with that?

I just finished reading Ernest Hemingway's famous novel, A Farewell to Arms. An American has gone to Italy in the First World War, to help the Italians fight the Austrians and Germans. This man, the narrator of the story, drives an ambulance and other vehicles near the front. He's badly injured, meets a nurse, falls in love, receives a medal for heroism, and months later returns to the front. So far, the story tracks the life of the author. Then, through a series of unexpected small situations and accidents, our narrator becomes separated from his unit, and is wrongly suspected of desertion. He escapes an imminent execution out in the countryside only by diving into a river under fire. He reunites with his love and, now on the run, they manage with great difficulty to get to safety in Switzerland, where she goes into labor with his baby. Fortunately, they're able to enter a major hospital for the delivery. The story is full of twists and turns, ups and downs for the two of them.

At that point in the narrative Hemingway goes far beyond confronting us with the crazy and sometimes scary vicissitudes of life, as seen in the adventures of the soldier and his great love, and begins to rub our noses in the fickle inescapability of death in this world. The last pages of the book are so bleak in articulating the author's deepest attitudes, the whole thing could have been called, "A Farewell to Meaning and Hope."

This wasn't, of course, the only time Papa H took on the topic of mortality. Many months ago, I quoted here from his other novel, The Sun Also Rises. Just eleven pages into it, there is this brief conversation, worth repeating, that starts with Robert Cohn, Princeton graduate and amateur boxer, speaking to his old friend Jake, the narrator of the novel, in a bar – where, it seems that, interestingly, philosophical reflection about life often takes place:

“Listen, Jake,” he leaned forward on the bar. “Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you're not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you've lived nearly half the time you have to live already?”

 “Yes, every once in a while.”

“Do you know that in about thirty-five years more we'll be dead?”

“What the hell, Robert,” I said,  “ What the hell?”

“I'm serious.”

“It’s one thing I don’t worry about,” I said.

“You ought to.”

As we all know, but, like Jake, tend not to think about very much, the life adventure we’re on right now is a limited-time offer. This is an interesting point of reflection for all of us who are already in mid-life or - like me - beyond. But it’s an important fact for any of us, however young or old. Are we making the most of our time? Are we using our talents in the best ways, and taking advantage of the opportunities that come to us each day? Are we enjoying the adventure that we have, to the extent that we can? Or are we letting ourselves be held back by habit and worn down by our own inner reactions to things that are outside our control?

The answers to these questions often turn on another one: How well do we handle change in our lives, day to day – the little, unexpected events, and the bigger disruptions; the challenges and the opportunities? Do we resist almost all change and regret it, or are we creative artists with it?

As the bluntly philosophical Robert points out for Jake and all the rest of us, there will come a time when further change in this world is impossible for each of us – maybe thirty-five years from now; maybe longer; and maybe much sooner. We never know. So why not make the most of this incredible journey while we can? Great things are possible for us, with the right approach to work and life.

Hemingway himself may have taken a very negative attitude toward the challenges of life,  but he did pretty well for himself in his chosen profession, despite the many ups and downs he couldn't control, until he chose exactly the wrong action on the day that ended his adventure.

We shouldn't follow his negativity of attitude, or many of his choices. But we do benefit from being reminded of the churn and fragility of our situations throughout this life. We don't find ourselves in an easy world, or with endless time. We're clearly in a place of challenge. But that just means we need to develop all our strengths and the most positive attitudes we can in order to flourish and prevail, within the parameters given us. Ultimately, that can provide us with a Farewell to Anxiety, and a Farewell to Fear.

Richard Branson on Second Chances

A number of CEOs and prominent individuals in the culture were recently asked what advice they would give their 22 year old selves, if that were possible. Richard Branson, the founder of The Virgin Group, said something very interesting about how we view ourselves and others - and, especially, how we react to the mistakes that other people have made in their lives. He wrote, at his present age of 64:

I am not the person I was 42 years ago. I am not even the person I was two years ago. We all change, we all learn, we all grow. To continually punish somebody for the mistakes they made in the past is not just illogical, it is plain wrong. 

He advises his early self, and any of us who will listen, to be a person who embraces the possibility of change, both in yourself and in others. He says:

We all deserve a second chance. Next time you have the opportunity to give somebody their second chance, don't think twice.

I know I've needed second chances, and sometimes more chances than that. Maybe you have, too. It's good to remember this when we consider our attitudes toward others. When we give people the chance to change and grow and improve, we enable ourselves to benefit from what can result in their lives, so that our mercy, forgiveness, and even embrace of them can enhance our own lives as well as theirs.

Here's to second chances! And more. And to Richard Branson's bit of life wisdom.

Life's Lemons

Ten years ago, I realized I knew a lot of people who had trouble dealing with change in their lives. I would get asked over and over, "What do you do when bad things happen, or disappointing things, unexpected and difficult things?" People wanted strategies for handling challenges in their lives.

I had grown up hearing the old adage, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade," which pretty much sums up the attitude of the ancient stoic philosophers toward the problem, but in my childhood no one who repeated these words also explained how to do it. How do you turn lemons into lemonade? So I got to work, reading all the great thinkers on the topic, and writing my own book of advice. It was called "Lemonade!" Then I changed the name to "Lemons to Lemonade" and after 24 total re-writes, it became "Plato's Lemonade Stand: Stirring Change into Something Great." Previous versions have been turned down by publishers 45 times, because they're not convinced that a practical book about the personal alchemy needed to turn something sour into something sweet will sell. I'm convinced they're wrong. And whenever I've done the ideas on retreats, people have insisted on having the book available. No one has seen the newest version yet. And I really, really like it. But I'm prepared for more lemonade making before someone in the world of publishing says, "Wait. People need this."

In the Sunday Business Section of the New York Times, Adam Bryant had a very interesting interview with the fashion designer and design mogul Diane von Furstenberg. Let me give you one Q&A:

Q. You’ve said many times that your mother was your biggest influence. What are the most important lessons you learned from her?

A. My mother was a Holocaust survivor and, having survived 13 months in the concentration camps, she taught me that fear is not an option. And no matter what happens, never be a victim. Life is a journey, and when you face obstacles the only thing you can do is accept them and embrace the reality. Very often, with things that are bad or not what you wanted, it’s your job to turn them into something positive.

I love the sentiment about accepting obstacles. Maybe the things that block your path can be taken up and assembled into just the bridge you need. That last sentence of the answer says it all:

Very often, with things that are bad or not what you wanted, it’s your job to turn them into something positive.

That's one of the enduring themes of the practical philosophers. And it's become something I believe deeply. So, when you face your next challenge, difficulty, or disappointment, get out a paring knife, some sugar, ample ice, and whatever additional spices you think you'll like, and make from the lemons that confront you some world class lemonade. Plato would have wanted it.

A Change of Plans

How do you react when all your plans have to be changed at the last minute? 

I made it to the airport in time for my 11:05 AM flight. I stood in line, went through security, got to the gate, and then looked up at the monitor to see "CANCELLED." I hadn't yet turned on my phone. It was a busy morning. So it was news to me. First and only big mistake of the day. I went over to the gate agent and waited my turn. "Hey, I've been cancelled and I have a talk in Charlotte at dinner."

"Oh. That's too bad." Clicking. Clicking. Clicking. Waiting. Endless waiting. More clicking. Bad Frownie Face. "Uh Oh. We can't get you there until really late tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"You're backed up, but all the seats were full on the next couple of flights out. You get in really late."

Nice face. "I can't do that. I have a talk at dinner. Can I drive to Raleigh? It's only 2 hours. I could fly to Charlotte from there."

Clicking. Clicking. Clicking. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Disappointed face.

"No, they're all full, too. Sorry."

"What should I do?"

Bright face. "We can get you to Atlanta, on Delta."

"You can?"

"Yes! I think so. But I'm not sure about getting you from Atlanta to Charlotte."

Ok. I thought to myself. If my roughly 200 Bank of America executives don't mind relocating to Atlanta in the next couple of hours, and finding a hotel there, then, we're fine.

In the old days, I would have been really worried. Now, when things change and there's a big challenge, I use what I have, stay calm within, and take action. I had an old car in the parking lot. It's my "leave outside at the airport car." Do I want to drive that to Charlotte? No. Maybe I have time to drive it back home and get a much better car. I think I can make it. Ok. Let's go. 

In the old days, I would have worried and fretted and DREADED a drive in the rain to Charlotte, which, in those days, was four hours and fifteen minutes. Now, thanks to road improvements, you can do it in under four hours. Maybe three and a half. Sorry, Officer. That would not have made any difference, though. I used to dread any big last minute travel changes. I used to hate long drives. Now, though, I'm learning to live in the moment, adapt, and adjust as things change. Who knows? I might enjoy the drive.

I did. I did enjoy the drive, as long as it was. I didn't have to listen to the radio, or anything. I thought. I pondered. I contemplated. I went all Zen-ful. I noticed stuff. I was still. I wondered: There's a thing called "Walking Meditation" - Is there any such thing as "Driving Meditation"? Or would that end up with you contemplating bent fenders and broken bones? 

The drive was fine. It was actually more than fine. It was nice. And I got to my destination, and even after getting lost in the city, having set the wrong address in my iPhone, I arrived in time to sign about 200 books, iron my shirt, press my suit, lie on the bed for a minute with my eyes closed, eat a snack, get dressed, and go speak. And it was great. Fun-Great.

But on the drive back, the very next morning, the pondering, contemplating, and Zen-ful mindset lasted only about half the trip. I listened to the radio for 15 minutes. Then I turned it off and started giving dramatic renditions, aloud, of Shakespeare soliloquies, and modern poems. And I had fun again.

So here's the lesson. When things go bad, use what you have, stay at peace within, as much as you can, and take action quickly. And be mindful. Live in the moment. And then, if you really need help, it can be good to have some stuff committed to memory. To be or not to be. That is the question. And yeah, the question goes on for hundreds more words - enough to keep you busy on the highway, or anywhere else, for that matter. And there's a lot of other good passages to memorize in the Bard, as well. It works for me. And I wanted to share. 

Embracing Change

The entire universe is engaged in a wild dance of change. In 500 BC, Heraclitus wrote, "Things are always changing." He was just echoing the Chinese I Ching, or Book of Changes, from much earlier in history. What would Heraclitus say now? Probably: "I told you so."

For so long, the nature of human life and civilization was mostly out of synch with the roiling reality of change below it, in the atomic and subatomic substructure of the cosmos. People lived much the same, day to day. There was an illusion of stability and solidity. Generations came and went in basically the same conditions. Even wars were all pretty much the same. But at some time toward the end of the last century, the mask of predictability slipped off, and we began to see the true face of change. And now, it just continually speeds up.

So, how do we embrace chance, rather than resisting it, resenting it, and then regretting it? We have to embrace a worldview that values growth and learning, second only to love. But of course, in order to live and convey love in the best ways, we need to learn and grow and ... change. Love isn't static. It's dynamic. Love is always changing. It either grows and flourishes in ever new ways, or it decays and diminishes. We know that, but we forget it. If you believe that nothing is more important than love, then you hold a worldview that requires you, for consistency, to embrace change.

"But not all changes are good." The voice in our heads will inevitably object.

A worldview that embraces change doesn't deny this at all. It just affirms that we can deal with any detrimental change by making our own healthy changes, in attitudes, actions, feelings, and thoughts. As long as we live, we can embrace change, either in a hug of affirmation, or as committed wrestlers twisting and turning it into something better than it at first presented itself to be. Embracing is engaging. It's sometimes about joy, sometimes about judo. But love can't just flee in the face of change. It always seeks to encounter the reality of what is and make the best of it. That requires always using what we have, being at peace within, and moving forward with courage and hope.

Things are not often what they seem. Neither are changes. Love will always caress or correct. It will embrace the realities of this dynamic world order and dance with the flux as it finds its way to the greatness that is its due.

How about you?

Note: This the first of a series of blogs by request. You guys have written me and suggested things to ponder. This is where it starts.

We Know So Little

We don't know one tenth of one percent of anything. Who first said that? I think it was Thomas Edison who, at least in that remark, knew one hundred percent of what he was talking about.

It's easy to think that our best science already basically understands the world and those of us in it, until you talk to real scientists, or at least the ones who are the pioneers at the cutting edge of their specialities. Human history is a series of misguided certainties. People have always thought that they basically knew what was going on in the world around them. And people have been so very wrong so many times that it should give us pause and instill in us a little humility, along with the measure of confidence that we also rightly need.

Modern medicine is at the brink of discoveries and changes that will so deeply revolutionize everything that it's hard for us now to imagine what health and healthcare will be like in a hundred years. And it may come much sooner than that.

Robotics will drastically alter manufacturing. Bigger, better, and much faster computers - even different sorts of computing - will reinvent business in many ways, only a few of which are already evident.

I suspect that psychology will even make discoveries that will transform our self understanding. And philosophy may make inroads that have been hitherto unanticipated. We're moving into the unknown at a faster pace than we can even guess on our wildest days. The cosmic and epistemic wind is strong at our backs, but we don't always feel it.

There are times on board a plane when it can seem like you're just sitting still in a nice leather armchair. But you're moving at hundreds of miles an hour. I see this as a nice metaphor for the human condition. It can sometimes feel like we're sitting still, when we're all moving forward much faster than we can sense.

When I was in middle school, and even high school, I'd ride for an hour in the family car to visit my grandparents, my father's parents, on their farm. They didn't have indoor plumbing or an electric stove. To wash my hands for lunch, I'd first go out behind the house to a dark metal pump. I'd put a basin beneath the spigot and grab the old rusty handle and pump a couple of times, before the cold, clear water began to flow. With the basin full, I'd take it back into the house and wash up in it, using soap someone had made, and then I'd go eat whatever had been cooked on the wood stove. Later in the day, we'd find leftovers stored in the unrefrigerated white wooden "pie safe" and have a snack. The "bathroom" had no walls, roof, or floor, and was out back behind some bushes. Things have changed, to put it mildly, at least for most of us. But the changes we've seen are nothing compared to what's around the corner.

So, when you're tempted to think you've got it all figured out, remember our kinetically kaleidoscopic context. We all could use a little Socratic self-realization about how little we truly know concerning the most fundamental mysteries of existence, and even the mundanities of everyday life. We need to open our minds a little more than ever before, with genuine curiosity to learn. The pace of change won't slow or stop, apart from a technology ending global catastrophe. The only way to dance with change well is with a humble spirit, an open mind, and insatiable curiosity.

I'm a philosopher who believes that we know many deep truths about life already. But I also think we have much more to learn yet ahead. And this sense impels me to explore, and seek more avidly than ever before. I hope you feel the same.

An Idea is a Spark

An idea is a spark of possibility. But a spark needs proper tinder in order to give rise to a flame.

I was re-reading The Notebooks of Albert Camus for a bit, and I came across this passage:

For a thought to change the world, it must first change the life of the man who carries it. It must become an example.

I've long had a certain practice. I come across some new idea, or a set of ideas. I get excited about it. I want to pass it on, to write about it, and to speak on it. But first, I have to try it out. I have to use my own life as an experimental laboratory. Will this new idea spark a flame in the right way? Can I make use of it well? If I've tried an idea in my own life and it works as well as I had hoped, then I can tell others.

There are too many people in the world right now writing about, speaking on, and teaching ideas that they haven't really used themselves, because, if they had, they would know that those ideas don't work - or at least not in the way they're portrayed.

An idea is a spark of possibility. Is it a possibility in the actual world? Can it work? Have you tried it out before passing it on?

When you come across a great idea, and your life has ample kindling in it, you'll know by the flame that leaps high that you have something worth sharing. And others will come to your light.

Hammer Out That Bad Habit!

"A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit." Erasmus.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit and been really shocked by its aggravating resiliency? Habit is like a second nature. We breathe by nature. We do many other things by second nature, or habit. 

Without habit, we couldn’t live. Life would be far too complicated if we had to always go around figuring out what sock and shoe to put on first in the morning. We have habits to make life possible. But the wrong ones quickly make life miserable.

How do you break the power of a bad habit? First, by the power of the imagination. You use your imagination to picture vividly where the bad behavior is taking you, envisioning the disasterous results as luridly as possible, and then picture just as clearly some alternative behavior and its contrary, great future. Then you act to establish a suitably contrary habit. No one finds it easy to just stop some form of self-destructive ineffective behavior that has become habitual. Bad habits are displaced by better habits. 

Let me say that again. Bad habits are displaced by better habits.

If you need to make a change in your life, use the wisdom of the great Rennaissance thinker Erasmus. Take a new nail to drive out the old one. Work at forming a new habit that will displace the old and still serve whatever positive purpose the old one did, but better, and without the negative consequences. Use your imagination. And get moving. 

Today.

The Treasure Within Trials

The gem cannot be polished without friction,

nor man perfected without trials.

Confucius

Life is sometimes a strange proposition. The things we enjoy the least are often the very things that we benefit from the most. Suffering can deepen us. Difficulties can help us grow.

The philosophical individual doesn’t go looking for trouble, but has this consolation when it comes knocking. Wisdom is never to be found except through the door of experience, and it tends to greet us most often after trouble. So take this attitude toward any trial:  It can be a friend in disguise. Ask yourself “What can I learn from this?” And don’t let any difficulty or temporary defeat stop your pilgrimage toward what really matters.

The Next Steve Jobs

Since I was first asked a few years ago to speak about Apple founder Steve Jobs and his extraordinary success, I've had several occasions to give that presentation and to further reflect on his life and work. In connection with these events, I've often been asked the question, "Who'll be the next Steve Jobs?" or "Where's the next world changer, and universe-denter, now?"

I think one such person just may be Elizabeth Holmes, who as a 19 year old Stanford University undergraduate, decided to drop out and start a business that may just change the world on the scale of a Steve Jobs. Her vision is for revamping healthcare for the better, and she has amazingly innovative and practical ways of doing so. One of the best articles about her is here, in Fortune Magazine.

It made me smile to see in the Fortune piece the little factoid that when Elizabeth went off to college, her dad gave her a copy of one of my favorite practical philosophy books, the Meditations by stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Explaining the gift, he said, "I wanted it to reinforce the message of a purposeful life," and added, "I think it really affected her." The stoics like Marcus, and Seneca, and even the most austere Epictetus, do tend to have that affect. They teach us the inner conditions for outer greatness, as I relay in my own little book, The Stoic Art of Living. The young Ms Holmes clearly got the message and has launched an entrepreneurial adventure that is likely to change the world in very positive ways. 

Let me give you an example. Do you dislike having a large needle inserted into your arm to take your blood into large vials several days before your annual physical, or any other sort of doctor visit? She's discovered a way to replace the dreaded needle in the arm with a painless finger prick, get all the blood needed in one drop, and do pretty much any test in four hours, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional lab work, which can often take many days. Because of her numerous inventions, we'll be able to monitor our health at a fundamental level and in an ongoing way, and catch problems before they develop into terminal difficulties. Medication delivery systems will also likely be revolutionized by her company, Theranos, with doses constantly tailored to patients and their particular responses, changing as alterations are needed, and with information being instantly sent out to both patients and doctors. The large scale shift from her small but powerful innovations will be amazing, over the years,

Elizabeth is described by people who know her the best as having "pure" motivations, wanting to do great good, and as being basically uninterested in the personal financial boon that her inventions and creations will inevitably bring her. What's made her so different? What's set her apart? Well, the pure heart was a great start. But she also combined this with a powerful approach to business. She's a young woman with great curiosity about how things work, and how they could work, instead. She's paid attention to common problems, thought about them creatively, and come up with innovative solutions that bring together divergent perspectives in a unique way.

That's a formula we can all aspire to emulate. Will it make you or me the next Steve Jobs, too? Hey, I'd be content to be the next Steve Wozniak! But, actually, I really just want to be the best TomVMorris that I can be. A strong purpose, pure motivations, a desire to do good, great curiosity, and a proclivity to take innovative approaches to common problems can position any of us to be the best that we can be, and to put our own small dents in the universe.

Finally here, a shout out to the universe-denter and game-changer Tanya Maslach, Chief of the Tribe at www.GoTribal.com, where healthy lifestyles are being encouraged in new and innovative ways, through the power of relationships. It was Tanya who just recently introduced me to the work being done by Elizabeth, whom I consider to be her kindred spirit. Go visit GoTribal and find out why.