The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives
by Katie Couric
My favourite excerpts…
==========
I now realize that everyone struggles, and that my mom was
right: Very few of us get through this life unscathed. Scratch beneath a
stranger’s surface and you’re likely to uncover professional setbacks, broken
hearts, unspeakable loss, unfulfilled dreams, or worse. Everyone seems to keep
going but, God knows, navigating through it all isn’t easy.
==========
Last year, when I was giving the commencement address at
Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, I decided to try something new.
What else could I tell these young, bright students who were about to take
flight into the world, eager to make their mark? Because I’ve had the privilege
of meeting and interviewing so many remarkable people through the years, I
decided to ask a few of them to share their personal insights. What have you
learned? What lessons from your own lives might be useful and instructive? I
reached out to about thirty people, and after a few weeks many of them reached
back to me with their responses.
==========
Scholarship America’s programs have had a huge financial
impact on the lives of students across the country, but as I’ve learned, it’s
about more than just dollars and cents. It’s also about giving students
confidence, inspiration, and some supportive words to carry with them: “I
believe in you.”
==========
Scholarship America’s programs have had a huge financial
impact on the lives of students across the country, but as I’ve learned, it’s
about more than just dollars and cents. It’s also about giving students
confidence, inspiration, and some supportive words to carry with them: “I
believe in you.” That’s what a scholarship really says.
==========
The more fake and commercialized the world gets, the more
people respond to things that have a real core of truth. I believe that every
human being is hardwired to recognize that. Whatever you choose to do with your
life—whether it’s running a company or cooking dinner—stand for something you
know is true. If there’s a recipe for success, it’s staying real and true.
==========
Here is my favorite biblical direction: Be not afraid. It’s
truly the secret of life. Fear is what stunts our growth, narrows our
ambitions, kills our dreams. – Anna Quindlen
==========
Reverend Beckwith gave me the task of envisioning the bone
healing faster than was humanly possible. Of playing over and over in my mind
the doctor saying to me, “It’s a miracle!” And so I did. Every day I participated
in the healing of that bone. I felt those negative thoughts coming through and
told them to shove it! I kept my eye focused on the task at hand. I did not
have the luxury of negative thought; of listening to the lies we so often tell
ourselves; of being talked out of success by my fears. And within two weeks a
doctor did say to me, “Wow, I have never seen a bone heal this quickly.” –
Christina Applegate
==========
I used to love Michael Jordan’s “Failure” commercial for
Nike. You might recall it: I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve
lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the
game-winning shot … and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over
again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
==========
The latest piece of advice that I’m living by is this: When
making a very important business decision, I ask myself, “Would you still do it
if you’d never see a dime from it?” I know that may sound crazy—who in the
business world doesn’t base part of their decisions on the prospective riches
that some action might bring in the future (preferably the near future)? But I
find that if the answer to the Question is yes, you will be following the path
of your most authentic self. It’s one of the easiest ways to figure out if that
small voice in your head persuading you is your true instinct or that “other
thing,” which doesn’t necessarily have the best motives. – Alicia Keys
==========
You can’t figure out what you want to do from the sidelines.
You need to jump into the pond and splash around to see what the water feels
like. You might like that pond or it might lead to another pond, but you need
to figure it out in the pond. – Ina Gartner
==========
Learn to trust the feeling of “not knowing.” For most of us,
most of the time, that is the truth. – Hugh Jackman
==========
The English poet William Blake once observed, “He who would
do good to another man must do it in Minute Particulars.” Minute particulars.
Not grand gestures but everyday acts of kindness. They accumulate, and together
provide the threads that make up our moral fiber.
==========
Marx was smart about a lot of things, but not about the end
justifying the means. Actually, the means dictate the ends. We won’t have
laughter and kindness and poetry and pleasure at the end of any revolution
unless we have laughter and kindness and poetry and pleasure along the way. –
Gloria Steinem
==========
Take at least twenty minutes every day to be still and
quiet. Time to sit in complete silence. Think. Reflect. Dissect your thoughts
and feelings. Relive any mistakes from the day before. Decide how to be smarter
and tougher, how to be more committed and considerate of others and more
sensitive and aware of your surroundings. Choose something you learned that
will make you a better person. - Beyonce
==========
We doctors are taught early in our training that if we
really listen to our patients, deep insights will shine through for us. – Dr.
Oz
==========
Skepticism is about asking questions, being dubious, being wary,
not being gullible but always being open to being convinced of a new fact or
angle. Cynicism is about already having the answers—or thinking you do—answers
about a person or an event. The skeptic says, “I don’t think that’s true; I’m
going to check it out.” The cynic says, “I know that’s not true. It couldn’t
be. I’m going to slam him.” – Thomas Friedman
==========
In life, you will inevitably encounter criticism. Never,
ever read your own reviews. Good ones or bad ones. It is not a critic’s job to tell
you how to feel about your own work. That is your responsibility alone. Never
allow anyone to tell you how to feel about your work. Or limit your view of
yourself or of who you are. The most interesting artists are those who aren’t
too afraid to fail. As the late great Jack Lemmon once said, “Failure seldom
stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure.” You will never achieve a
deeper understanding of your work, or learn the tough lessons, if you are liked
or comfortable all of the time. – Laura Linney
==========
The book is titled Letters to a Young Poet, and was written
by Rainer Maria Rilke. Rilke wrote a series of letters to an aspiring young
poet advising him on art and life.
==========
Sadness has been misunderstood. Sadness is the soul recognizing
change. - M Night Shyamalan
==========
He said, “You see, the city is fundamentally a practical,
utilitarian invention—and it always was. And then suddenly you see this steel
poetry sticking there and it’s a shock. It puts everything to shame and makes
you wonder what else we could have done that was so marvelous and so
unpresumptuous. It carries its weights, it does what it’s supposed to do and
yet … I mean they could have built another Manhattan Bridge and
[Roebling] didn’t. He really aspired to do something gorgeous. So it makes you
feel that maybe you, too, could add something that would last and be
beautiful.” Quote by Arthur Miller
==========
“I can see why you’re tempted,” he said, “and this job will
certainly make you more interesting to others. But that’s the wrong reason to
accept a position. Instead, you should focus on being interested rather than
interesting. Now, tell me how this job will truly give you a chance to serve
others rather than a chance to serve your own career.” John Gardner to
Jacqueline Novogratz
==========
No matter how good government policies are or how much
economic growth we enjoy, there is always going to be a gap between what the
private sector can produce and what the government can provide. In that space,
citizens have to take action to bridge the broken places in our society and
around the world. – Bill Clinton
==========
André would have none of it. He just stopped and said, “You
know, Marissa, you’re putting so much pressure on yourself to make the right
choice. You’re approaching this as if there’s one right answer. And I have to
be honest, that’s just not what I’m seeing here.” He gestured toward the
matrices and charts strewn across the floor. “I think you have a bunch of good
options, and then there’s the one that you’ll pick and make great.” Via Marissa
Mayer
==========
Find a way to say yes to things. Say yes to invitations to a
new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to learn something new. Yes
is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even
your kids. Even if it’s a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes
means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference.
Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the
one everyone comes to. Yes is what keeps us all young. – Eric Schmidt
==========
Instead of trying to get back at someone because she has
hurt you, think of one nice thing about that person and put that out into the
universe instead. If you don’t let it go, that person’s negativity will stay
inside you, and that’s exactly where you don’t want that energy to be. So the
next time you’re hurt by someone, wish that person well in your heart and tell
your brain to move on and think about something else that really matters. You
will be amazed at how it releases your negative energy. People can’t control
you if you won’t let them. – Wendy Walker
==========
Instead of internalizing the negative emotions of these
people, forgive them for being unhappy souls. That goes for a friend, a
co-worker, a lover, or even the guy who stole the parking space you were
waiting so patiently for. Any frustration you can guard your body from, do it.
Forgive, let go, breathe, and respond to these negative energies with love. You
will be amazed at how much lighter, happier, and healthier you feel. – Wendy Walker
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment