There is no clear path in life. Which makes it all more interesting. Work with what you have. Tell the world you are the CEO of Blue Ribbon Sports.
Do what you know and love. You will have dark days even when you do this. If you don’t the dark days can become intolerable.
Work hard. Luck (Tao, Spirit, God..) plays a big role. But the harder you work, the better luck. Have faith as you define it.
Don’t be shy about asking for advice. Get all the help you can.
Do what means something to you. Seek calling, not a job.
Teamwork matters.
Dare to take chances. Where there is no struggle there can be no art.
The only time you must not fail is the last time you try.
Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.
Let everyone else call your idea crazy . . . just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where “there” is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.
How can I leave my mark on the world, I thought, unless I get out there first and see it?
Life is growth. You grow or you die.
I was a linear thinker, and according to Zen linear thinking is nothing but a delusion, one of the many that keep us unhappy. Reality is nonlinear, Zen says. No future, no past. All is now.
I’d like to publicly acknowledge the power of luck. Athletes get lucky, poets get lucky, businesses get lucky. Hard work is critical, a good team is essential, brains and determination are invaluable, but luck may decide the outcome. Some people might not call it luck. They might call it Tao, or Logos, or Jñāna, or Dharma. Or Spirit. Or God.
But that’s the nature of money. Whether you have it or not, whether you want it or not, whether you like it or not, it will try to define your days. Our task as human beings is not to let it.
