Several years ago, I had read this wonderfully wise book. I'm not sure if I have written about it here in this blog. I was so impressed by the book that I googled and looked up the author. I found that he offered a 3hour consulation package for $ 1500. After giving it some thought, I went for it. I wanted to pick his brain, and get his perspective on certain issues I was facing.
I was disenchanted by the end of the first call. He was nothing like I had imagined. His tone of voice was very different from what I had imagined, but that I could ignore. What I had trouble making peace with was that he was clearly way too self-absorbed. He spoke way too much about himself, repeatedly highlighting his accomplishments. In the one call where I made a mention of an achievement of mine, simply to set the context for the rest of the discussion, he made numerous boastful remarks in the rest of the call in a display of petty one-upmanship.
At the end of 3 hours, I acquired two insights. Both would seem prosaic were I to state them here. But When you pay $1500 dollars for 2 insights, they suddenly each become worth 750 $ ;) I took those 2 expensive insights seriously, and it made a real difference.
Once my disappointment with the overall experience settled down, and I thought about the stark difference between his book and persona, I had a sobering realization. Maybe he had had some life experiences that had made him deviate from his core ideas. Maybe he was surrounded by people who didn't value him, and hence he felt compelled to announce his accomplishments ? He had a wonderful message to teach, but it wasn't clear that he was embodying it himself.
This episode made me examine my own growth more critically. Was I 'better' compared to a few years earlier, simply because I could articulate my thoughts better ? And I came up with 2 lines that I keep reminding myself of regularly to this day. They're each worth $ 750, and you're getting them here for free ;)
1) "How I live is what I know" - I'm no smarter merely by reading books, or taking courses, or talking to people. Eventually how I live my life is THE true representation of what I REALLY know. The rest are mere ideas. If I really 'knew' them, they would be a part of my life. Do you 'know' that exercise is good for you ? if you really knew it, you'd be doing it.
2) "I'm not an armchair philosopher" - It's easy for me to get lured into intellectual debates about things. And for a while now, I am at a point where I want to avoid them. Cos the more I discuss things, the more more I strengthen the illusion that I am doing something awesome by discussing great ideas :) Discussing philosophy, while not worthless, is not a substitute for action.
Secondly, being a 'philospher' strengthens the 'spectator' in us. We watch what happens passively, and look to glean insights or draw interesting conclusions or theorize about various possible scenarious. The more we strengthen the 'spectator', the more we weaken the 'gladiator' ( for want of a better word) in us; The more we avoid getting into the arena.
If you are trying lots of things and find you are being scattered or generally ineffective in your approach, it's time to take a step back and reflect and philosophise. Many of us, do enough of that already. It's time instead, to stop reflecting, and instead get into action. Get into the arena.
I was disenchanted by the end of the first call. He was nothing like I had imagined. His tone of voice was very different from what I had imagined, but that I could ignore. What I had trouble making peace with was that he was clearly way too self-absorbed. He spoke way too much about himself, repeatedly highlighting his accomplishments. In the one call where I made a mention of an achievement of mine, simply to set the context for the rest of the discussion, he made numerous boastful remarks in the rest of the call in a display of petty one-upmanship.
At the end of 3 hours, I acquired two insights. Both would seem prosaic were I to state them here. But When you pay $1500 dollars for 2 insights, they suddenly each become worth 750 $ ;) I took those 2 expensive insights seriously, and it made a real difference.
Once my disappointment with the overall experience settled down, and I thought about the stark difference between his book and persona, I had a sobering realization. Maybe he had had some life experiences that had made him deviate from his core ideas. Maybe he was surrounded by people who didn't value him, and hence he felt compelled to announce his accomplishments ? He had a wonderful message to teach, but it wasn't clear that he was embodying it himself.
This episode made me examine my own growth more critically. Was I 'better' compared to a few years earlier, simply because I could articulate my thoughts better ? And I came up with 2 lines that I keep reminding myself of regularly to this day. They're each worth $ 750, and you're getting them here for free ;)
1) "How I live is what I know" - I'm no smarter merely by reading books, or taking courses, or talking to people. Eventually how I live my life is THE true representation of what I REALLY know. The rest are mere ideas. If I really 'knew' them, they would be a part of my life. Do you 'know' that exercise is good for you ? if you really knew it, you'd be doing it.
2) "I'm not an armchair philosopher" - It's easy for me to get lured into intellectual debates about things. And for a while now, I am at a point where I want to avoid them. Cos the more I discuss things, the more more I strengthen the illusion that I am doing something awesome by discussing great ideas :) Discussing philosophy, while not worthless, is not a substitute for action.
Secondly, being a 'philospher' strengthens the 'spectator' in us. We watch what happens passively, and look to glean insights or draw interesting conclusions or theorize about various possible scenarious. The more we strengthen the 'spectator', the more we weaken the 'gladiator' ( for want of a better word) in us; The more we avoid getting into the arena.
If you are trying lots of things and find you are being scattered or generally ineffective in your approach, it's time to take a step back and reflect and philosophise. Many of us, do enough of that already. It's time instead, to stop reflecting, and instead get into action. Get into the arena.
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