"Although many things in life and work are temporary, and nothing seems to last, Builders believe that meaning actually does last--forever." (Porras, Jerry I., Stewart Emery, and Mark Thompson. Success Built to Last: Creating a Life That Matters. p. 32)
"Successful people don't rely on the approval of others to pursue their cause or calling. They have the audacity to take the initiative despite social pressures rather than because of them." (p. 14)
"When you can organize your thinking around creating real value, and your thoughts remain focused on what is important to creating that value despite all the incoming distractions, crisis, and complexity crashing down all around you... then you're really lucky because you have a sustainable model." (p. 24)
The three quotes above are the most powerful and important to
me so far. I wholeheartedly agree with these statements and truly believe that
meaning must be found before action is taken. I admit that when I think of
success, I think of it in terms of finances and wealth. Just reading these
first 32 pages has made me reevaluate my views on what success really is. I
think success is more than just being content with your lifestyle. Although it’s
hard to define what success is for everybody, I believe that everybody has the
ability to fulfill and create their own version of what success is for them.
Success for some people may be to simply have a family. What somebody values
most is what defines their success.
The quote about having a sustainable
model is the most important to me. I believe that an individual’s drive for
success will only survive if they truly believe in what they’re doing. Even
with all of the complex and difficult situations that one may encounter, they
still have the strength to move forward and continue to take action for what
they believe is the right thing to do. Without a cause that someone truly
believes in, how can they sustain their success? This book mentioned how many
lottery winners end up either broke and/or addicted to drugs in only a few
years after they receive their winnings. I think this is a great example of how
wealth does not equal success. Without a goal in mind, people will certainly
stray from their thought processes and the meaning behind their actions may
become unclear.
The Sacred Art of Dying
"He who is able to be born at the door of death is devoted eternally. (Therefore) Die before dying, die living." (Kramer, Kenneth. The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death. p. 38)
"According to the impersonal, cosmic law of karma, actions and reactions are equal, opposite, and other-initiating. Karma is the law of causation especially on the moral and spiritual sphere. It holds true regardless of time, place, person or events." (p. 34)
"The subtle dimension of the person does not die at death, rather takes on a new body." (p. 28)
Although I
don’t agree with much of Hindu philosophy or their views on death and the
afterlife, I still find it pretty interesting. The idea of reincarnation has
always been an interesting way to view death to me, and I have read a number of
literature on it. Although I still don’t buy this concept, it does seem like a
nice way to think about death, as long are you’re not reincarnated into something
like a tree. On second thought, I think I might enjoy the life of a tree.
Hinduism strongly believes in the
idea of karma, aka what goes around comes around. I’d like to think that karma
truly does exist, but at this point in my life I haven’t seen any evidence. Too
many terrible people living well beyond their means leads me to disregard the
notion of karma. There are simply too many good people struggling to stay
afloat, consistently being shit on by those in power for me to even consider
karma as an actual thing. Like most religions, I think the ideas behind
Hinduism are great, but simply unfathomable.
I try not to act like I know what I’m talking about, because
really I don’t, but I hope that I will be able to gain more insight into
religion and how it plays such a major role in so many people’s lives. I have
never been very religious. I seem to question more things rather than simply
accept them. Although I am sometimes overly skeptical, I still have the
capacity to want to learn and grow from understanding others and how they feel
about life and death.
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