I started this book thinking there wasn’t enough takeaways for each chapter, that it was random excerpts from peoples lives. But the book grew on me the further in I got. It turned out to be the state of mind it created in me that was the most valuable, not the amount of takeaways I could get.

#Limit your inputs

It’s essential that you figure out how to filter out the inconsequential from the essential.

“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid in extraneous matters.” — Epictetus

  • Don’t consume news in real time.
  • Be a season or two behind on the latest trend or cultural phenomenon.
  • Don’t let your inbox overlord your life.
  • Give things a little space.

There is ego in trying to appear the most informed person in the room. Knowing what not to think about, what to ignore and not to do: it’s your first and most important job.

#The domain of the mind

The first obligation of any leader or decision maker is to slow down and really think about the problem in front of them. If the leader can’t take time to develop a clear sense of the bigger picture, who will?

Facing crises in your life will call upon all your mental resources. In these situations you must:

  • Be fully present.
  • Empty your mind of preconceptions.
  • Take your time.
  • Sit quietly and reflect.
  • Reject distraction.
  • Weigh advice against the counsel of your convictions.
  • Be deliberate without being paralyzed.

#Become present

Remember, there’s no greatness in the future. Or clarity. Or insight. Or happiness. Or peace. There is only this moment. The real present moment is the one we choose to exist in.

#Slow down, think deeply

Your job, after having emptied your mind, is to slow down and think. To really think, on a regular basis. Think about what’s important to you. Think about what might be hidden from view.

#Be aware of comfort creep

We get so used to a certain level of convenience and luxury that it becomes almost inconceivable that we used to live without it. As wealth grows, so does our sense of “normal.” This can be toxic and scary.

#Don’t overwork

Good decisions are not made by those who are running empty. What kind of interior life can you have, what kind of thinking can you do, when you’re utterly and completely overworked? You end up having to work more to fix the errors you made when you would have been better off resting in the first place.

#The domain of the body

Epicurus once said that the wise will accomplish three things in their life:

  1. Leave written works behind.
  2. Be financially prudent and provide for the future.
  3. Cherish country living.

What kind of routine and schedule do you keep? How do you find leisure and relief from the pressures of life?

If you are to be productive and manage to capture joy, zest and stillness, these are traits you will need to cultivate:

  • Rise above your physical limitations.
  • Find hobbies that rest and replenish you.
  • Develop a reliable, disciplined routine.
  • Spend time getting active outdoors.
  • Seek out solitude and perspective.
  • Learn to sit — to do nothing when called for.
  • Get enough sleep and rein in your workaholism.
  • Commit to causes bigger than yourself.

#Get better at saying no

You need to get better at saying no. As in:

  • “No, sorry, I’m not available.”
  • “No, sorry, that sounds great but I’d rather not.”
  • “No, I don’t need that—I’m going to make the most of what I have.”

For every situation ask:

  • What is it?
  • Why does it matter?
  • Do I need it?
  • Do I want it?
  • What are the hidden costs?
  • Will I look back from the distant future and be glad I did it?

When we know what to say no to, we can say yes to the things that matter.

How to say no

#The Eisenhower box

A matrix that orders our priorities by their ratio of urgency and importance.

Much that is happening in the world is urgent but not important. Meanwhile, most of what is truly important is not remotely time-sensitive.

#Wu wei, nonaction

Wu wei is a concept of nonaction. It’s the ability to wait until the perfect opportunity. Not just take any chance in front of you. Doing nothing is the right course of action more times than you think. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei

#Walking meditation

What the Buddhists call kinhin where the movement after a long session of sitting, particularly through a beautiful setting, can unlock a different kind of stillness than from traditional meditation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_meditation

#Find a hobby

When you hear the word “leisure”, you may think of just lounging around and doing nothing. But this is a perversion of a sacred notion. Leisure historically meant simply freedom from the work needed to survive, freedom for intellectual or creative pursuits. It was learning and study and the pursuit of higher things.

“Being at leisure” is a physical state, a physical action, that somehow replenishes and strengthens the soul. Leisure is not the absence of activity, it is activity. Leisure can be anything. It can be cutting down trees, or learning a new language. Restoring old cars. Writing poetry or knitting. Horse riding or walking the beach with a metal detector. It can be painting or bricklaying.

But don’t let your hobby turn into a job, into another thing to dominate and dominate others through. Remember that having a hobby is an investment. There is nourishment in pursuits that have no purpose — that is their purpose. Also see it as a reward for the work you do. Make the time. Build the discipline. Form a hobby. Your stillness depends on it.

#Do the right thing

High-minded thoughts and inner work are one thing, but all that matters is what you do. The health of your spiritual ideals depends on what you do with your body in moments of truth.

Training your mind and forming your spirit is only preparation work for your actions. Virtue is not something contained in the soul—it’s embedded in how you live, it’s what you do. This is what Marcus Aurelius called eudaimonia: human flourishing.

Doing good regularly will make you feel good. The only true purpose for improving yourself is to live better and be better. And remember that every person you meet, every situation you find yourself in is an opportunity to prove that.

#Automate irrelevant life details

Automate as much as you can of the details of your daily life. For instance, when waking up each morning, things like:

  • What do I wear?
  • What do I eat?
  • What should I do first?
  • What to do after that?
  • What sort of work should I do?

The more you automate these types of decisions the more your higher power of mind will be set free for its own proper work. Limit the number of choices you need to make.

#Make your preferred behavior automatic

Automaticity is the ability to reform a behavior without thinking about each step, which occurs when the non-conscious mind takes over. Make your preferred behavior automatic. Decision making is one of the most tiring and wearying tasks. It’s one of the reasons why people like Bill Gates and Barack Obama only wear two colored suits. Or why Steve Jobs just wore turtleneck and jeans. Or Mark Zuckerberg only jeans and t-shirt. Our time is already so filled up with having to make numerous decisions during a day. It’s a good practice to systemize the mundane tasks.

#Enough is a beautiful thing

Imagine the stillness that a sense of enough brings to you. It’s a beautiful thing. No ceaseless wanting. No insecurity of comparison. Just feeling satisfied with yourself. What a gift!

There is deep spiritual, introspective work required to understand what enough means, and this work may well destroy your illusions and assumptions you have held your entire life.

There is a contradiction however, in that no one achieves excellence or enlightenment without a desire to get better, without a tendency to explore potential areas of improvement. And it is this desire for more that often is at odds with happiness.

Remember that the creep of more, more, more is like a hydra. You chop off one head by getting something you want, and in its place grow two new.

“When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” — Lao Tzu

You will never feel okay by way of external accomplishments. Enough comes from the inside. It comes from stepping off the train.

#The domain of the soul

Mental stillness will be short-lived if your heart is on fire, or your soul aches with emptiness.

It’s work located in the heart and in the soul, not in the mind, that’s the key to your happiness, contentment, moderation and stillness.

In seeking stillness you must come to:

  • Develop a strong moral compass.
  • Steer clear of envy and jealousy and harmful desires.
  • Come to terms with the painful wounds of your childhood.
  • Practice gratitude and appreciation for the world.
  • Cultivate relationship and love in your life.
  • Understand that there will never be “enough” and that the unchecked pursuit of more ends only in bankruptcy.