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Showing 487 tag results for “courage”

All(487) +1s(132) PhilosophersNotes(33) Authors(26) Quotes(296)

+1s (132)

Jimmy Kimmel: “Take That, Mr. Mills!”
#1284

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When “Weakness” Becomes Strength

Not too long we spent some time with Dav!d Rendall and his fun book called The Freak Factor. Recall: Dav!d is so freaky he spells his first name with an exclamation point rather than an “i.” (< HAH!) Today I want to revisit his freaky brain. In addition to having a PhD, Dav!d is also a com...

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+1 inspired by Note: The Freak Factor

Packs:
Confidence & Purpose

commitment confidence courage Growth Mental Toughness Mind purpose

#1284

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Goats and G.O.A.T.s
#1262

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Game-Winning Touchdowns and Home Runs Gowith Game-Losing Interceptions and Strike Outs

Today we’re going to continue our brief tour through Trevor Moawad’s brilliant mind and book It Takes What It Takes. As we’ve discussed, Trevor works with some of THE most elite athletes and performers in the world. One of his closest friends and clients is Russell Wilson. Trevor uses Russell as a ...

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+1 inspired by Note: It Takes What It Takes

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Conquering Perfectionism & Peak Performance

amor-fati conquering-perfectionism courage Inspiration Mental Toughness Mind mis-take Peak Performance

#1262

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The Jonah Complex
#1255

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Quit Running from Your Destiny

Scott Barry Kaufman is one of the world’s leading positive psychologists. We featured one of his earlier books called Wired to Create. So, when a bunch of our Optimizers recommended his new book called Transcend I was eager to get it. (👈 Thank you!! Keep ‘em coming, please!) It’s FANTASTIC. In s...

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+1 inspired by Note: Motivation and Personality

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Modern Hērō & Purpose

big-picture courage greatness Hero modern-hero purpose soul Spirit

#1255

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Your (Heroic) Destiny
#1237

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How’s It Going?

This morning I was working on my Note on Anders Olsson’s great book The Power of Your Breath. I wrapped it up by featuring the hero’s journey HE had to embark on to dedicate his life to studying breathing so he could share his life-changing wisdom with us. It’s easy to take someone’s wisdom for g...

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+1 inspired by Note: The Power of Your Breath

Packs:
Modern Hērō & Purpose

big-picture courage Hero Inspiration modern-hero omms purpose soul Spirit

#1237

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Mission Algorithms
#1221

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Binary Pre-Commitments

A couple +1s ago, we spent some time with Admiral McRaven hours before the launch of his successful mission to bring justice to Osama bin Laden. Today I want to go back to the weeks leading up to that raid. Let’s flip open our copies of Sea Stories to page 299 where he gives us some insight into their ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Sea Stories

Packs:
Algorithms & Peak Performance

algorithms courage Hero Mental Toughness Peak Performance process SEAL Work

#1221

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Peak Performance You
#1220

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Flip the Switch—TODAY!

In our last +1, we got an inspiring (Hoosiers-inspired) pep talk from Admiral McRaven right before engaging in our next most important mission. I mentioned the fact that I had a chat with an Olympic swim coach shortly after reading that passage from McRaven. He and I chatted about that wisdom in the cont...

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+1 inspired by Note: Presence

Packs:
Confidence & Peak Performance

confidence courage Energy Excellence Mental Toughness Peak Performance presence

#1220

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SEALs and Hoosiers
#1219

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Get Your Tape Measure Out and Let’s Go!

In our last +1, we made it through one evolution at a time with William McRaven as he endured Hell Week and became a Navy SEAL. Fast forward a few decades—from 1977 to 2011. Ensign McRaven is now Admiral McRaven. He’s no longer trying to make it through training. He’s now leading the hunt for Osama...

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+1 inspired by Note: Sea Stories

Packs:
Confidence & Peak Performance

confidence courage equanimity Hero Mental Toughness Peak Performance SEAL Work

#1219

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One Evolution at a Time
#1218

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How to Get Through Hell Week

Not too long ago, we spent some time making our beds with Admiral William McRaven. Immediately after I finished his great little book called Make Your Bed, I ordered his memoir called Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations. It’s fantastic. The book features some of the unforgettable stories from hi...

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+1 inspired by Note: Sea Stories

Packs:
Confidence & Conquering Anxiety

confidence conquering-anxiety courage Hero Inspiration Mental Toughness persistence SEAL Work

#1218

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Bliss, Pain & Unicorns on Everest
#1217

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Pearl Bites Part II

In our last +1, we talked about my chigger-triggers (hah and yeehah! 🤠) and how to alchemize life’s inevitable “inconveniences” into Pearl Bites. Right after finishing that one I thought about Kelly McGonigal’s wisdom on climbing Everest and the inevitable cold, crazy nights an explore...

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+1 inspired by Note: The Upside of Stress

Packs:
Antifragility & Conquering Anxiety

Actualization antifragility big-picture conquering-anxiety courage Grit soul Spirit

#1217

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Comcourage
#1197

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A New Word for Our Optimizing Dictionary

I had a lot of fun preparing for our Carpe Diem session on Love for our Mastery Series. There was a mini-fireworks display of epiphanies as I wrapped my brain around how we can help people become Professional Lovers of Wisdom (and Professional Heros!) while redefining our sense of what Love means with a ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Love 2.0

Packs:
Love & Modern Hērō

big-picture Coach Compassion courage Love modern-hero Spirit

#1197

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High-Hanging Fruit
#1160

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Your Fuel for 10x Thinking

In our last +1, we spent some time with Tim Ferriss, setting some unusually large goals and thinking about the fact that those jumbo goals can often be, paradoxically, easier to reach than the “realistic” goals that everyone else is going after. Of course, as we dream big, we’d be wise to r...

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+1 inspired by Note: Smartcuts

Packs:
Goals & Purpose

action big-picture courage goals purpose soul Spirit wildly-important-goals

#1160

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Tim Ferriss on Unusually Large Goals
#1159

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And the Collective Insecurity of the World

In our last +1, we spent some time with Isaiah Hankel in his Black Hole of Focus and talked about “How Intelligent People Can Create a Powerful Purpose for Their Lives.” We quickly reflected on a two-step process to create that powerful purpose. He told us: “You can achieve greatness. N...

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+1 inspired by Note: Black Hole Focus

Packs:
Goals & Purpose

Actualization big-picture courage goals purpose soul Spirit wildly-important-goals

#1159

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Moonshots with Kennedy
#1157

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What Goal Is Organizing and Measuring YOUR Energy and Skills?

In our last +1, we planted some trees with John F. Kennedy. Recall that he told us: “I am reminded of the story of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. Th...

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+1 inspired by Note: Black Hole Focus

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Leadership & Purpose

big-picture courage Inspiration leadership purpose soul Spirit Vision wildly-important-goals

#1157

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Permission Slips
#1149

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Time to Write Yourself One?

Brené Brown is one of the world’s leading scholars on the subjects of vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. She’s also one of the most popular TED speakers and writers out there. I’ve enjoyed Daring Greatly, The Gifts of Imperfection and Braving the Wilderness. (Check out all ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Braving the Wilderness

Packs:
Confidence & Conquering Anxiety

confidence conquering-anxiety courage Happiness Mindset self-awareness soul Spirit

#1149

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In Case of Extreme Challenges
#1139

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Break Glass!

We’ve spent the last week or so exploring courage. As it turns out, as I was reading that book on the science of courage, Emerson and I got to hang out with some of the most courageous humans on the planet: Navy SEALs. Super-quick (Top Secret) context. 🤓 Apparently a couple of guys who help run ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Staring Down the Wolf

Packs:
Confidence & Modern Hērō

confidence courage Mental Toughness Mindset modern-hero omms SEAL Work

#1139

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PhilosophersNotes (33)

Fearless

The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

by Eric Blehm

I got this book after my friend, retired Navy SEAL Captain Bob Schoultz, recommended it to me. It’s ASTONISHINGLY good. As per the sub-title, this book is about "The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown." It's a humbling, inspiring story "of an American hero who bravely gave permission in his final written requests to share his journey, from small-town America to gutter to jail to Jesus to war to the top tier of the U.S. military: SEAL Team Six.”

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Pack:
Purpose

courage Mental Toughness Military SEAL

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Sea Stories

My Life in Special Operations

by Admiral William H. McRaven

I got this book immediately after finishing Admiral McRaven’s first book, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World. That one’s a quick-reading little book on the ten lessons McRaven learned in his SEAL training that we can all apply to our modern lives. It was fantastic. I had a strong feeling this memoir on his “Life in Special Operations” would be just as good. It is. As per the back cover, “Admiral William H. McRaven is a part of American military history, having been involved in some of the most famous missions in recent memory, including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, and the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.” McRaven is a brilliant story teller with, as you can imagine, an incredible array of stories to tell. But that’s not why I loved this book so much. I loved it because reading it made me want to be a better human being. If you enjoy autobiographies and appreciate the military heroes who serve our country as much as I do, I think you’ll love the book as much as I did.

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Pack:
Modern Hērō

courage Mental Toughness Military SEAL

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The Courage to Be Disliked

The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness

by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

This is a book about Alfred Adler's approach to psychology. Adler was a contemporary of Freud and Jung. Although not as widely known these days, he was one of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century. As per the sub-title, the book was originally a “Japanese phenomenon.” It was written by Ichiro Kishimi (an authority on Adlerian psychology who translated a couple of Alfred Adler’s books into Japanese) and Fumitake Koga (an award-winning professional writer). Big Ideas we explore include the primary difference between Freud and Adler (hint: etiology vs. teleology), the importance of "separating tasks" (aka: stay out of other people's business and don't let them in yours), the ticket to freedom (hint: the courage to be disliked), the center of the world (<- is not you), and Adler's guiding star (happiness defined as contribution!).

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Confidence & Positive Psychology

confidence courage positive-psychology service

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The 5 Second Rule

Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

by Mel Robbins

Mel Robbins is funny, witty and wise. Her TEDx Talk (called How to stop screwing yourself over) is one of the most popular of all time, with more than 18 million views. This book is also super popular—with over 1,000 Amazon reviews. It’s pretty awesome. Actually, the book is REALLY (!) good. In fact, Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule might just be one of THE most elegantly efficient Tools we can use to close the gap between who we’re CAPABLE of being and who we’re ACTUALLY being. (Seriously.) Big Ideas we explore include The 5 Second Rule (and how/when to rock it), how to win the game of life (hint: start, stay in, for the long game!), excitement + anxiety (and how they feel the same in the body), managing distractions (today a good day?), and changing your life with one moment of everyday courage.

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Pack:
Habits

action Areté confidence courage Mastery

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The Artist’s Journey

The Wake of the Hero's Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning

by Steven Pressfield

This is Steven Pressfield’s 19th book. It’s the 10th book of his I’ve read and it’s the 4th book on which I’ve done a Note. As with all of his books, this one is written in his inimitable, pithy style. (In fact, as I consulted my dictionary for the precise definition of the word pithy, I realized just how much his style epitomizes that word. Pithy means “concise and forcefully expressive.” <- Exactly.) Big Ideas we explore include defining the artist's journey (vis-a-vis the hero's journey; note: we all live both journeys!!), our #1 job (say hello to your muse), the superconsciousness (shuttle back and forth!), destiny acorns (daimon meet genius), how to let your soul shine (hint: SHOW UP!), Jay-Z in his studio (enter: 10,000 micro hero's journeys), and: Ready or not (you're called!!).

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Creativity & Purpose

courage creativity purpose

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The Icarus Deception

How High Will You Fly?

by Seth Godin

Seth Godin is one of the world's most inspiring and prolific creators. He's also one of its most popular bloggers. This book is all about challenging what Seth calls "The Icarus Deception" and reclaiming our power to fly. The primary theme? We’re way too worried about exhibiting any level of hubris and trying to fly too high when we should be more concerned about flying too LOW. (Obviously, without being “recklessly stupid” about it but…) Big Ideas we explore include: how to catch a fox (and human!), the highs and lows of the Icarus Deception, "the itch" (how's yours?), and how to deal with resistance (aka "the most important line in the book"!).

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Pack:
Creativity

courage creativity

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Lead Yourself First

Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude

by Raymond M. Kethledge, Michael S. Erwin

Solitude. It’s the secret sauce to leadership. But... In their great book Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin tells us: “Solitude is a state of mind, a space where you can focus on your own thoughts without distraction, with a power to bring mind and soul together in clear-eyed conviction. Like a great wave that saturates everything in its path, however, handheld devices and other media now leave us awash with the thoughts of others. We are losing solitude without even realizing it.” Big Ideas we explore include the big 4 of solitude (clarity + creativity + emotional balance + moral courage), the threats from our "Input Age," how MLK and Eisenhower used solitude, FOMO (get over it!) and how to change the world (starting with YOU!).

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Conquering Digital Addiction & Digital Minimalism & Leadership

courage creativity Deep Work leadership Solitude

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The Nicomachean Ethics

by Aristotle

Aristotle's writings have been extraordinarily influential since ancient times. This treatise is named after his son and is a collection of his lecture notes--imagining attending his Lyceum and listening to him teach 2,300 years ago! Of course, it's packed with culture-changing Big Ideas. Some of my favorites we cover include the ultimate end: eudaimonic happiness (vs. "happiness" as most of us think about it!), how to achieve that eudaimonia (hint: "virtuous activity of the soul" aka areté), how to win the Olympic Games (hint: you can't just show up; you need to ACT!), the doctrine of the mean (and the vice of deficiency + excess) and the virtue of magnanimity: meet YOUR great soul.

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Antifragility & Habits & Modern Hērō

Ancient Wisdom Best of Optimize courage Eudaimonia Habits Happiness Virtue

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by J. K. Rowling

Welcome to the final installment of the magical Harry Potter series. I can’t believe how quickly Emerson and I tore through all of them—particularly this one. We begin with the seven Potters escaping the Dursley’s home, immediately getting ambushed by awaiting Death Eaters. And the thrills never cease. We lose our heroes Mad Eye Moody and Dobby. Celebrate Lupin and Tonks’ wedding and baby boy, meet the mysterious silver doe Patronus, break into Gringotts and track down the secrets of the Peverall brothers and their Deathly Hallows. Big Ideas we explore include the hero’s gift, follow your instincts, the bodhisattvic hero’s boon, and dedicating our lives to the greater good.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J. K. Rowling

Welcome to Harry Potter #6. We kick this adventure off with an amusing scene featuring our former Minister of Magic Fudge, his successor Scrimgeour and ‘The Other Minister” for the muggles. As with all the others, this one is packed with wisdom. Big Ideas we explore include: the importance of friends (Dumbledore and scientists agree!), liquid luck (remember the U Curve—too much of a good thing *isn’t* a good thing), cleverer than most? expect correspondingly huger mistakes, the placebo effect and Ron’s goalkeeping, and walking into the arena with your head held high.

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The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell

by Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. If you’ve ever heard of the “Hero’s Journey,” you have him and his lifelong commitment to studying mythology to thank. This book (written in 1949) is the one that captures the essence of his thoughts on the “monomyth” that shows up across all cultures. One universal hero. A thousand faces. Big Ideas we explore include: a quick look at the hero’s journey, moving past the veil of the unknown (aka romancing your discomfort zone) while creating micro hero journeys (all day every day), your ultimate boon (don’t make King Midas’s mistake), the mistake that the makers of legend made (growth mindset, guys!!), and a portrait of the modern hero (look in the mirror!).

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J. K. Rowling

Welcome to Harry Potter #5: The Order of the Phoenix. We get to hang out with the Order at their secret headquarters at Twelve Grimauld Place and, among many other adventures, get to deal with the atrocious new Headmistress appointed by the Ministry of Magic, Professor Umbridge. Big Ideas we explore include the difference between producing a Protinus in the bright lights of a classroom vis-a-vis the darkness of a dementor attack, what’s worse than death (+ Voldemort’s greatest weakness), Harry’s greatest strength, perfection and humility, and the ultimate power (LOVE!).

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Self-Reliance

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson. He’s the great-great-grandfather in my spiritual family tree. We named our son Emerson after this great 19th century philosopher and when I imagine the heroes whose qualities I want to emulate, he’s on the top of the list. Big Ideas we explore include: Trust thyself (every heart vibrates to that iron string!), nonconformity (and the integrity of your own mind), what must you do? (vs. what will they think?), Hobgoblins (begone), your voyage (of a thousand zigs and zags), and the Royal You (act like that now!).

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J. K. Rowling

Welcome to Harry Potter #4. It’s time for the Quidditch World Cup, the Goblet of Fire, and the Triwizard Tournament. And... Voldemort’s back. Emerson and I had fun hammering through this 752-page tome a little every night. Even just picking up the book and asking him how we’d get through it was a lesson in breaking down big goals into bite-sized small wins! Big Ideas we explore include: The commitment with which you need to enter your name into the Goblet of Fire, two quick tips on how to win a battle with a dragon, how to deal with critics, the magic of the Pensieve (and the fact you already have a magic wand), embracing our complexity Dumbledore style and the power of courageously confronting reality.

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Braving the Wilderness

The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone

by Brené Brown

Brené Brown is one of the world’s most beloved teachers. We’ve covered two of her other #1 NY Times bestselling books: Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection. This book is all about helping us navigate our quests for true belonging—that sense of connection to yourself and to others that’s authentic, vulnerable, and courageous. First step: We need to know that it requires a trip into the hero’s forest of the unknown. Which demands “braving the wilderness.” Big Ideas we explore include deepening our understanding of that quest to true belonging, embracing paradox, the 4 practices of true belonging, how to deal with life’s challenges, and writing yourself a permission slip to be YOU.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter. Number 3. This time we get to meet the prisoner of Azkaban. None other than Harry’s wrongfully-imprisoned Godfather with the coolest name ever: Sirius Black. We also get to hang out with Professor Lupin, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (and werewolf!) and a Hippogriff named Buckbeak. Good times! :) Big Ideas we explore include: how to recover from an encounter with a dementor, how to deal with a boggart (Riddikulus!), the only thing to fear, how to deal with a dementor (Expecto Patronus!), how to do something super hard (hint: do it before).

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter Year 2. I’m having fun reading the epic series to Emerson and in this Note we have fun looking at a handful of my favorite Big Ideas including Burning Days (phoenixes burn then rise from their ashes—so do we!), opening your eyes to reality (always a good idea!), eating your words (gotta do it at times or else you might become a hobgoblin), and what wins in the choices vs. abilities game (hint: CHOICES!!).

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter. You might have heard of him. He’s one of the world’s coolest wizards. And, his story is one of the most epic and epically well-told hero stories ever. I loved reading the books as they came out years ago and now I get to relive the magic as I read them to my son, Emerson. I figured we could have some fun looking at the wonderful wisdom packed into the equally wonderful wizard tales. Big Ideas we explore include: The Mirror of Erised (and how it relates to modern science), the well-organized mind and its attitude on death (and how it relates to ancient Stoicism), the power of naming your fear (Voldemort! Not “You-Know-Who”!), and how to get the Philosopher’s Stone.

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Coming Alive

4 Tools to Defeat Your Inner Enemy, Ignite Creative Expression & Unleash Your Soul’s Potential

by Barry Michels, Phil Stutz

I’m a HUGE fan of Phil and Barry's first book, The Tools. Coming Alive is kinda like The Tools Part 2. In this book, we get four new tools to go along with the original five tools. Big Ideas we explore include how to connect to our Life Force, defeat Part X (their name for that part of each of us that gets in the way), build our confidence and learn to see problems as gifts as we live a GREAT life.

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Strength in the Storm

Transform Stress, Live in Balance, and Find Peace of Mind

by Eknath Easwaran

As I mentioned in the other Notes on his work, Eknath Easwaran is one of my favorite teachers. He was a professor of English literature in India before coming to America on a Fulbright scholarship. He taught at UC Berkeley and became one of the world’s leading meditation and spiritual teachers. In this book, we learn how to love storms—how to use simple tools to find strength in the inevitable storms of life as we “transform stress, live in balance and find peace of mind.” Big Ideas we explore: “I love storms.” -Gandhi, Eudaimantra (how I came up w/the perfect mantra for myself), how to end all boredom, time as an infinite cosmic carpet, the secret of life (in one sentence) and Gandhi 101: how to become fearless.

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