[Book Review] The Practicing Mind

 

• The skill is practicing the goal, not having the goal.
• All of life is practice in one form or another.
• Good practice is not stressful, it is free flowing. (You get in flow.)
• Actively practicing something is very different from passively learning.
• Education: when school funding is determined by how many high test scores we put out, what students actually learn is merely a footnote.
• Japanese perfect plate story. “Why would I need someone to make sure I do my job correctly?”
• Your goals are like a rudder on a boat, they provide direction. (Goals as rudder versus a dock?)
• Judging your work is wasted energy that can't go into the work.
• If your mind races off, you're like a chariot without the reigns. Take the reigns and be in control of your mind.
• Your goals are a compass, not the buried treasure. The goal is not the destination or where you end up, but rather the compass that guides the journey.
• The greatest part of entrepreneurship is breaking down your limiting beliefs. It has nothing to do with money.
• Zen concept of Beginners Mind. It's harder to concentrate as you advance in skill level.
• A habit is the “natural way we do something.”
• There is no point of performance you can achieve where you will feel “done”.
• Make time to just sit. You need relaxing time.