Neil Pasricha, bestselling author of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation, shares insightful wisdom on resilience and intentional living. He emphasizes creating 'untouchable time' for deep focus, drawing from his experience at Wal-Mart before transitioning to writing. Neil elaborates on starting small to build confidence and the importance of intrinsic goals for personal fulfillment. With anecdotes and humor, he inspires listeners to embrace challenges and nurture intentional relationships for long-term success.
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volunteer_activism ADVICE
Take Untouchable Days Weekly
To sustain excellence, take untouchable days to unplug completely from distractions regularly.
This practice boosts creativity and productivity, leading to your best ideas and work.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Create Untouchable Moments Daily
Even in busy corporate jobs, create untouchable moments like untouchable lunches or afternoons to disconnect and recharge.
Limit email checking to two blocks daily to enhance focused work time.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Eight-Year Side Hustle Success
Neil ran his writing and speaking side hustle for eight years while working at Walmart before quitting.
He used two key questions: deathbed regret and plan B preparation to decide to jump into his passion.
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In this book, Mark Manson argues against the typical self-help advice of constant positivity, instead suggesting that life's struggles give it meaning. He emphasizes the need to focus on what truly matters and to accept and confront painful truths. The book is divided into nine chapters and uses blunt honesty and profanity to illustrate its ideas, encouraging readers to find meaning through values they can control and to replace uncontrollable values with more meaningful ones.
You Are Awesome
Neil Pasricha
In 'You Are Awesome,' Neil Pasricha shares personal stories and research to help readers develop mental resilience and move from being change-resistant to change-ready. The book offers strategies to handle failure and anxiety, promoting a more resilient life.
The Book of Awesome
Neil Pasricha
The Book of Awesome
Neil Pasricha
The Happiness Equation
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Morgadot
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
Episode #336: Neil Pasricha: How To Build Resilience & Live An Intentional Life
How To Build Resilience & Live An Intentional Life
NEIL PASRICHA is the the author of six books including: The Book of Awesome, a spinning rolodex of simple pleasures based on his 100-million-hit, award-winning blog 1000 Awesome Things, The Happiness Equation, originally written as a 300-page love letter to his unborn son on how to live a happy life, Awesome Is Everywhere, an interactive introduction to guided meditation for children, and How To Get Back Up, a memoir of failure and resilience released as an Audible Original. His latest book is called You Are Awesome. His books are New York Times and #1 international bestsellers and have sold millions of copies across dozens of languages. His first TED talk “The 3 A’s of Awesome” is ranked one of the 10 Most Inspiring of all time.
Notes:
Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
They read a lot
They unplug regularly - "the genesis for all my best ideas."
"Create untouchable time" for yourself
The CEO of Wal-Mart -- How did he create this time?
He's the CEO BECAUSE he always made this part of his way of operating.
Neil worked in a senior level corporate role for Wal-Mart for 10 years
His side hustle was writing and speaking
He didn't quit his job until he had successfully built his side hustle for eight years!
Ask yourself two questions:
Which of these two decisions will I regret not doing more on your death bed?
What will you do if it fails?
The farmer with one horse fable: A farmer had only one horse. One day, his horse ran away. His neighbors said,“I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.” The man just said,“We’ll see.” A few days later, his horse came back with twenty wild horses following. The man and his son corralled all twenty-one horses. His neighbors said, “Congratulations! This is such good news.You must be so happy!” The man just said,“We’ll see.” One of the wild horses kicked the man’s only son, breaking both his legs. His neighbors said,“I’m so sorry.This is such bad news. You must be so upset.” The man just said,“We’ll see.” The country went to war, and every able-bodied young man was drafted to fight. The war was terrible and killed every young man, but the farmer’s son was spared since his broken legs prevented him from being drafted. His neighbors said, “Congratulations! This is such good news.You must be so happy!” The man just said, “We’ll see . . .”
What is up with this crazy farmer, right?
Well, what’s up with this crazy farmer is that he has truly developed resilience. He has built up his resilience. He is resilient! He’s steady, he’s ready, and whatever the future brings, we all know he’s going to stare it straight in the face with eyes that scream,“Bring it on.”
The farmer has come to understand that every skyrocketing pleasure or stomach-churning defeat defines not who he is but simply where he is.
What do most commencement speeches get wrong?
Do what you love only if you're willing to accept the pain to continue doing it...
The grind. A lot of small losses add up. Can you handle the pain that you will need to endure to do what you love?
Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond?
Yes. Academic research shows it benefits you even up to 10 years after you leave the pond...
Don't but the $5m condo in NYC. Continue to find places where you can purposefully win.
Rig the game to win.
"Different is better than better."
Add a dot-dot-dot...
Neil's mom: "I always just added the word yet to everything..." It's not a NO, it's a "not yet."
You have to just "keep going."
The two minute morning routine that takes the worry out of waking up:
In your journal write three things:
I will let go of...
I am grateful for...
I will focus on...
Neil's goal setting:
Set the lowest possible goals. Set goals that you will hit.
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk 
