“When you try to live your most authentic life, some of your relationships will be put in jeopardy. Losing them is a risk worth bearing; finding a way to keep them in your life is a challenge worth taking on.”

If you follow your bliss, he said, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else

We say things to ourselves that we would never say to people we love

Too often we love people who don’t love us, but we fail to return the love of others who do.

What’s on your news feed is feeding your mind.

Everyone has a story, and sometimes our egos choose to ignore that. Don’t take everything personally—it is usually not about you.

So people who come to this place, stay here for a while, and then continue their journey. Sounds like a hotel to me.

Most of our communication is nonverbal.

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.

Every night when I’m falling asleep, I say to myself, I am relaxed, energized, and focused. I am calm, enthusiastic, and productive.

Monks understand that routine frees your mind, but the biggest threat to that freedom is monotony. People complain about their poor memories, but I’ve heard it said that we don’t have a retention problem, we have an attention problem.

Never trust a spiritual leader who cannot dance.

Actually, the greatest detachment is being close to everything and not letting it consume and own you. That’s real strength.

Sometimes we can trace our fears through the actions we take, and sometimes it’s the actions we’re reluctant to take

Cancers of the Mind: Comparing, Complaining, Criticizing.

We can’t stop our parents from dying, but we use the fear to remind us to spend more time with them.

Tracking my fear of exam results and the other branch fears that appeared led me to the root: fearing I couldn’t make my parents happy

Act on your inner guidance, and give up your need for ‘proof’ that your inner guidance is authentic. The more you ask for proof, the less likely you are to receive any.

The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust — not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.

Childlike surrender and trust, I believe, is the defining spirit of authentic discipleship.

Authentic brands don’t emerge from marketing cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate from everything the company does.

When we see others beginning to live their authentic selves, it drives us crazy if we have not lived out our own.

You taught me how to be kind, generous, honest, truthful, trustworthy, authentic, by simply being yourself.

The key in telling stories that people relate to is, not surprisingly, vulnerability and authenticity. That means that letting people know the struggle behind your brand – the failures and mistakes – and how you got through them is really important.

Passion will always move you in the direction of your authentic self.