📚 The Book in 3 Bullets

• If we want to perform our best in any given situation we must be fully present, take our time, sit quietly and reflect, reject distraction, and deliberate without being paralyzed.

• Learn to enjoy all the details of the world. In the hustle and bustle world we live in today, there are abundant opportunities to appreciate all the details that surround us. Put the phone down and observe the world around you as beauty is ubiquitous, you just have to make an emphasis to open your eyes to it.

• Stop focusing on results, or getting to the next step in life. Life will not get better if you're always looking toward the future. Enjoy every day you're given because it is not certain that you'll be given another tomorrow. Living in the past is miserable. Living in the future is anxiety-ridden. Living in the present gives you an opportunity for happiness.

👤 How the Book Changed Me

• This book taught me to stop looking ahead and saying that once I get to this point in life or achieve something, then I'll be happy. If I want to be fulfilled in life, I need to truly appreciate the beauty of the world and seek more moments of stillness. Whether that be getting lost in nature, admiring the architectural beauty of the city, or simply watching an animal just be. This book has taught me that in the end, we don't have the past or the future, all we have is this moment.

✍️ My Top Quotes

• A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.

• The world is like muddy water. To see through it, we have to let things settle.

• Paper has more patience than people - Anne Frank

• A person enslaved to their urges is not free—whether they are a plumber or the president.

• It is better to find beauty in all places and things. Because it does surround us. And will nourish us if we let it.

• There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with - Seneca

• Solitude allows you to reflect while others are reacting.

📖 Summary & Notes

• The quiet street at night as snow falls, watched as the light falls softly on that snow and being warmed by the contentment of being alive—that is stillness.

• Being present demands all of us. It's not nothing. It may be the hardest thing in the world.

• We struggle to sit in silence and be still. Even during a quiet evening at home, all we're thinking about is the list of improvements that need to be made.

• There may be a beautiful sunset, but instead of taking it in, we're taking a picture of it.

• If you're not present, you miss out. On life. On being your best. On seeing what's there.

• Remember, there's no greatness in the future. Or clarity. Or insight. Or happiness. Or peace. There is only this moment.

• You have plenty on your plate right now. Focus on that, no matter how small or insignificant it is.

• Give things a little space, don't consume news in real-time, be a season or two behind on the latest trend or cultural phenomenon, and don't let your inbox lord over your life. The important stuff will still be important by the time you get to it. And the unimportant will have made its insignificance obvious (or simply disappeared).

• We are afraid of silence. We are afraid of looking stupid. We are afraid of missing out. We are afraid of being the bad guy who says, "nope, not interested". We'd rather make ourselves miserable than make ourselves a priority.

• Journal. The world would be a lot better place if everyone at the end of the day reviewed their own behavior and weigh up the rights and wrongs.

• Journaling is a weapon for spiritual combat. A place to prepare for the day ahead. To reflect on the day that has passed.

• Journaling is a great place to ask tough questions: What's the smallest step I can take toward a big thing today? Why am I so worked up by this? Why do I care so much about impressing other people?

• Thought will not work except in silence. If we want to think better, we need to seize these moments of quiet.

• Stop focusing on the results. The closer we get to mastery the less we care about specific results. The more at peace, we are, the more productive we can be.

• Those who seek stillness must come to develop a strong moral compass, steer clear of envy and jealousy, and harmful desires, and understand that there will never be "enough" and the unchecked pursuit of more ends only in bankruptcy.

• Virtue is not holiness, but rather moral and civic excellence in the course of daily life.

• You can be the richest person in the world or a poor person, the one who will be happy is the one who knows they have enough.

• Most people never learn that their accomplishments will ultimately fail to provide the relief and happiness we tell ourselves they will.

• Stop believing that there will be some point where you will feel like you've "made it" and be good because you will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

• What do we want more in life? It's not accomplishments or popularity, it's moments when we feel we are enough.

• Get out now. Not just outside, but beyond the trap of programmed electronics suffocating all of us. Go outside, move deliberately, then relax, slow down, and look around. Pay attention to everything that abuts the rural road, the city street, and the suburban boulevard. Walk. Stroll. Explore.

• Others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.

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

• A good routine is not only a source of great comfort and stability, it's the platform from which stimulating and fulfilling work is possible.

• We don't need to get rid of all our possessions, but we should constantly question what we own, why we own it, and whether we could do without it.

• The person who is afraid to lose their stuff and who has their identity wrapped up in their things gives their enemies an opening. They make themselves extra vulnerable to fate.

• It is difficult to think clearly in rooms filled with other people. It's difficult to understand yourself if you are never by yourself.

• Schedule and cultivate moments of solitude. Whether it be early in the morning or late at night.

• Know your limits. Moderation. Being present. The body each of us has is a gift. Don't work it to death.

• Leisure is meant to be a time for freedom and intellectual or creative pursuits. Learn and study in your free time, don't waste time with mindless activities.

• If an action tires your body but puts your heart at ease, do it. This is why most of the stoics practiced jiu-jitsu and other physical activities.

• You were given one body when you were born—don't try to be someone else, somewhere else. Get to know yourself.