Given to me by an emerging friend, at exactly the right time.
Important Distinctions:
“When we talk about personal balance, we are referencing everything that really makes you who you are - what are the “titles” outside of your job, and how do you cultivate them” (pg xxi)?
“Positional balance . . . Whatever you do that earns income or provides you financial stability . . .” (pg xxi).
“Professional balance is just that - how are you continuing to learn, grow, and enhance your knowledge and understanding of your role” (pg xxi)?
Passions: What I would do for free (pg xxii).
Favorite Quotes:
“We do not learn from experience . . . we learn from reflecting on experience” (pg 35).
“We take care of our phones better than our bodies. We know when our battery is depleted” (pg 36).
“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering” - Ben Okri (pg 43).
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm” - Winston Churchill (pg 51).
“Many of you have likely reached a point in your life where you do not want it all, but you do want a rich life, full of deep interactions, long-lasting memories, and opportunities fot follow your personal and professional calling” (pg 60).
“I never lose - I either win or learn” - Nelson Mandela (pg 63).
“Many educators believe in “servant leadership” as a pillar philosophy and recoil at the idea of selfishness. We believe that self-care is not selfish, and in fact, being healthy allows us to be more selfless” (pg 66).
“Leisure is only possible when we are at one with ourselves, We tend to overwork as a means of self-escape, as a way of trying to justify our existence” (pg 74).
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” (pg 75).
“Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching. A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl knows she has none” - Marilyn Monroe, (pg 81).
“To succeed with deep work, you must rewire your brain to be comfortable resisting distracting stimuli” (pg 96).
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you” - Maya Angelou (pg 105).
“Each person has special talents - the things you enjoy doing when they are away from school. Making intentional time to cultivate your dream and following through with courage and discipline is important not only for you, but for the students you serve. So don’t hide it from your students! You strive to find out as much as you can about their passions, but how often do you share your passions with them?” - “Identity Day”, a school day devoted to students AND teachers sharing on thing they are passionate about (pg 106)
“Each time i pulled off the work “Band-aid” just to relax and enjoy life, I returned to work rejuvenated and with a clear mind, able to be more productive and focused” (pg 112).
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading” - Lau Tzu (pg 115).
“The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it” - The Law of Diminishing Intent (pg 124).
For more one . . .