Books

You Have Time

If your time had passed, you would have passed away too. The fact that you are here, your time to make IT happen is still here too. Whoever you believe is sitting up in heaven won’t call you back until you DO the work that you feel inspired to do.

You have time. The only time you lose is when you feel scared of running out of it instead of using it to go after what ignites your soul.

Book: The Life Beyond Fear by Ella Heart

Choice Is Creation

Choice is creation.
To choose is to create.
Through my choices I create my reality.

At every moment in my life I have a choice.
Moments add up to a lifetime; choices add up to a life.

What kind of life do I want for myself?
What choices will create this kind of life?

Book: Choose the Life You Want by Tal Ben-Shahar

The Difference Between Thoughts and Thinking

Thoughts are the energetic, mental raw materials from which we use to create everything in the world. We can’t experience anything without thought. It’s important to know that thoughts are nouns and aren’t something that we do, but something we have. A thought takes no effort or force on our end, and it is something that just happens. We also cannot control what thoughts pop into our minds. The source of thoughts comes from something that is beyond our minds—the Universe, if you will.

Thinking, on the other hand, is the act of thinking about our thoughts. This takes a significant amount of energy, effort, and willpower (which is a finite resource). Thinking is actively engaging with the thoughts in your mind. You don’t have to engage with each thought in your mind, but when you do, that is thinking.

Thinking is the root cause of all our psychological suffering.

Now you might be wondering, where do positive thoughts fit into the picture? Positive thoughts, or thoughts that feel good, are not a result of thinking. They are, instead, generated by our natural state of peace, love, and joy. They are a byproduct of a state of being, not a state of thinking. We will go into depth about this in the next chapter.

Book: Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

The smartest people I know:

1. Obsessively read books.
2. Pursue new mental models.
3. Enjoy intelligent discourse.
4. Quickly admit when they’re wrong.
5. Are comfortable changing their opinion.
6. Surround themselves with intelligence.
7. Seek to understand every perspective on a topic.

Book: How to Live an Extraordinary Life by Anthony Pompliano

The root cause of our suffering is our own thinking.

Our perception of reality is very real. We will feel what we think, and our feelings are real — that is completely undeniable. However, our thinking can look like an inevitable, unchangeable reality until we begin to see how our reality is created.

If we know that we can only ever feel what we are thinking, then we know that we can change our feelings by changing our thinking. In this way, we can change our experience of life by knowing that it comes from our own thinking.

Book: Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

Your late night scrolling could literally be hurting your heart.

Inadequate sleep—even moderate reductions for just one week—disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic. Short sleeping increases the likelihood of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path toward cardiovascular disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure.

Fitting Charlotte Brontë’s prophetic wisdom that “a ruffled mind makes a restless pillow,” sleep disruption further contributes to all major psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, and suicidality.

Book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Why Alcohol Is More Dangerous Than Any Illegal Drug

People fear cocaine, heroin, and drugs.
But not alcohol.

And yet…

Alcohol kills 3 million people every year (WHO data)
More than 200 diseases are caused or worsened by alcohol
Alcohol is the leading cause of liver failure and cancer
Alcohol destroys more families than any drug

Even worse:

Alcohol is the only drug that people pressure you to take.

Nobody will ever say:
“Come on, have some heroin. Be a sport.”

Book: Alcohol Is Poison: How to Stay Away by M. K. Devidasan

Being present is a great thing, but like many things in life, don’t overdo it.

That’s why I like to live like I’m immortal. Because when you live forever . . .

You have all the time in the world to build something.
You can make mistakes and learn from them.
There’s no pressure to make things happen fast.
You treat people with respect because other people will also be around forever.

This small tweak in my mindset has helped me to take a different view on life. I’m not afraid to look 10 or 20 years ahead. That helps me to make better decisions TODAY. For example, I’d rather save my money or invest it instead of spending it because I know that “future Darius” will benefit from that.

Book: Do It Today by Darius Foroux

Merry Christmas!🎄❄️

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish each of you a warm, joyful holiday filled with love, peace, and quiet moments to enjoy a good book. Thank you for being here, for your kindness, your support, and for sharing this love of reading with us.

We’re truly grateful for this community and for every one of you. Wishing you a beautiful Christmas and many wonderful stories ahead🫶✨

Our beliefs shape how we experience the world.

Most of the time, we don’t consciously notice the thoughts that pass through our minds or realise the extent to which they shape our reality. The more deeply embedded these beliefs become, the harder they feel to challenge. You may begin to believe that “this is just who I am,” rather than recognising these beliefs as learned patterns — and, more importantly, patterns that can be unlearned.

Our beliefs determine how we perceive situations, how we interpret events, and ultimately how we define ourselves. They become self-fulfilling prophecies, for better or for worse.

Book: Confidence: 8 Steps to Knowing Your Worth by Roxie Nafousi

Negotiation is a game of imperfect information.

In any negotiation, neither side can see the whole picture. You know the cards you hold and the terms you are willing to accept. At the same time, you have no clear view of your opponent’s cards or the concessions they may be prepared to make.

This uncertainty makes negotiation similar to poker, a game in which part of the information is always hidden. A negotiator, like a poker player, tries to deduce the opponent’s hand by interpreting their moves rather than relying on complete knowledge.

As with any game of imperfect information, success depends heavily on position at the table.

Book: Negotiate It Right by Kamal Gupta

Why Mental Stillness Matters?

The mind without pauses is like a cluttered desk — no space to work, no room to breathe.
Stillness doesn’t throw everything away. It clears a little space so you can see what actually matters.

With even a little mental clarity, the impossible feels manageable.
The loud becomes softer.
The messy feels organised.
And sometimes, the question that haunted you finds its answer in the quiet.

Stillness is not wasting time — it is reclaiming it.

Book: The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: Rediscovering the Joy of Stillness by Sruthi S Kumar

The Highest Form of Wealth

The highest form of wealth is the ability to wake up every morning and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”

People want to become wealthier to make them happier. Happiness is a complicated subject because everyone’s different. But if there’s a common denominator in happiness—a universal fuel of joy—it’s that people want to control their lives.

The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. It is the highest dividend money pays.

Book: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

How to start a conversation with strangers?

Ask for advice
People love giving advice. So, start your small talk with a request for advice: ‘I want to buy a smartphone [or a cocktail or a book], but I can’t decide which one.’ Most people will happily open up. Then thank them for the tip and the other person will feel like a fireman who has successfully extinguished a fire. The psychology behind this: if you ask for advice, you create intimacy; intimacy makes rejection difficult. Therefore, if you want to influence someone, it is a good idea to ask that person for advice first.

Ask a second question
We often ask something and then wait for the other person to ask something back. This is not a conversation. Instead, use the old reporter trick and ask a second question. If you just asked ‘Where did you grow up?’, then a good follow-up question might be: ‘How has that place shaped you?’

Book: The Communication Book: 44 Ideas for Better Conversations Every Day by Mikael Krogerus & Roman Tschäppeler

Points to Remember

1. A lack of clarity about who you are—and what you should do—can hurt. If it lingers long enough, it leads to a chaotic mind.

2. When your heart knows what you should do but your mind isn’t willing to accept the consequences, a void begins to form inside you. You long for that void to be filled.

3. We lack clarity in our careers, relationships, and lives because we don’t know who we really are, what we want, what our core values are, and what purpose our souls should serve.

4. This inner turmoil can spill into our everyday lives. The first step is to acknowledge it, then understand and accept who we are.

5. It can be difficult to come to terms with who we are deep down and what we want. Society has conditioned us to function according to its expectations. We have forgotten our real selves.

Book: 7 Rules for a Calm Mind in a Chaotic World by Abhijeet Mukherjee

Physical activity is the closest thing to a miracle drug.

It reduces cancer, depression, insomnia, dementia, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and many other disabling conditions — and increases healthy longevity. If you have the personality, resources, and inclination for extensive physical activity, that’s great — you’ll be much more likely to avoid disability and live independently into old age.

I can only stick with activities I enjoy. I play squash — not well but enthusiastically; for the hour I’m on a squash court, that’s all I think about, and when I finish, drenched in sweat, endorphins and other beneficial neurochemicals coursing through my body, I can’t wait to play again. So, busy as my schedule is, I fit squash in.

Try to find vigorous activities you love doing. But if that’s not for you, you can still get a large dose of the miracle drug if you build physical activity into your daily routines — taking stairs instead of the elevator, walking farther to work or stores, bicycling whenever possible. A brisk walk, ideally outdoors, is the most accessible. Four brisk walks every week for at least thirty minutes, ideally in a refreshing natural space, can do wonders.

Book: The Formula for Better Health by Tom Frieden

The Paradox – How Discipline Leads to Greater Freedom in Life

Discipline and freedom are often seen as conflicting ideas. Many people think discipline means restricting yourself, following rigid rules, and sacrificing enjoyment. But the truth is, discipline is the key to achieving genuine freedom in life.

When you’re disciplined with your time, you create a structure that ensures you complete your work efficiently. This leaves you with free time to pursue hobbies, spend with loved ones, or relax without guilt. On the other hand, if you lack discipline and waste time procrastinating, you’re left scrambling to meet deadlines, often sacrificing your personal time.

Freedom isn’t about doing whatever you want whenever you want; it’s about having the ability to make meaningful choices. Discipline gives you that ability. For instance, if you’re disciplined with your finances—saving consistently and avoiding unnecessary spending—you have the freedom to invest in opportunities, take vacations, or handle emergencies without stress. Conversely, a lack of financial discipline often leads to debt and dependency.

Book: Those Who Live Without Discipline Die Without Honor by Modern Arjuna

We are not always kind to time.

In fact, it is very easy to kill time. We honestly believe we’re the ones causing the harm, but as playwright Dion Boucicault pointed out: “Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.” It has been rephrased in many ways since, but the sentiment is the same. I think about it all the time. We can master so much — we feel we are in control of our time — but in this case it is to no avail.

Here are the words of the poet Henry Austin Dobson:

Time goes, you say? Ah, no.
Alas, time stays, we go.

Book: In Love With Death by Satish Modi

Never win an argument.

Whether it’s an argument, a heated discussion, or slight friction in conversation, your goal isn’t to “win.” It’s to unravel. Start at the loose ends until you understand the heart of the matter. There you’ll find the knot.

This is a book of knots. The hard stuff in social relationships that, admit it, you’d rather skip over. Untying crossed wires takes time, takes emotion, takes effort. That’s what conflict in communication represents: a struggle.

An argument is a window into another person’s struggle. In every difficult conversation, there’s a moment when someone—whether it’s you or the other person—hits a snag. Maybe you don’t understand what they’re trying to say. Maybe you’re in a bad mood. Maybe you disagree. It’s not the clash of opinions; it’s the clash of worlds, of the very way you see things.

Book: The Next Conversation by Jefferson Fisher

Be an Entrepreneur

The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.
— Leonard I. Sweet, author and theologian

Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful expressions of the Human Edge. At its core, it’s about imagination, initiative and impact. It’s the ability to see possibilities where others see problems, to take risks and shape new realities. As we step into the AI age, entrepreneurship is no longer just for startup founders or business elites—it is a mindset and skill set that every individual needs.

The AI age is not just disrupting jobs; it is reshaping the very idea of what a career looks like. Many traditional roles are disappearing, but in their place lies the rise of something exciting—the Age of Entrepreneurs.

Book: Human Edge in the AI Age by Nitin Seth