PART I: PERCEPTION

While others are excited or afraid, we will remain calm and imperturbable.

THE DISCIPLINE OF PERCEPTION

Oh, how blessed young men are who have to struggle for a foundation and beginning in life.

Nothing makes us feel this way; we choose to give in to such feelings.

RECOGNIZE YOUR POWER

Instead of breaking down–as many would have done in such a bleak situation–Carter declined to surrender the freedoms that were innately his: his attitude, his beliefs, his choices.

There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.

STEADY YOUR NERVES

Talent is not the most sought-after characteristic. Grace and poise are, because these two attributes precede the opportunity to deploy any other skill.

CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS

Some of us almost crave sounding the alarm, because it’s easier than dealing with whatever is staring us in the face.

Just say: No, thank you. I can’t afford to panic.

When you worry, ask yourself, ‘What am I choosing to not see right now?’

ALTER YOUR PERSPECTIVE

That we are scared of obstacles because our perspective is wrong–that a simple shift in perspective can change our reaction entirely.

IS IT UP TO YOU?

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.

Focusing exclusively on what is in our power magnifies and enhances our power. But every ounce of energy directed at things we can’t actually influence is wasted–self-indulgent and self-destructive.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT

It doesn’t matter whether this is the worst time to be alive or the best, whether you’re in a good job market or a bad one, or that the obstacle you face is intimidating or burdensome. What matters is that right now is right now.

THINK DIFFERENTLY

When we believe in the obstacle more than in the goal, which will inevitably triumph?

PREPARE TO ACT

Problems are rarely as bad as we think–or rather, they are precisely as bad as we think.

GET MOVING

We often assume that the world moves at our leisure. We delay when we should initiate. We jog when we should be running or, better yet, sprinting. And then we’re shocked–shocked!–when nothing big ever happens, when opportunities never show up, when new obstacles begin to pile up, or the enemies finally get their act together.

PRACTICE PERSISTENCE

We will not be stopped by failure, we will not be rushed or distracted by external noise. We will chisel and peg away at the obstacle until it is gone. Resistance is futile.

ITERATE

The one way to guarantee we don’t benefit from failure–to ensure it is a bad thing–is to not learn from it.

WHAT’S RIGHT IS WHAT WORKS

Don’t worry about the “right” way, worry about the right way. This is how we get things done.

We tell ourselves that we’ll get started once the conditions are right, or once we’re sure we can trust this or that. When, really, it’d be better to focus on making due with what we’ve got. On focusing on results instead of pretty methods.

Start thinking like a radical pragmatist: still ambitious, aggressive, and rooted in ideals, but also imminently practical and guided by the possible. Not on everything you would like to have, not on changing the world right at this moment, but ambitious enough to get everything you need."

CHANNEL YOUR ENERGY

Adversity can harden you. Or it can loosen you up and make you better–if you let it.

PERSEVERANCE

There are far more failures in the world due to a collapse of will than there will ever be from objectively conclusive external events.

SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF

A man’s job is to make the world a better place to live in, so far as he is able–always remembering the results will be infinitesimal–and to attend to his own soul.–LEROY PERCY

No wonder you take losses personally, no wonder you feel so alone. You’ve inflated your own role and importance.

Final Thoughts: The Obstacle Becomes the Way

See things for what they are. Do what we can. Endure and bear what we must. What blocked the path now is a path.