Quotes from Arthur C. Brooks

The idea of moving to instruction later in life is a theme one finds in the great wisdom literatures from East to West.

The Camino is a form of extended walking meditation, a practice in many traditions. "Each mindful breath, each mindful step, reminds us that we are alive on this beautiful planet," explains the Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.[14] "We don't need anything else. It is wonderful enough just to be alive, to breathe in, and to make one step.

Far from frustration and depression, he finished out his life as a happy father and reinvented himself as a teacher.

The transcendent effects of a pilgrimage appear after a few days, in waves of perception

What I found was a hidden source of anguish that wasn't just widespread but nearly universal among people who have done well in their careers. I came to call this the "striver's curse": people who strive to be excellent at what they do often wind up finding their inevitable decline terrifying, their successes increasingly unsatisfying, and their relationships lacking.

But you must be prepared to walk away from these achievements and rewards before you feel ready.

The focus must be on the walk that is life with its string of present moments.

When he fell behind as an innovator, he reinvented himself as an instructor.

Moral arguments beat economic arguments every time, because—whether we are liberal or conservative—we are all moral creatures who are encoded to value compassion and fairness.

In his book, he interviews hundreds of people about their transitions, finding that a significant change in life occurs, on average, every eighteen months, and that lifequakes like his—or those that involve voluntary or involuntary career changes—happen very regularly. Most are involuntary—and thus unwelcome at the time—but nothing is more predictable than change.

The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius said that "the universe is transformation, life is opinion.

Buddha spoke very frequently about the impermanence (in Sanskrit, anitya) of everything.

The righteous anger of an authoritative leader doesn't cast anyone into outer darkness. It always promises to be forgotten when things are set right, because authoritative leaders have no permanent enemies and are capable of love for all. Authoritative leaders can get angry, but they are still nice people.

Impermanent truly are conditioned things, having the nature of arising and passing away," he taught. It struck him as the greatest irony that the central characteristic of the universe—change—is the thing with which we are most uncomfortable.

When you spend serious time and effort focused on transcendental things, it puts your little world into proper context and takes the focus off yourself. Most of our days, I am thinking me, me, me. It's like watching the same dreary television show, over and over, all day long. It's so boring. Faith forces me into the cosmos, to consider the source of truth, the origin of life, and the good of others. This focus brings refreshment and relief. A

He taught that to be at peace, we must accept the impermanence of life and existence.

For me, the last part is key to national unity: gratitude based on a recognition that we need others, even—perhaps especially—those with whom we disagree. Why? Because we are blessed to live in the greatest, freest country in the history of the world—a place where, when you have a difference of opinion, nobody's going to knock on your door and haul you off to a forced-labor camp. We take this for granted, but in the scope of history, it is truly a miracle.

If Disney was a mouthpiece for an American way of life, the force of his voice depended on a curious obsession with death."[6] Virtually every one of his most famous films focused on the subject, from Snow White to Pinocchio.

As difficult as these are, the transitions in our private lives are harder.

If we want more unity and less contempt, however, we need to get out of our comfort zones, go where we are not welcome, and spend time talking and interacting with people with whom we disagree—not on lightweight stuff like sports and food, but on hard moral things.

As one management scholar puts it, "Employees who do not successfully traverse this period experience ongoing identity instability; they are cognitively and emotionally consumed by the loss, stagnating in their inability to let go of the old self and/or to embrace the new and changed work self."[7

Cicero believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others, in a way that does not amass worldly rewards of money, power, or prestige.

In the words of the Spanish Catholic saint Josemaría Escrivá, "He has most who needs least. Don't create needs for yourself."[19

I walked away from the people and job I knew and loved and the excitement of being near the action of politics and policymaking. Why? Because I did the research in this book and committed to myself to following the implications.