"If you have these two things - the willingness to change, and the acceptance of everything as it comes, you will have all you need to work with."
- Charlotte Selver

"Don't stop the line." For many years this was an agreement, almost an unwritten law of the General...

I was recently celebrating my friend Darlene Cohen's life by re-reading one of her books, "Turning Suffering Inside Out." Darlene was a wonderful, brilliant, outrageous person, and a long-time Zen teacher. She suffered much of her life from severe rheumatoid arthritis. She embodied her teaching through working with and learning...

Personal branding is a hot topic these days. Perhaps it all began with the article "The Brand Called You," by Tom Peters, published in Fast Company Magazine back in August 1997. And there have been numerous other articles on this topic, before and after this one. Peters wrote:

Regardless...

One morning, several years ago, I wrote a list of statements addressing how I want to live my life. I call these 35 statements the Z.B.A. Manifesto (my first book is called "Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration").

The Z.B.A. Manifesto

1. It's okay not to know. It's okay to be...

Mark Jung-Beeman is a cognitive neuroscientist at Northwestern University, and he has studied what happens inside the brain when people have an insight. He was quoted in a recent New Yorker article, saying: "If you want to encourage insights, then you've got to also encourage people to relax." The article...

"In essence, all things in the entire world are linked with one another as moments. Because all moments are the time-being, they are your time-being." -Zen teacher Dogen, from a talk in the year 1240, Japan

Many years ago, when I was a student living at Zen Center's Green Gulch...

A paradox is something that appears to be contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but may in fact be true. Do less; accomplish more. These statements present a paradox. Acknowledging, owning and embracing the paradoxical nature of our lives, the lives of others and the world can lessen our resistance to change...

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

-Michael Jordan

The "inner...

The art of doing less isn't merely about becoming more productive employees or businesspeople (though doing less of what is unnecessary may result in greater productivity.) The true benefit of focusing on and taking a break from busyness is that it brings more kindness and love into our lives. With...

I've been married for nearly 30 years to my wife. I had no idea what the secret is to vibrant long-term relationships, or even if there was a secret, but I was interested in exploring this issue. So I asked a group of some of my closest friends, who were...

Extraordinary results are often within reach if we can access real composure in the midst of activity, right in the center of our busy and stressful life.

One important way to do this is to access -- and simply listen to -- the various voices that reside within each...

It seems as though we have no choice but to act as though the world is permanent, solid, and predictable, and at the same time, we must realize that everything around us is impermanent, fluid, and unpredictable. If we go too far toward believing in permanence we will be thrown...

I felt a sense of relief, delight, and awe, reading the obituary for English physicist Geoffrey Burbidge in the Sunday, February 07, 2010 New York Times, titled "Geoffrey Burbidge, 84, Dies; Traced Life to Stardust." Burbidge's findings, as explained by Allan Sandage, demonstrate that, "Every one of our chemical elements...

There is an expression "wherever you go, there you are." With money and time and good enough health it is now relatively easy to travel anywhere in the world. More difficult are visiting places within ourselves, not dependent on time, money, or even health. Here at 7 such places, highly...

The attempt to achieve "balance" in our lives can be a trap. I almost never feel in balance. For me, I'm either working too much or not enough. I'm too focused, or not focused enough.

Instead of aiming for balance, I suggest we pay attention to the quality of...

The fact that everything has been given to us is so obvious that it can be difficult to fathom. Our hands and eyes, our body and mind -- all gifts! The air we breathe, the water we drink, the stars in the sky -- gifts. If we can really let...

A paradox is something that appears to be contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but may in fact be true. Acknowledging, owning, and embracing the paradoxical nature of our lives, the lives of others, and the world can lessen our resistance to change and increase our effectiveness. At its most basic it...

I would propose that we always accomplish more when we approach each moment and task in an open, relaxed, and fully engaged manner -- whether leading a meeting, answering emails, or taking our children to school. In this way, our sense of accomplishment depends more on the way we act...

"My life is one learning experience after another; by the end of the week I should be a genius."

"I failed!" One of the exercises I like to do in my seminars and trainings with leaders in the business world or the non-profit world is have everyone stand up, throw...

When my two children were in elementary school, a weekly day of doing less was an important part of our family ritual. We borrowed some ideas from the Jewish Sabbath as well as Buddhist Day of Mindfulness practices. At the heart of our day we had three simple rules that...