Live Well

I listened to Lenny’s podcast with Naomi Gleit, Meta’s Head of Product (and 29th employee) working with Mark Zuckerberg. Describing Mark as a good friend, she referred to a specific time in her life when she was going through a breakup; Mark asked her if she was interested in joining her to conduct the entrepreneurship course for school kids.

Four life lessons Mark Zuckerberg wrote on the blackboard using chalk were: 

One, love yourself.

Two, only then can you fully serve others.

Three, Focus on what you can control. 

And four, for these three things, never give up.

I reflected on these points and wrote my understanding in my notebook. I am putting it together with the aim that it might help you as well.

“Lover yourself” came to me as a way of caring for an adolescent child. Just as parents create a safe, loving environment for their baby to grow, I need to create that same nurturing environment in my own mind for myself.  I deserve the same unconditional love, patience, and care that parents give to their newborn babies! 

“Only then can you fully serve others.” This makes me imagine a situation where I am with an empty bottle, trying to quench a thirsty person. How can I love or care for others if I am not staying healthy and fine?  It’s like putting on your own oxygen mask on an aeroplane before helping others with theirs.

“Focus on what you can control” is like playing a video game where you can only control your own character. I have no control over what other players do. I can only control things like what I learn, how hard I work, and how kind I am to others. However, I cannot control the weather, what other people think, or whether I win or lose every time.

“For these three things, never give up.”  The fourth life lesson drew me to reimagine how I learnt cycling. I fell off several times and got hurt with minor injuries, but I didn’t give up. There are days when I feel down and out, but I keep going by loving myself, serving others, and focusing on things I can control, which matters most.

Think of this like learning to ride a bike. You might fall off many times, but you keep trying because you know it’s important. These three lessons (loving yourself, helping others, and focusing on what you can control) are important skills that take practice. Some days will be harder than others, but keeping at it is what matters.

What did it remind you to?

अष्टादश पुराणेषु व्यासस्य वचनद्वयम् ।

परोपकारः पुण्याय पापाय परपीडनम् ॥

इस संस्कृत श्लोक का अर्थ है कि महर्षि वेदव्यास ने अठारह पुराणों में जो सबसे महत्वपूर्ण बात कही है, वह यह है कि दूसरों का भला करना पुण्य है और दूसरों को अपनी वजह से दुखी करना ही पाप है।

यह श्लोक जीवन के बहुत ही मूलभूत सिद्धांत को सरलता से समझने और अपनाने में मदद भी करता है। 

परोपकार का अर्थ यहाँ अच्छे कर्म करना जैसे की जरूरतमंदों की मदद करना, समाज कल्याण की भावना को सर्वांगीण करना, आध्यात्मिक उन्नति करना तथा स्वयं एवं संसार के प्रति सकारात्मक दृष्टिकोण रखकर आध्यात्मिक उन्नति करने को ही जीवन का असली मकसद बताता है। 

अब हम यहाँ पाप को ठीक से समझें तो इसका मतलब सिर्फ धार्मिक दृष्टि से गलत कार्य ही नहीं बल्कि वे सभी कर्म भी शामिल हैं जो नैतिक रूप से, देश, काल और परिस्थिति के अनुसार भी अनुचित है और दूसरों को नुकसान या कष्ट पहुँचाने की मनसा से किये जाते हैं। 

यहाँ पीड़ा का मतलब शारीरिक, मानसिक, भावनात्मक, और आर्थिक पीड़ा भी है जिससे किसी की प्रतिष्ठा या किसी के अधिकारों का हनन करना भी हो सकता है। 

प्रेरणा:

1. “परोपकाराय पुण्याय” हमें एक सच्चे और नैतिक जीवन जीने की दिशा में प्रेरित करता है।  
2. “पापाय परपीडनम्” की अवधारणा हमें एक संवेदनशील, जागरूक और जिम्मेदार व्यक्ति बनने की प्रेरणा देती है। यह हमें याद दिलाती है कि हमारे हर कर्म का प्रभाव दूसरों पर पड़ता है, और इसलिए हमें हमेशा दूसरों की भलाई को ध्यान में रखते हुए कार्य करना चाहिए।

Lots of time, many people would have asked you one common question, “What I want to be when I grow up?”
You’d have answered many things under the pretext that you’d not show that you are here for a small bet.

Today, I want to tell you something more valuable, “Never grow up. Period.” Because your life is not one chapter. To complete your life book, you will have to write many chapters. Instead, live like a “blank piece of paper and beginners mind.”

When you are like a blank piece of paper, you can do many things – you can draw, write poetry, sketch a picture, make a paper boat, fly a paper plane, etc. etc. Only one warning: Don’t dirty yourself by accumulating the bad and the blemish on your life.

And while you are on your flow to write your living story; from time to time:
– Assess your life to find out where you are.
– Decide what area to take action on, and start gathering options.
– Keep prototyping your future self 5 – 10 years from now. Remember that there’s no failure, just continuous progress towards your destination.
– Choose to think and live in ways that focus on living your life like a hero does.
– Maintain a mindset of joyous life in which you learning, growing and having fun.