These highlights and notes are derived from the Book, The Heart to Start, by David Kadavy.
Opening Quote of Chapter 7:
Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.
Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
“A ritual I turned to during that time was nightly hot baths. I had fifteen minutes with my thoughts in the candlelight before it was time to go to bed, so I could wake up and do it all again. This was when the loneliness, the heartbreak, and the raw fear of facing this beast of an opportunity would close in on me. Every choice I had made in my life converged in this moment. I had left my lifelong home. I had fled Silicon Valley in the midst of a boom. I had turned down job offers and clients. I had followed my curiosity past a parade of naysayers. This had to happen. I had to finish this book.”
Live through this, and you won’t look back.
Stars, Band
Nothing will ever be the Same again
“I knew that if I could finish this book, everything would change. It was the elusive finish line I had been running toward my entire life.”
“I had a strong force propelling me forward. It’s called That Which Pulls You Through.”
“That Which Pulls You Through is the thing that is so strong it can fuel you through the inevitable discomfort of making your art real. No matter how much you love your craft, there are going to be times when you feel as if you can’t possibly make it to the next level. Some goal or opportunity is right in front of you, and you can’t seem to muster the will you need in order to make it. As your ego cloaks the path to self-actualization with shadows of doubts and fears, That Which Pulls You Through is there to light the way.
“J. K. Rowling once recalled that, as she was writing the first Harry Potter book, she experienced the death of her mother, divorce, unemployment, and clinical depression, and she even considered suicide.”
Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life
J.K. Rowling
“As your doubts and fears are in a free fall, That Which Pulls You Through is the solid ground there to collect them all and say “No. I won’t accept that. This is going to happen.”
I’m just going to keep my mind focused on everything that is good and joyful and loving and wonderful in this world and in my life, and see what I can do to bring some of that to other people.
Elise Bauer, founder of “Simply Recipes”
“When you’re looking for the heart to start, That Which Pulls You Through might not immediately be clear.”
The Little Engine that could
This next highlight is EXTREMELY important:
“When things aren’t going your way, pay close attention to the things you tell yourself to keep moving. The more in touch you are with That Which Pulls You Through, the stronger the fuel you can find to get started and the steadier you can be throughout your journey.
It might seem as if That Which Pulls You Through has to come from a painful experience, but it can also come from generosity.
Generosity is an excellent antidote to fear. If you’re doing this on behalf of someone you care about, the fear takes a back seat.
Seth Godin
“Throughout writing this book, whenever I’ve thought for a moment that it was too hard, or not worth it, I’ve remembered the twenty-five-year-old who didn’t recognize the person he saw in the mirror. I remember how close he came to not following his dreams, and I’m quickly filled with an urgency to prevent anyone else from making the mistake he almost made – the mistake of never even starting.”
Next Chapter is also the beginning of Section III: Winning by Beginning
Up Coming chapter: The Fortress Fallacy
I hope these highlights and notes are helping you as much as they are helping me.
With Love and Sincerity,
Jose Michael Rubio