“The difference between good and exceptional isn’t hours worked – it’s the depth of thought applied to the right problems.” – Shane Parrish
During my first meditation retreat, Zen master Shinzen Young told a story I’ll never forget.
In it, he described two lumberjacks.
The first is a young man who is in such a rush to cut down trees that he never takes time to sharpen his axe.
Soon, his blade is dull and blunt…
…Doubling, and then tripling the time and energy it takes to cut down a single tree.
Before long he is frustrated, exhausted, and weary, and wonders why swinging his axe at a tree feels like swinging a bat at a wall.
The second is an older, more seasoned logger — a master of the craft.
Each morning, when the young man races off into the forest…
…The older man stays behind, taking his time to sharpen his blade to a razor’s edge.
And so, when he finally swings his axe, his blade pierces the wood in a smooth, unbroken stroke:
Clean, efficient, effortless.
Shinzen went on to say:
Our axe — the axe of the modern world — is the blade of our mind…
A blade that everybody uses, but almost nobody takes time to sharpen.
And so almost everybody lives in a state of chronic, frustrated overwhelm:
Confused, unclear, uncertain…
Hacking at the questions and problems of their lives with a blunt hammer instead of a precision blade.
Of course, it doesn’t need to be this way.
But school never taught us how to think (only what to think)…
…And society doesn’t even want us to think (only to follow along).
So if we want to train our mind to a razors-edge, so that we can:
- Guide the critical decisions of our lives with fearless accuracy
- Pierce through problems and transform uncertainty into radical clarity
- Access the deeper levels of our intelligence
- Transform the tangled patterns of our mind into streamlined thinking systems
- Open expansive new possibilities in our work, our businesses, our relationships, and the direction of our lives
…We need to take it into our own hands.
And next week, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Here’s how:
This Tuesday (November 26th), we’re releasing a course I taught during our summer retreat called:
Precision Thinking
In it, we will:
1. Finally learn how to think, and master the fundamental mechanics of original, organic creative thought.
(a lesson we should have been taught on our first day in school, but never were)
2. Install a powerful system of mental models; reliable frameworks that filter and refine our thinking with razor-sharp accuracy.
3. Dismantle the mental traps (ie. cognitive biases) that create blind spots and wreck havoc on our thinking process.
4. Unlock higher intelligence; intelligence that operates beyond thought, and acts as a gateway into your own unique genius.
After more than 14 years of teaching, I consider Precision Thinking the single most important course I have ever taught.
And this Tuesday, its yours.
Stay tuned…
– T
P.S. Of course:
Even if you’re not able to join Precision Thinking next week, we’ll have plenty of no-cost email and video lessons for you.
(including a can’t-miss clip that will drop Monday morning)
In the meantime, here’s where you can catch up on the earlier parts of this series:
How To Think (Part 1)
How To Think (Part 2)
How To Think (Part 3)
Enjoy 🙂
