Michael Gervais > Quotes

“Rather than looking outside ourselves to see if others approve, we can rewire that mechanism to turn inward and check against our purpose. “Am I being true to my purpose?” becomes the new reference point rather than “Am I being liked?”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“100% of the time, you have the capacity to control you. Everything else is noise.”
― Michael Gervais, Compete to Create

“Mastery is an inner-directed life externally expressed. With no finish line to cross, mastery is a love affair with experience, honesty, truth, and continual exploration. One cannot step on to the path of mastery until making a fundamental commitment to work from the inside out.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“Our fear of people’s opinions (FOPO) is a hidden epidemic and may be the single greatest constrictor of human potential.2 Our concern with what other people think about us has become an irrational, unproductive, and unhealthy obsession in the modern world. And its negative effects reach into all aspects of our lives. When we experience FOPO, we lose faith in ourselves, and our performance suffers. That’s human nature.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“Mastery is an inner-directed life externally expressed.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“When purpose is bigger than pain, purpose wins.”
― Michael Gervais

“fusion of love and approval often creates a pattern”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“You simply need to recognize that you are worthy exactly as you.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“When we give more value to other people’s opinions than our own, we live life on their terms, not ours.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“Having a purpose larger than ourselves is a portal into an awareness of the profound connectedness of all things and that we don’t exist in isolation. Our attention gets drawn away from the narrow prism of our “self” to the recognition that our real nature can only be understood in context of our connection with others.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“As Lao Tzu, the philosopher and reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, and the founder of Taoism said, “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“One tree can make one thousand matches. And one match can burn one thousand trees.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“As author Mark Manson puts it, “A person’s ability to engage in a genuine connection is inversely proportional to their need to prove themselves.”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. —CARL JUNG”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“A poor sense of self is the most common on-ramp to FOPO. When we lack a clear”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“The ever-present need to prove (or defend) our self distances us from others and undermines our relationships. As author Mark Manson puts it”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“We may feel better when we defend our beliefs in the face of other people’s opinions”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You

“Rather than looking outside ourselves to see if others approve”
― Michael Gervais, The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You