I like sutras. They are simple effective formulae that makes you feel profound things inside you efficiently. It has the power to have a tectonic shift inside you. You can't build sutras overnight. If you live them, it will come to you not otherwise.

A number of wise beings shared a number of sutras based on their life experiences. Dhammapada (a collection of Buddist anthology),Thirukural (a collection of powerful couplets in Tamil) are some examples of sutras. Maxims, quotes and even tweets from amazing minds are a part of this genre.

Some Tips:

1. If you want to understand a topic one of the easiest way to do is, look for all the wise things said about that topic.
2. Collect the top 3 and synthesise what is said your way.
3. Do some action to understand more.
4. Carve out some projects to experience it better.
5. Help someone experience the truth and that is called adding value and being useful.

Let us apply the tips to reality here.

For example, if you want to know everything about journey, here are a bunch that shows up when you ask journey quotes in Google. I have chosen the most popular ones (step 1).

• A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step.
• It is not the destination. It is the journey that matters.
• The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.

Step 2: Here is my synthesis of the above: Finish line is daunting. Some times demotivating. If you keep wondering about the finish line you can't get there. You need to do some action to get there.

Step 3: I want to understand all the profound things that had an impact on me said by a number of teachers out there. It is hard to teach this stuff but if the mind is prepared it the fertile ground to sow things. So can i share my sutras to my students even before they show up to class? Can i put together a bunch of my life lessons and make it into a book so they can read at their own pace?

Step 4: Book is a lot of work. Where do i have the time for all that? Ok, Let us start a blog and share one idea everyday for 100 days. That would make it 100 ideas. Then the ideas can be compiled into a book. By then you can learn how to write a book also.

How about we do it as a project? That is how Project Design U was born. I spend about 30 mins every week to just write 7 ideas for the week. Very much doable.

Step 5: Truth is not easy to decipher. It has to be simplified. This stuff is deep and complicated. To make it simple, I started using some neurocognition principles. In simple words started using more visuals and less words which is very brain friendly.

Outcome: In just 2 weeks, DesignU has attracted some 150+ subscribers. Everyday I am getting a number of amazing comments from across the globe. The engagement is mind-blowing. This is encouraging.

Knowing and experiencing are two different things. Cognitively knowing gives you the intellectual ammunition but doing with hands and limbs is when you will internalize your version of it inside you. It becomes reflective. What matters is what goes inside you. What YOU experience matters.

The one thing common about all these journey quotes is they are not said by me however I have experienced what they are talking about in my own ways inside me. This experience is possible only when some action happens. Go live a sutra and that is when you can touch the truth.

Don't just read a quote anymore. Do something about it. I promise it will have a tectonic shift inside you. I am trying to simplify the essence with some visuals these days. This too is a way of understanding the essence of what is said.

Remember a journey of thousand miles, begins with a single step. Did you take that step today?

See for yourself

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