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Alan Philips Quotes

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Famous Alan Philips Quotes

“The key to achieving harmony and to manifesting your creative potential is to allow the surrounding energy to take you to where you need to be at that moment in time. You must trust the energy. Instead of fighting where the world is taking you, make an effort to understand why; look inside your- self to see the bigger picture.”

“Tracy Chapman’s music is a reflection of her life experiences, her purpose. Ian Schrager’s hotels are a reflection of his life experiences, his purpose. And Supreme’s hats and skate decks are a reflection of James Jebbia’s dreams and desires. Each of them took their own experiences—the ups, the downs, the good and the bad—and turned them into something sharable, a real-world reflection of themselves. And because it combined their purpose with their singular talent, it flourished.”

“We’re tribal beings. We build our identities through the people and communities we choose to associate with. There’s no difference between an ancient tribe tattooing its members with unique symbols and a young person wearing a Supreme T-shirt to associate with the tribes of street style and skate culture. It all comes from the same place, and it’s critical that we recognize this behavior so we can apply it to the sharing of our own creations.”

“Once you discover your purpose, the goal becomes to live it in all aspects of what you do. This is the integrated life, a life in which there’s no difference between work and play; there’s only your purpose and what you’re doing at that very moment to live that truth, wholly and completely. The closer you get to that point, the closer your entire life comes to being an actualized existence, and the more likely you will enjoy many more of Maslow’s peak experiences.”

“This combination of the internal, intangible emotional jour- ney and the practical skill of making music—the “heartwork and headwork,” as Rubin calls it—is how he’s sustained his craft across genres for so many decades. He taps into something far beyond the type of music or production style, and instead connects to the artist through a first-principle truth: that their greatest work can only come from manifesting and sharing a reflection of their true purpose.”

“Who we are to the outside world and whether we are able to manifest our purpose is the result of work done when no one is looking. Every decision we make has positive and negative implications for our future and therefore must involve a strong framework, one that guides our choices and focuses our energy.”

“While making inexpensive furniture may be what IKEA does prac- tically, the vision of “creating a better everyday life” for people has emotional resonance we can rally behind. These are the words of a movement, and I would argue that without them, Ikea would be much less successful. Combine commitment to a meaningful purpose with flawless execution and it makes the difference between the world’s largest furniture retailer and a local purveyor of cheap junk.”

“Your purpose is the emotional and spiritual energy that surrounds the commercial aspects of what you do; it can’t be to make a lot of money or sell a lot of widgets. While generating a significant financial return may be a result of pursuing your purpose, it can’t be why you do what you do. Money isn’t what the journey’s about. We aren’t here to survive; we’re here to self-actualize and thrive.”

“Before humans started messing around with the system, nature existed in harmony for millions of years—a beautiful symphony of seasonal change, birth and death, creation and destruction. This same harmony that drives the natural world applies to the intangible, emotional world of humans. We, too, must achieve harmony between all the elements of our lives, between the internal self and the external world.”