George Leonard disproves passion and life purpose

[Ramanujan]

> ""There’s another way of thinking about it. Zen practice is ostensibly organized around periods of sitting in meditation and chanting. Yet every Zen master will tell you that building a stone wall or washing dishes is essentially no different from formal meditation. The quality of a Zen student’s practice is defined just as much by how he or she sweeps the courtyard as by how he or she sits in meditation.""

 

 

 

 here he means that for a zen master , there is no difference between meditation and washing dishes.  they see washing dishes the same way as their life purpose , which is meditation. there is no special thing out there that is meant to be our life purpose. you can make anything your life purpose if you practice it with love. 

george leonard here speaks against passion and life purpose

 

 

 

 

 

> 

""In the words of Chinese Zen master Layman P’ang (c. 740808 A.D.):

My daily affairs are quite ordinary;
but I’m in total harmony with them.
I don't hold on to anything, don’t reject anything;
nowhere an obstacle or conflict.
Who cares about wealth and honor?
Even the poorest thing shines.
My miraculous power and spiritual activity;
drawing water and carrying wood.""

 

 

 

in this place , george leonard is saying that , for a master , there is no distincion between his so called "life purpose"  and  doing ordinary things 

george leonard is going against life purpose and passion

 

wish i realised this before falling prey to "follow your passion" idea. 

 

 

 

[Someone here]

What matters is whether that aligns with your level of development or not. From my understanding..both mentalities have their own role and utility.

 

[integration journey]

George Leonard is not some entity that has it all figured out.

I would cross reference with other writers and “thinkers” 

[Lyubov]

Don’t over analyze these models. What he said is correct. What is here now is the most important thing happening, and you are always exactly where you are supposed to be. Washing the dishes isn’t some glitch where you fucked up along the way and are now having to devote time towards stuff you aren’t supposed to be doing. There isn’t some absolute hierarchy of how you spend your time in the sense that one moment is less valuable compared to others. There are just moments and in each one remembrance, and from this you have a canvas where you can create a life that is authentic and important to you and delights your soul. Zen recognizes this. Reality is open to everything and jsut because it doesn’t align to how you think it should be it doesn’t mean you are not walking your authentic path. Life purpose is a tricky word because it can carry a lot of hidden expectations about how we think things should be. Life purpose is not some grand destiny that’s charted out. It’s alive, constantly evolving, not entirely knowable, embracing uncertainty and going with the flow while using your faculties to chart and plan the way. It’s discovering what you’re good at through trial and error and delighting in surprises of what happens when you embrace your talents and authentic self. It’s being keen enough to ride waves of luck when you are able to catch them and capitalizing on different opportunities. 

Edited Friday at 06:38 PM by Lyubov

[Hojo]

They talk in the way of mindset.

There is a specific brain mode that you can be in when you are absolutely focused on something.

Pretend you are doing what you love the most. You lose track of time, you lose track of your identity. You are so focused on something you forget you exist and are the thing. 

Thats the state they are in when they wash dishes.

If you are thinking about something else while doing them, its wrong.

 

The entire idea of meditation is to stop using the schizophrenic dissociation that you think you are.

You were one when you were a baby, then you dissosiated, now become one again.

IE Stop self reflecting.

Edited Friday at 09:17 PM by Hojo

[Rigel]

He’s saying the exact opposite. There’s nothing wrong with life purpose and passion. He’s saying practice with the same mind that you do dishes or meditate with. You swung your pendulum too far.

[Leo Gura]

You are not going to master a thing you aren't passionate about. You will quit long before.

[hyruga]

Can read Cal Newport’s book, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills triumph passion

Edited 14 hours ago by hyruga

[Rigel]

Just now, hyruga said:

Can read Cal Newport’s book, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills triumph passion

It’s not either or, it’s both and.

[PsychedelicEagle]

Cal Newport has a great book on this subject: "So Good They Can't Ignore You".

I read it a decade ago and it helped me trust the process of focusing on deliberate practice and building real skills at the field I was entering at that time.

[PsychedelicEagle]

 

35 minutes ago, hyruga said:

Can read Cal Newport’s book, So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills triumph passion

Exactly haha, posted before seeing this.

I agree both is better than either/or.

Edited yesterday at 12:33 PM by PsychedelicEagle

[Lyubov]

I started reading that Cal Newport book and to be honest I didn’t take as much from it as some of you so I put it down after a few chapters. I actually disagree with what I read to a degree based on the terms I think in. When I say passion I don’t mean a whimsical feeling or the fun you’re having when playing the sport you enjoyed with the boys in high school or some near sided fling with a hot woman. I mean clear inner guidance given to you by expanding your consciousness and awakening and living based on principles that allow you to be more authentic while still maintaining your stability. Usually comes with trial and error and it’s not always entirely clear because life is always changing. I think doing 100% raw skill pursuits can be authentic to you if it you’re able to authentically make that choice with yourself without self sabotage and fear heavily shaping your choices. I’m inclusive of all paths. I just think Cal’s claim is limited the way he goes about things. From what I gathered it was a book that read like a guy trying to convince himself he was on his authentic path doing work that’s soul draining which most corporate work is and which this book was based around. Prof Scott Galloway thinks in the same “means to an end” skills terms and idk I think this line of thinking fits a very materially cognitive person who maybe highly values material success first above all else since he seems happy, prof Scott seems like an authentic guy suited for the exact path he is on and life he has built, he does not seem to have an ounce of interest in pushing the envelope of his worldview or awakening. I think if you are a highly sensitive person or an artist or have a lot of heart felt energy or are more suited for awakening it’s awful advice. 

Edited 21 hours ago by Lyubov

[Carl-Richard]

If your actions do not at some point lead you to a place where you do what you want to do, you have failed as an organism. Passion is the immediate feedback that you're doing is what you want to do. If you don't at least aim at passion, irrespective of the privilege you have to access it right now, you're ultimately working against yourself.

[Ramanujan]

On 5/1/2026 at 9:56 PM, integration journey said:

George Leonard is not some entity that has it all figured out.

I would cross reference with other writers and “thinkers” 

different people have different views

 

david allen = passion and life purpose does not matter. GTD will make up for passion

Stephen cover =  passion and life purpose are improtant. but you can work without it too

bob proctor = passion and life purpose is not important. you can be successful without it

jack canfield = passion and life purpose is a nice to have. you can still function without it

 

 

On 5/1/2026 at 9:56 PM, integration journey said:

George Leonard is not some entity that has it all figured out.

according to leo , george leonard is a main figure , who is very important

 

[Ramanujan]

On 5/2/2026 at 3:24 PM, Leo Gura said:

You are not going to master a thing you aren't passionate about. You will quit long before.

according to george leonard, you love what you do . if you love it long enough , it will turn into a passion and life purpose

you can make anything your passion

[Ramanujan]

@PsychedelicEagle according to you , which is the top 5 best book on success

[Leo Gura]

1 hour ago, Ramanujan said:

according to george leonard, you love what you do . if you love it long enough , it will turn into a passion and life purpose

you can make anything your passion

You are not thinking deeply enough about this issue.

Your mind is already made up. You're not open.

Edited 1 hour ago by Leo Gura