George B. Leonard Quotes & Sayings

In terms of the game theory, we might say the universe is so constituted as to maximize play. The best games are not those in which all goes smoothly and steadily toward a certain conclusion, but those in which the outcome is always in doubt. Similarly, the geometry of life is designed to keep us at the point of maximum tension between certainty and uncertainty, order and chaos. Every important call is a close one. We survive and evolve by the skin of our teeth. We really wouldn't want it any other way. — George Leonard

There is a human striving for self-transcendence. It's part of what makes us human. With all of our flaws we want to go a little bit further than we've gone before and maybe even further than anyone else has gone before. — George Leonard

To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life. — George Leonard

Of what is the body made? It is made of emptiness and rhythm. At the ultimate heart of the body, at the heart of the world, there is no solidity. Once again, there is only the dance. — George Leonard

Mastery is a journey, and that the master must have the courage to risk failure. — George Leonard

At the heart of ech of us,whatever the imperfections..exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm....which connect us to the universe. — George Leonard

If you intend to take the journey of mastery, the best thing you can do is to arrange for first-rate instruction. — George Leonard

Only the schools' inefficiency can account for creativity surviving after age 25. — George Leonard

Perhaps we'll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself. — George Leonard

What was once impossible now summons us to dismantle the walls between ourselves and our sisters and brothers, to dissolve the distinctions between flesh and spirit, to transcend the present limits of time and matter, to find, at last, not wealth or power but the ecstasy (so long forgotten) of commonplace, unconditional being. For the atom's soul is nothing but energy. Spirit blazes in the dullest of clay. The life of every woman or man-the heart of it-is pure and holy joy. — George Leonard

Mastery is the art of setting your foot on the path. — George Leonard

The essence of boredom is to be found in the obsessive search for novelty. Satisfaction lies in mindful repetition, the discovery of endless richness in subtle variations on familiar themes. — George Leonard

What a miracle it is, this gift of time! Little marks on paper, the children of consciousness, sent down to us through the years. — George Leonard

It's fitting, then, that we begin this exploration of ourselves and of the world with music, and more specifically with a musical quality called vibrato. This pulsation that wells up within the sounded note can lead us to what is most spontaneous and creative in human life, and possibly even to deeper mysteries
to powers of knowing and doing which we have lost or given away during the epoch of civilization, and which perhaps we may now regain. — George Leonard

At the heart of it, mastery is practice. Mastery is staying on the path. — George Leonard

Aware of it or not, each of us is involved in the grand enterprise of evolution. The new information being generated in each of our lives contributes inevitably to the ever-increasing complexity and richness of the universe. Our key choice is whether to become aware of and take responsibility for the power of our intentionality. — George Leonard

The ultimate creative capacity of the brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite. — George Leonard

St. Leonard's Police Station DS Siobhan Clarke (pronounced "Shiv-awn") DI Derek Linford no friend to Rebus, disliked by Siobhan DCS Gill Templer officer in charge of St. Leonard's DC David Hynds a new recruit DS George "Hi-Ho" Silvers officer with both eyes on approaching pension DC Grant Hood young and unpredictable officer with a crush on Siobhan DC Phyllida Hawes tough female officer, usually based at Gayfield Square DCI Bill Pryde second in command to DCS Gill Templer The Edward Marber Murder Case Edward Marber murdered Edinburgh art dealer Cynthia Bessant friend of the — Ian Rankin

Everything was God, holy; as God is total, so the driftwood branch was holy. This must be the stuff religion is made of. — George Leonard

The best way to describe your total creative capacity is to say that for all practical purposes it is infinite. — George Leonard

What we call "mastery" can be defined as that mysterious process through which what is at first difficult or even impossible becomes easy and pleasurable through diligent, patient, long-term practice. — George Leonard

Ultimately, human intentionality is the most powerful evolutionary force on this planet. — George Leonard

To be a learner, you've got to be willing to be a fool. — George Leonard

The universe is continually at its work of restructuring itself at a higher, more complex, more elegant level. The novelty, the new, more complex order, doesn't emerge from the present in a steady stream, nor at all places at the same rate. It comes, as all things do, in rhythmic waves; there will always be times and places of scarcity and stagnation and retrogression. Still, the long-term direction is clear. The intention of the universe is evolution. — George Leonard

Running, close companion to death, summons us to the most vivid acts of life. Our ancestors (we have forgotten) ran for food and for love, love and lust. For us, a prime symbol of sexuality is the automobile. For the ancients it was the chase, the foot race. Satyr and nymph, maiden and god, hot pursuit. The mythic hunters, Diana and Atalanta, available only to the males, men or gods, who could outrun them; death to all others. — George Leonard

Practice is the path of mastery. — George Leonard

How to begin the journey? You need only to take the first step. When? There is always now. — George Leonard

Education is ... doing anything that changes you. — George Leonard

Even without comparing ourselves to the world's greatest, we set such high standards for ourselves that neither we nor anyone else could ever meet them-and nothing is more destructive to creativity than this. We fail to realize that mastery is not about perfection. It's about a process, a journey. The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives. — George Leonard

How do you best move toward mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself. — George Leonard