"Research shows that Matthieu Ricard (the French scientist-monk) is the happiest man alive." With tongue poking lightly in his cheek, this is how Google's "Jolly Good Fellow," Chade-Meng Tan begins his impassioned case for taking compassion seriously as the path not only to happiness but also to profitability. This 14 minute TED talk, recorded at UN HQ, is a gem. He shows the link between compassion and the proven leadership attribute of ambition- with-humility (Jim Collins' "level 5 leadership"). He declares that leadership development at Google is based on cultivating self-awareness, self-mastery, empathy and compassion. He outlines the practices that support the qualities (beginning with attention training).... without ever taking himself too seriously. It's like a breath of fresh air that you have to pay attention to.
And if you want to hear from the "happiest man in the world" himself, check this out. It's an hour but feels like 5 minutes:
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