Success Through Stillness

Description

Master entrepreneur, original hip-hop mogul, and New York Times bestselling author Russell Simmons shares the most fundamental key to success—meditation—and guides readers to use stillness as a powerful tool to access their potential.
 
In the New York Times bestseller Super Rich, Russell Simmons proved that to be rich is more than just having money in the bank—wealth is about balance, joy, and conscientious living.
 
In Success Through Stillness, Simmons shows the connection between inner peace and outward success through interviews with other successful leaders in various industries, and how learning to be still has been instrumental in his own career. Simmons attributes his meditation practice with changing his life for the better and says that there is no “bad” way to meditate, only different forms for different people.

In this highly anticipated new book, Russell Simmons guides readers into finding greater clarity and focus, and explains how to be healthier in both mind and body. Simmons breaks down what he’s learned from masters of meditation into a guide that is accessible to those unfamiliar with the practice.Praise for Russell Simmons and DO YOU!

“This book is Russell’s truth and if you listen to what he’s saying, you’ll find the inspiration and the knowledge to start the journey you want to ttake in life, too.” — Nas

Russell Simmons is . . .

“a regular Midas man . . . He’s spreading the wealth by sharing his ideas.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“the original and eternal hip-hop mogul . . . one of the most innovative and influential figures in modern American business and culture.”
—New York Daily News

the “CEO of hip-hop”
—Businessweek

“Russell Simmons, the original and eternal Hip-Hop Mogul, is one of the most innovative and influential figures in modern American business and culture” — The New York Times

“With elegant simplicity, Russell offers practical steps to living a life that is joyful, creative, and fulfilling. He ingeniously presents a way of making us remember our truth. And that is our main goal in life.” — Deepak Chopra, author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and The Third Jesus

“Russell Simmons, who rose from the hard-scrabble streets of New York to become one of the biggest names in entertainment and fashion, is a modern-day Renaissance man.” — EbonyJet.com

“Russell Simmons is bank, a regular Midas man…He’s spreading the wealth by sharing his ideas.” — Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Russell is the architect of what we do.” — Jay-Z

“The book communicates Mr. Simmons’s ideas earnestly and without condescension. One suspects he may have produced another hit.” — The Wall Street Journal

“Teaches a very simple lesson–by tapping into the power inside you, you can not only get all the things you want in life, but most importantly, you can enjoy them, too.” — The Jacksonville Free Fress

Praise for SUPER RICH

“In Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All, Russell defines true affluence as a higher state of consciousness. Read this book, and tap into the infinite supply of abundance in your own being.” — Deepak Chopra

“In Super Rich, the Philosophy is sound–articulated in simple prose with assistance from journalist Chris Morrow, but filled with anecdotes, humor, and raw language that are unmistakeably Simmons’s…like yogic philosophy, hip-hop is all about the power of vibration, the power of the word. Simmons emerges as the first influential voifce to make that connection for a new generation.” — The Washington Post

“Simmons employs many examples from his career and personal struggles to create a platform based on sensible guidance and responsible, timeless ethics. Readers will find lots of positive, heartfelt encouragement.” — Kirkus Reviews

“With personal stories [Simmons] offers insight into his personal striving for peace and posterity, and offers those willing to put in the effort an opportunity to acheive that same abundance.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Simmons provides readers with the tools to schieve not only success but an enlightened state of mind.” — New York Daily NewsRussell Simmons has been influential in various business and media ventures including Def Jam Recordings, Phat Farm, Baby Phat, Run Athletics, Simmons Lathan Media Group, and many more. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Super Rich and Do You!  A native New Yorker, Russell is the proud father of two daughters.From Chapter 1: “The Path to Happiness”

Why should you meditate?

The answer is very simple: to be happy.

Which is the only reason you’re here.

That might sound like a very simple take on the meaning of life, but I believe it with every fiber in my body.

Yes, I’m certain that if we were to strip away our egos, desires, fears, and insecurities, all that would be left is happiness.

There are days where it feels like we can almost touch this truth. Days where when we wake up, the sun seems to be shining a little brighter, the birds are singing a little bit louder, and we walk out into the world with a bounce in our step and a song in our heart.

Yet there are also days when we start out feeling nervous about what lies ahead of us, unsure about the situations we’re about to encounter. Where it could be eighty degrees and sunny out, but we feel like we’re walking through a cold, dark world.

The purpose of this book is to show you that you can control which of those worlds you live in. You can decide that no matter what is happening around you, the sun will always be shining in your world.

Or you can decide that your world is always going to be a cold, dark place.

The point is, the external world doesn’t make that choice.

You do.

Obviously most people would prefer to live in the sunshine. The problem is that they just don’t know how to step into it.

I’m here to tell you that meditation can take you there. That sitting in silence for twenty minutes can be a tool to wash away the pain, frustration, and insecurities that have been coloring your existence and allow you to get back to the state of happiness that is your birthright.

The path that I will lay out in this book represents the simplest route between your current state and that happiness. As your guide, I will not lead you on any detours or suggest that we take the more scenic route. No, this is a simple and straightforward guide on how to use the tool of meditation to get the most out of your life—written with the authority of someone who has used that very tool every day for the past fifteen years himself.

I want to keep this book very simple and direct in order to help demystify meditation. To clear up any misconceptions or uneasiness that you might have about this ancient practice and help you see that it’s a valuable and relevant tool in the modern world. Just the fact that you’re reading these words means that at the very least you’re curious about the practice, but maybe there’s still something that’s holding you back from committing fully. Maybe you still have a vague sense that there’s something “foreign” or “mystical” about meditation. Even worse, something “ungodly.” Or maybe you’re still skeptical that it “really” works. Or maybe—and this one always makes me laugh—you believe that it could help you, but you’re just too “busy” to meditate.

I’ll dive into these misconceptions, and several other ones, over the course of the book, but let me say right here that there is nothing “foreign” about meditation. In fact, it’s way more mainstream than you probably realize. Oprah. Jerry Seinfeld. Paul McCartney. Phil Jackson. Ellen DeGeneres. Forest Whitaker. These are all people that you know of and whose success has inspired millions of people. And they all meditate and credit the practice as one of the foundations of their success. I’ll be sharing their thoughts on meditation, and the thoughts of many leaders from the arts, business, education, science, and the spiritual communities, throughout the book, because I want you to realize that when you become a meditator, you are joining a community of successful people. A community of people who move through life on their own terms and maximize their potential.

Reprinted by arrangement with GOTHAM BOOKS, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © RUSSELL SIMMONS, 2014.

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