STEVEN SPEILBERG

“And I was lucky that at 18 I knew what I exactly wanted to do. But I didn’t know who I was. How could I? And how could any of us? Because for the first 25 years of our lives, we are trained to listen to voices that are not our own. Parents and professors fill our heads with wisdom and information, and then employers and mentors take their place and explain how this world really works. And usually these voices of authority make sense, but sometimes, doubt starts to creep into our heads and into our hearts. And even when we think, ‘that’s not quite how I see the world,’ it’s kind of easier to just to nod in agreement and go along, and for a while, I let that going along define my character. Because I was repressing my own point of view, because like in that Nilsson song, ‘Everybody was talkin’ at me, so I couldn’t hear the echoes of my mind.’ And at first, the internal voice I needed to listen to was hardly audible, and it was hardly noticeable — kind of like me in high school. But then I started paying more attention, and my intuition kicked in. And I want to be clear that your intuition is different from your conscience. They work in tandem, but here’s the distinction: Your conscience shouts, ‘here’s what you should do,’ while your intuition whispers, ‘here’s what you could do.’ Listen to that voice that tells you what you could do. Nothing will define your character more than that. Because once I turned to my intuition, and I tuned into it, certain projects began to pull me into them, and others, I turned away from.”  Spielberg’s 2016 Commencement speech to Harvard Grads

CHRIS EVANS

 On meditation:  “It was one of the most eye-opening expriences of my life. I had never really meditated before. I’d tried it, but I’d always been very aware of my thoughts. While I was over there [studying with a guru] you do it every day. And I really unlocked a little door in myself. My mind was really noisy, and I had a lot of questions. My guru would just say, ‘Chris, shhh.’ I had questions every five minutes. A lot of our sadness and fears – and suffering – is born out of this unnecessary constant narrative. The only reason the brain wants those questions is because it’s aware of the past, and it’s fearful of the future. The truth is, you are not your thoughts. If you are able to surrender and let your brain be quiet – just for a minute – a real sens of beauty emerges.” Elle Magazine