Highlights

• [3:20] The intensity of bonus day at Goldman Sachs 

• [5:50] Promotions, compensation, and job titles as concrete measures that people use to measure self-worth

• [6:40] A minute-by-minute description of bonus day

• [12:45] The posturing that took place ahead of the bonus announcement

• [14:30] “Managing down” as a strategy to lower expectations and increase happiness

• [15:40] The flimsiness of using compensation to measure self-worth

• [16:30] The strategy of showing dissatisfaction with the bonus to get paid more next year

• [20:00] The correlation between ego and trust

• [23:50] Mother Teresa’s insight that there is more suffering in the hearts of the wealthy people in NYC than people who are starving in Calcutta

• [25:30] Michael’s reason for leaving Goldman to join Upbuild

• [27:30] Thich Nhat Hanh’s insight that we are all suffering

• [29:30] The question, “Who would I be if I lost my money, job title, and status?”

• [30:50] Understanding and investing in our core qualities

• [32:30] Hari Prasada’s fear about losing his worth and not being hireable after he became a monk

• [35:30] The importance of being with people who call us to a higher level of consciousness

• [38:00] Authenticity as an experience of the heart

Quotes

• “This is about taking personal responsibility for how we have exported our sense of self-worth to extrinsic measures.” -Michael Sloyer

• “In the wellspring of suffering, there is a ticket to climb out of the well.” -Hari Prasada Das

• “We tend to look to numbers to help us measure our self-worth because we haven’t done the internal work to look deeper than the numbers.” -Michael Sloyer

• “There is so much undiscovered suffering because of projection.” -Hari Prasada Das

• “Unless we feel the pain, we won’t go to a place that is beyond the pain.” -Hari Prasada Das

• “Who in my life really sees me for the real me?” -Michael Sloyer