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“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” 

Douglas Abrams is the founder of Idea Architects, a book publishing, and media company that works with visionary authors to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have both survived more than fifty years of exile. Both have endured the soul-crushing violence of oppression. And yet despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.

Doug recognized this and asked two simple, yet profound questions: How is this possible? And what can we learn from their example to cultivate more joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?

In celebration of the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday, Doug traveled to Dharamsala, India, alongside Archbishop Tutu for a five-day conversation on the nature of human happiness and suffering, the two Nobel Peace Prize recipients traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. 

Out of that, came Doug’s new book, The Book of Joy, a New York Times bestseller that probes the very nature of joy itself — the illusions that eclipse it, the obstacles that obscure it, the practices that cultivate it, and the pillars that sustain it. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you'll also enjoy the episode with Heather Hartnett, where we talk about eastern philosophies and western ways of living and working. 

Links:

• Book of Joy
• Idea Architects
• Dalai Lama
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• David Perell, Twitter
• Follow the Podcast

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