Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots: The Movers and Shakers' Guide to Unstoppable Success

Modern wisdom, ancient roots is a fabulous book, that I will be reading repeatedly in the years to come. Funny enough not because I don’t understand the book but because it talks to my inner awareness and supports the fragile inner pattern that gives me an eased mind.I love all the short chapters, that makes it very easy to use this book as a piece of mind handbook, that I can just visit whenever I need some reassuring.Especially the notion that things aren’t good or bad, it’s just things that happens. But when I put my judgment on to things, that happens in my life, they change and becomes good or bad, and will affect me as such. It is a very simple way to avoid stressing yourself, and I have used it on several occasions. When an important meeting gets cancelled, I can now say to myself, that it just happens without getting irritated og disappointed. Often, I have later found out that it was for the best, that this meeting was postponed or not held at all.I have been following Dr. Srikumar Rao for some years now and have become quite good at not listening to my mental chatter. And amazingly it does fade away when I don’t allow my feelings to react to it.If you don’t know Dr. Srikumar Rao, I will most strongly recommend this book to you. I promise you that it has the potential to make your life so much better.

I really like this book a lot.* It's rock solid in terms of wise content.* It's easy to read--the story format holds the reader and gets the message across in a way that helps the remembering.* It's practical and very empowering.* The book emphasizes our agency, our capacity for self-directed change, our innate potential to upgrade our everyday existence.I even got hooked reviewing the reviews! They're a testament to the many ways Srikumar touches people's lives.I'll be reading Srikumar's words again and again over the years to come.

Two decades ago, I set out to teach creativity at a graduate school of business. In preparation, I found an article in The New York Times describing Professor Rao's class: the only university class with its own alumni association; student applications for admission to the class were decided by former students; fantastic engagement and results.I called Dr. Rao and asked to see his syllabus. He could not have been more encouraging. Moreover, the syllabus! I was gobsmacked. It was cogent, comprehensive, and daring. I asked, "May I borrow some of this for my own syllabus?"His answer, twenty years ago, still rings in my heart: "There is nothing original here. Take it all. No attribution is needed. The more people teaching this content, the better the world will be."Since then, I have taken his course (five times) and can testify to the enormous value of his methods. He has, simply, delivered for me the promise of the title of his legendary course, "Creativity and Personal Mastery."If you are meeting Srikumar Rao for the first time through this book, you have his many decades of study and teaching in a single, clear, persuasive, enlightening volume. If you have known Srikumar for decades, you will see in this book that he has put into work his own message: that incandescent happiness is found through personal growth.An intellectual hero, Dr. Rao continues to study and develop the ancient principles that lead to creativity and personal mastery. This book manifests the teacher's own growth, the further synthesis and modern application of timeless wisdom. For us, "Modern Wisdom, Ancient Roots" codifies Dr. Rao's learnings and teachings in a practical guide for ambitious people.I plan to buy copies for all my clients, so they can have the sage advice of the masters -- through this elite coach's care and writing.

3.5, rounded to 4. I was initially drawn to this book by its beautiful cover and interesting title, and I entered and won a Kindle copy in a Goodreads giveaway."Putting love into what you do is better than searching for what you love."The book was well-written and the short chapters made it very easy to read during gaps in my day. Specifically, I loved the personal anecdotes from his previous clients and stories from mythology. The anecdotes were either 1) very relatable or 2) humorous and entertaining, but many times they were both.The second thing I loved about the book was the very poignant language that really drives the point home. He uses phrases such as "we are mentally slashing our wrists every day" to highlight how damaging recursive thoughts and self-doubt are, and also highlights how unhealthy blind reliance on proverbs such as "persistence is key" really are. While it seems counterintuitive, his perspective is thought-provoking and helpful to anyone who struggles with ambition that easily turns into burn-out."Feces will drop from the sky. It always does. That is the nature of life."At the core of this book, Professor Rao reminds readers to not take themselves too seriously. We are all living in a movie about our lives, but nobody else is watching your movie-- they are too busy being the main character in their own film. This is extremely important and frequently overlooked in self-help books that only further promote being over-critical of one's decisions.All that said, there are a few minor things that I did not like and that kept this book at a 3.5 for me:1. some strong cliches, like "replace 'have to' with 'get to'". I feel like I see this way too often in books like this.2. I would not compare addictions and alcoholism to "craving salty snacks". I found this oversimplified comparison to be condescending and tone-deaf to the nature of a physiological dependence.3. Very heavy on the self-praise; mentions that he is an elite coach 3x times, and mentions the class he coaches a total of 9 times. I understand that he is promoting his coaching, but I could have done with less of this repetition.In all honesty, I'm not usually one for life-coach books, so I'm sure others will find it more helpful than I did, but nevertheless, I did enjoy it and do plan to reference the annotated sections of this book often when I need to recenter.

If you're ready to learn new things and let those concepts sink in, this book will change you. It will allow you to live a wonderful life and you will see that it is really possible to get there!

This book is a cornucopia of practical wisdom. Applicatuon of it's principles will bring a sense of peace, joy eand ease to your days. I love this book and very highly recommend it.

I thought I've heard everything from Mr. Rao, but he could touch me with his message again. I had the "voaw" moments....several time.He shows to see the world and my experience in it in different perspective.I could stop one of my bed habit without pain ans second thought, by just asking the one question he suggested from myself whenever the urge hit me. Works....

Today is an Auspicious day of Vijayadashmi ! That comes after the nine nights of Goddess, worship, exuberant energy! This day embarks on the win of goodness over evil. What could have been a better day than this to write a review on the latest book by Dr.SriKumar Rao. This is surely not just a coincidence but the Benevolent Universe playing its game. All though I have been Dr. Rao’s student and have read his earlier books this one came surely at a timing when I needed the reminder boost. The book has multiple wisdom shots. The best thing is the ancient roots are being presented in the modern wisdom shots that surely go deeper than sheer intellectual understanding of it.Some things that not just left an impact but stuck with me: your mind is the most fertile garden that you will ever see and We live in our minds 😊.Recognizing that we have mental models itself is the first step towards a blissful life.Earlier perhaps working on a habit , discarding and forming a new habit would have been my approach towards self growth.However, clinging on to even a positive habit for a long period and not recognizing is still a clinging. And hence living the life with one moment a time , what it is right now that is it has now been my Mantra now. Enjoying the process than only thinking of the outcome, don’t be your mental chatter but yet constant gentle pressure this and much more has been the impact of Dr. Rao , his work and the pioneer course of CPM by the Rao institute.I totally recommend this book and even his earlier books for everyone. This is not just Modern Wisdom but a must have treasure for life.-Mindful Manasi

a great read!