Do Big Small Things – Bruce Poon Tip

The one-sentence summary: A guided journey toward freedom, happiness and adventure that will change you.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

  • This book is described as a rough-and-tumble field journal, and it is a mixture of inspirational provocations and a workbook in which you can write and stick tickets and other memorabilia. It aims to help readers embark on an eclectic journey – both physically and mentally. The author is the founder of an international adventure and travel company.
  • Page by page it challenges you to write, rip things out, make things, get out of your comfort zone, dream big, and pay it forward. Whether you are on a plane, trekking in Nepal or sitting in your living room, it prompts you to create a vibrant record of your adventures and push the limits of your mind. The result is a deeply personal gallery of shared surprises, hidden treasures, sudden epiphanies, meaningful connections and lasting changes.
  • There are scores of anecdotes and provocations, including:
  • Earth is the only home any of us have ever known, yet only a few venture to see it.
  • We were born to be explorers, with the curiosity to discover.
  • Getting to know how other people live, understanding cultures that are so different to ours, is the fastest path to peace.
  • Each of us is warmed by the same sun. Each of us fights for meaning beneath the same moon.
  • All of us must leave our own borders to find freedom and discover our part in something bigger.
  • Travel can be that vehicle, but you don’t have to go far from home to gain experiences. There is significance in everything you do. The winding path, the tiny choices, the big mistakes, the unexpected encounters, all shape your ability to become a better version of yourself.
  • Let the feeling take you. Be you. Enjoy the ride. Abandon fear. Remember you are free.
  • Make a list of what you want to do. What could stop you? Cross it out.
  • When we get too comfortable, we settle for the familiar.
  • Fear does not exist – it is a figment created from our ignorance of the unknown. Push past it.
  • Warrior tribes of the Amazon believe we have a predetermined number of heartbeats. Those who live in fear use them up faster.
  • Life can be full of stunning, staggering, surprising moments. If you are bold, it will not be what you expect.
  • Measure yourself, step up (we all have to grow up sometime), discover nature (the Koreans call this forest bathing), make mistakes, get back up, evolve with experience (we are all works in progress), let wisdom in, and never forget where you came from.
  • People who never make mistakes never do anything.
  • Chance encounters are karma’s way of opening doors. If you’re ready and willing, you can bet that your life will be changed by someone you haven’t met yet.
  • Dream: if it seems impossible that’s good.
  • Write your own manifesto, starting This is what I believe…
  • In some tribes of the far North they never say goodbye because they plan on coming back.
  • Every action has a reaction. What goes around comes around. Goodness has a way of coming back to you.
  • In China, many people don’t believe in saying thank you because it breaks the circle of generosity. They believe in bao: acknowledging a gift by giving one back.
  • Your happiness comes from creating happiness for others.