Summary of Chade-Meng Tan's Joy on Demand

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 It is a common misconception that certain good things are mutually exclusive. For example, you might think that in order to be successful, you cannot be compassionate, because everybody on Wall Street knows that compassion is for chumps. #2 The first and most important benefit of mind training is the ability to calm the mind on demand. With practice, you will find yourself able to abide in a calm mind during most sitting meditations. This one skill may be life changing. #3 The third benefit of mind training is emotional resilience, especially in response to emotional pain. Meditators are able to calm their minds in difficult situations, perceive the process of emotion at high resolution, and cultivate compassion and objectivity, which helps them take all three steps when they’re faced with emotional pain. #4 The alert and relaxed mind is highly conducive to creativity. I initially found this out in an annoying way: a lot of good ideas and insights came to me while I was meditating. I learned to accept this as a natural process of the mind, and to take advantage of it.