Empathy and social skills are social intelligence, the interpersonal part of emotional intelligence. That's why they look alike.

Emotional self-awareness is the building block of the next fundamental emotional intelligence: being able to shake off a bad mood.

A leader tuned out of his internal world will be rudderless; one blind to the world of others will be clueless; those indifferent to the larger systems within which they operate will be blindsided.

All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. Oddly, this dimension is largely ignored in scientific research, which tends to focus on health and other such benefits. I suppose the difference has to do with the contrast in views of the self from the spiritual and scientific perspectives. Scientists value the self; spiritual traditions have another perspective.

Making choices that improve things for all of us on the planet is an act of compassion, a simple act we can do any time we go shopping.

Motivation aside, if people get better at these life skills, everyone benefits: The brain doesn't distinguish between being a more empathic manager and a more empathic father.

Risk taking and the drive to pursue innovative ideas are the fuel that stokes the entrepreneurial spirit.