Chade-Meng Tan
Chade-Meng Tan
================
Full Name and Common Aliases
--------------------------------
Chade-Meng Tan is a Chinese-American author, entrepreneur, and former Google engineer. He is commonly known by his nickname "Meng" among friends and colleagues.
Birth and Death Dates
-------------------------
Born on June 12, 1970, in Singapore, Chade-Meng Tan's life has been marked by significant milestones that have shaped his career as a thought leader and innovator.
Nationality and Profession(s)
---------------------------------
Tan is a dual citizen of the United States and Singapore. He holds multiple degrees from top-tier institutions, including a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Tan's professional background spans over two decades at Google, where he was one of the earliest engineers hired by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Early Life and Background
---------------------------
Growing up in Singapore, Meng was exposed to the harsh realities of life under a strict government. He developed a strong interest in Eastern philosophy and the concept of " inner peace" from an early age. This exposure laid the foundation for his future work on mindfulness and meditation.
Tan's family relocated to the United States when he was 12 years old. He settled in California, where he attended high school and later enrolled at Stanford University. At Stanford, Meng became fascinated with computer science and electrical engineering, which eventually led him to pursue a career as an engineer.
Major Accomplishments
-------------------------
Tan's most significant contributions to the tech industry came during his time at Google. As one of the first engineers hired by the founders, he played a pivotal role in shaping the company's early success. Meng developed several algorithms and software tools that formed the backbone of Google's search engine.
In 2015, Tan left Google to focus on his personal mission: spreading mindfulness and meditation practices worldwide. He went on to create "Search Inside Yourself" (SIY), an innovative program designed to teach mindfulness techniques in a corporate setting.
Meng has since founded the non-profit organization One Mind at Work (OMW) with the goal of making mindfulness practices accessible to everyone, regardless of their profession or background.
Notable Works or Actions
---------------------------
Chade-Meng Tan is best known for his book "Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)" which became a New York Times bestseller. His writing style weaves together practical advice and spiritual insights, making the book an invaluable resource for anyone looking to cultivate inner peace.
Meng's work on mindfulness and meditation has also been featured in prominent publications such as Forbes, CNN, and NPR.
Impact and Legacy
----------------------
Tan's influence extends far beyond his technical contributions to Google. He is widely regarded as a pioneer in applying mindfulness practices to the corporate world. His work aims to break down the stigma surrounding mental health issues and promote emotional intelligence among professionals worldwide.
As the co-founder of One Mind at Work, Meng continues to drive change by advocating for mindfulness education and training within organizations.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
--------------------------------------------
Chade-Meng Tan's unique blend of Eastern philosophy and Western technology expertise has made him a respected thought leader. His innovative approach to teaching mindfulness practices in the corporate world has inspired countless professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders worldwide.
Meng's dedication to spreading inner peace and emotional intelligence serves as a testament to his unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. As a result of his tireless efforts, he remains widely quoted and remembered for his groundbreaking work on mindfulness and meditation.
Quotes by Chade-Meng Tan
The greatest freedom in life is to be aware of the moments that you are free from pain.
The real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child – our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
The most important time is now, because now is the only time which you have some control over. The most important person is the person you’re interacting with. The most important thing to do is to do your best to serve the person you are interacting with.
If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It’s a discipline; you have to practice it.
You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Which is just another way of saying that the way to make a friend is to be one. – Dale Carnegie.
People who are optimistic react to setbacks from a presumption of personal power. They feel that setbacks are temporary, are isolated to particular circumstances, and can eventually be overcome by effort and abilities. In contrast, people who are pessimistic react to setbacks from a presumption of personal helplessness. They feel that setbacks are long lasting, generalized across their lives, and are due to their own inadequacies, and therefore cannot be overcome.
Listening is magic: it turns a person from an object outside, opaque or dimly threatening, into an intimate experience, and therefore into a friend. In this way, listening softens and transforms the listener.
The key is to let go of two things: grasping and aversion. Grasping is when the mind desperately holds on to something and refuses to let it go. Aversion is when the mind desperately keeps something away and refuses to let it come. These two qualities are flip sides of each other. Grasping and aversion together account for a huge percentage of the suffering we experience, perhaps 90 percent, maybe even 100 percent.
To quote Viktor Frankl, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.
When your meta-attention becomes strong, you will be able to recover a wandering attention quickly and often, and if you recover attention quickly and often enough, you create the effect of continuous attention, which is concentration.