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Day: October 22, 2023

Confucius, Ready Player One, CODA, Improvment Pill, and a Japanese Proverb

Sunday Supplement #128 (October 22nd, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop.”

– Confucius

Book of the Week:

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is a Science Fiction novel set in 2044, where people feel most alive when engaging in the virtual world of OASIS.

OASIS is a virtual reality simulator that functions as an MMORPG and a virtual world. Most people spend their time in OASIS rather than in the real world.

Wade Watts is a teenager who loves the OASIS world and devotes his time to studying the founder James Halliday’s life and interests in the hopes of completing the massive easter egg hunt in the virtual world, leaving the winner with a massive fortune and control over OASIS.

Stephen Spielberg directed the 2018 film adaptation of the novel. I think the movie did an excellent job adapting the story, but the book is worth checking out.

Ready Player One is a solid read with a lot of 80s nostalgia that culminates in a fun adventure in an interesting world with a good message at its heart.

Movie of the Week:

CODA

Set in Gloucester, Massachusetts, high-school student Ruby is torn between helping her parents’ struggling fishing business and her pursuit of Berklee College of Music.

As a CODA (Child of Dead Adults), Ruby feels the weight of responsibility for helping her parents communicate with the community.

There were many excellent movies that came out in 2021/22, and CODA came out on top for Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year.

CODA also won in the categories of Best Adapted Screenplay (Sian Heder) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Troy Kotsur).

While I wouldn’t have picked CODA as the Best Picture winner for the year, there is a lot to appreciate in this heartfelt and uplifting story. 

Brainfood of the Week:

How to Increase Your Self-Confidence – The “Yes And…” Rule | Improvement Pill

The video starts with emphasizing an exercise you can do each week that drastically increases confidence, creativity, social skills, etc.

When the revelation was improv classes, I was a little hesitant about where the video was going. However, the video went on to highlight why the practice is so helpful.

The tips Improvement Pill goes over are valuable for social interactions and building self-confidence. 

Awareness of these tools is something worth watching the video for, even if you decide you don’t want to sign up for improv classes.

I’ve featured Improvement Pill in a few previous Sunday Supplements. Their channel has over three million subscribers and focuses on teaching practices that can help change your life.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Believe in people, but believe in yourself a hundred times more.” (人を信じよ、しかし、その百倍も自らを信じよ)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb is an excellent reminder of how much power we have over our own lives.

Self-belief is one of the most important things we can have for ourselves. It changes many things about ourselves, including how we interact with others.

I think other people can be a blessing and a great source of support. However, we should always remember our own abilities to pick ourselves up and move forward.

With self-belief, you can move in the direction you want without letting discouragement from others weigh you down. Their belief is extra wind in your sails.

Believe in yourself, keep moving forward, and have a blessed week ahead!

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