Tag: movie

Antonio Brown, The Way of the Superior Man, Garden State, Angela Lee Duckworth, and a Quran Passage

Antonio Brown, The Way of the Superior Man, Garden State, Angela Lee Duckworth, and a Quran Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 8, 2023

Sunday Supplement #87 (January 8th, 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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“The journey is never-ending. There’s always going to be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.”

– Antonio Brown

Book of the Week:

The Way of the Superior Man – David Deida

I almost didn’t check out this book because of the title, but a friend whose recommendations I trust put The Way of the Superior Man on my radar.

David Deida’s book is a mixed bag for me because some of the language he uses is dated and oversimplifies certain topics.

However, many excellent takeaways from his book share wisdom for communication, relationships, and life purpose.

I recommend The Way of the Superior Man with a grain of salt, but it’s worth the read and has some moments of excellent insight into how to show up and be your best self.

Movie of the Week:

Garden State

Garden State follows a young man who returns home for his mother’s funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.

The movie has wonderful performances from Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Braff wrote, directed, and starred in the 2004 film Garden State during his run on the ABC show Scrubs.

His writer/directorial debut earned a spot at Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury prize.

Brainfood of the Week:

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth | TED Talks

Angela Lee Duckworth is a MacArthur Fellow, New York Times bestselling author, and psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this TED Talk, Duckworth discusses how she left a consulting job when she was 27 years old to teach seventh graders in a New York public school.

Her experience as a teacher led her to study psychology and search for the qualities that separate people who succeed in their various fields.

Duckworth explains how her studies and analysis led her to the findings that grit was a determining factor in successful individuals.

The six-minute video is certainly worth a watch, and it goes into more detail about the findings of Duckworth’s studies.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Do not lose heart of despair— if you are true believers, you have the upper hand.”

– Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:139

This passage from the Quran reminds me of the importance of belief.

Belief doesn’t have to be religion, but faith that things will work out can get you through tough times.

For me, belief and faith don’t have to be blind, but they should be there even in dark times. You can accept the situation and look for opportunities to move forward.

The ability to believe is something truly powerful. It can be misused, but a healthy faith can be one of your best allies.

Give yourself the support you need, cultivate your beliefs, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Amit Kalantri, War and Peace, Lion, Improvement Pill, and a Japanese Proverb

Amit Kalantri, War and Peace, Lion, Improvement Pill, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 1, 2023

Sunday Supplement #86 (January 1st, 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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“A birth-date is a reminder to celebrate the life as well as to update the life.”

– Amit Kalantri

Book of the Week:

War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

When Covid-19 first settled in, I decided to go to my bookshelf and tackle the volumes I had bought but had ignored over the years. I’m glad I finally got to War and Peace.

The book was first published in 1869 after being published serially in the years before. It has survived and been considered a classic for almost 200 years because of its quality.

War and Peace mixes a fictional narrative with historical events of France’s invasion of Russia and the impact of the war on Tsarist society.

Tolstoy follows five Russian aristocratic families throughout the book and brilliantly captures the lifetime of the characters.

The book offers an incredible glimpse of humanity and all of the celebrations and struggles of the characters. If the book has ever piqued your interest, check it out.

Movie of the Week:

Lion

A five-year-old boy, Saroo, gets separated from his brother one night and can’t find his way home. An Australian couple ends up adopting him, and 25 years later, Saroo sets out to find his lost family.

The film is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley and his book A Long Way Home. The book was adapted by Luke Davies and directed by Garth Davis.

Lion follows the periods of the young Saroo getting lost and his older counterpart, grown up and wanting to reconnect with his past.

While the young actors perform amazingly in their roles, Dev Patel shines as the adult Saroo. The story’s weight rests on his shoulders, and he carries it brilliantly.

Lion was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (for Patel— not Lead Role for some bizarre reason), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film didn’t win any Oscars in a great year of Cinema, but it should have. And it’s definitely worth a place in the history of great films.

Brainfood of the Week:

This Simple Idea Will Make You Happier | Improvement Pill

The theme of this week’s post is celebrating your wins and setting new goals. This Improvement Pill video is fantastic for helping you create a positive game plan.

I won’t spoil the beginning of the video, but it should get you to watch the rest of the five-minute clip.

The video then explains how our internal “translator” is responsible for how we perceive the events of our lives. If we have a negative setting, we get negative experiences, while a positive setting creates positive experiences.

And one of the best things about the video is its follow-through of showing how you can change your settings.

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

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“With hardship comes pleasure, and with pleasure comes hardships.” (苦あれば楽あり)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb was a fun one to dissect. At first glance, I thought of the example of completing a task and the good feeling that comes afterward.

The second half of the proverb reminded me that some good things are worth the hardship required to achieve them.

And when I look at the proverb in its entirety, I see that hardships can be a blessing and sometimes bring out the best in you.

Take stock of your life, appreciate what you’ve accomplished, look at what you want to achieve and what you want to eliminate moving forward, and have a blessed year ahead!

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Wayne Dyer, Think and Grow Rich, Interstellar, Deepak Chopra, and Matthew 13:12

Wayne Dyer, Think and Grow Rich, Interstellar, Deepak Chopra, and Matthew 13:12

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 25, 2022

Sunday Supplement #85 (December 25th, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”

– Wayne Dyer

Book of the Week:

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

I heard of Think and Grow Rich long before I ever picked it up. The book comes up on every recommended list for those who have delved into the personal development genre.

Napoleon Hill went on a journey to discover the commonalities between the most successful people in various fields.

Hill credited Andrew Carnegie’s prompt to him as the genesis of his work to study the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and others to discover and reveal the roots of success.

There’s a reason the book has stuck around for decades, has many plaudits, and has sold over 15 million copies.

Think and Grow Rich is a brilliant read for those looking to better themselves. It’s not just an insight into physical wealth.

Movie of the Week:

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan is one of the leading filmmakers of modern times. His filmography includes The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, Inception, and many other brilliant films.

For this Movie of the Week pick, I chose his Sci-Fi Drama Interstellar. Nolan wrote the film with his brother Jonathan, and it currently holds the 26 spot on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies list.

Interstellar follows ex-NASA pilot Joseph Cooper and his decision to join a mission of explorers traveling through a wormhole in space in search of a new planet for the survival of the human species.

Cooper chooses to leave his family behind in hopes of saving them. However, he doesn’t know what it will cost him, and his team discovers that the information that prompted their journey wasn’t fully realized.

Every Christopher Nolan film I’ve seen has provided a fantastic experience that has often stayed with me. Interstellar is my favorite of his filmography.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Abundance in Your Life is Proportional to Your Sense of Self | Deepak Chopra

In the video, Deepak Chopra discusses how we often get lost in egoic perceptions of ourselves but can tap into abundance by remembering our true sense of self.

Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit for research on well-being and humanitarianism.

He has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, has been featured by Oprah Winfrey, and was described by Time magazine as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

I’ve featured a Deepak Chopra guided meditation on Sunday Supplement #77, and this video gives an extra glance at his work.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

– Matthew 13:12

This passage from the Bible is taken from Jesus’s parable of the sower. It discusses a sower’s seeds that were scattered among a variety of terrain. Only the seeds that fell upon rich soil took root and survived.

For me, the parable and the verse above discuss the necessity of having the right mindset and core beliefs. If we do, positive seeds will flourish, if not, they wither.

If we don’t control our thoughts, mindset, and core beliefs, we continue to see the world from whatever default setting we currently have or are held sway by external stimuli.

The good thing is that we get to choose our mindset and our core beliefs. And we all have the ability to tune into and amply those qualities we want to see more of.

Choose how you want to move forward in life, tune into the abundance you wish to perceive around you, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Jane Howard, City of Thieves, Love Actually, Brené Brown, and an African Proverb

Jane Howard, City of Thieves, Love Actually, Brené Brown, and an African Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 18, 2022

Sunday Supplement #84 (December 18th, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”

– Jane Howard

Book of the Week:

City of Thieves – David Benioff

David Benioff is probably best known for adapting and bringing Game of Thrones to the screen for HBO. I was curious to look into his writing past, and City of Thieves stood out.

Benioff’s novel was a New York Times bestseller and recaptured his grandfather’s experience of World War II in Russia.

During the Nazi’s siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov gets arrested for looting and thrown into jail along with an army deserter, Kolya.

Instead of execution, Lev and Kayla are given the chance of a pardon if they complete the impossible task of securing a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel.

The coming-of-age story tells a tale of adventure, strife, companionship, and war and is excellently written by Benioff.

Movie of the Week:

Love Actually

Richard Curtis has a long screenwriting career which includes movies, including About Time, which I featured in Sunday Supplement #34.

That being said, Curtis has only directed a handful of movies. Love Actually is probably his best-known of those few and is a Holiday season classic.

Love Actually follows the lives of eight couples dealing with their various love lives in a loosely connected web of a narrative set during a frantic month of Christmas in London, England.

Not all the storylines involve happy narratives, but there are many laughs and memorable moments throughout the film.

There’s a reason this movie is considered a Holiday classic, and while it might not be a movie to sweep the Oscars, it’s worth checking out.

Brainfood of the Week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfOE5ykj7EQ&t=325s

Know Your Worth and Where You Belong | Brené Brown

I’ve featured Brené Brown in a few previous Sunday Supplements. She is the author of multiple number-one New York Times bestsellers and is an expert on vulnerability, courage, and empathy.

In this video, Brené discusses how our worth and belonging are not negotiated with other people but are carried inside our own hearts. Doing otherwise gives away your belonging.

Brown highlights Maya Angelou’s quote, “You are only free when you realize you belong no place—you belong every place—no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”

As a social scientist, Brown initially couldn’t grasp the meaning of the quote, knowing that there is suffering in the absence of love and belonging.

The rest of the video highlights Brené’s discovery of what it means to belong. It’s well worth checking out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“A family is like a forest; when you are outside, it is dense; when you are inside, you see that each tree has its place.”

– African Proverb

I find it interesting that there tend to be multiple layers with most spiritual passages or quotes from various peoples or traditions.

This African Proverb reminds me not to judge something by its outside appearance. Families, communities, and people, in general, all have sides you can’t see from one perspective.

I also find the proverb shows how a group or community can be strong when they are together.

To maximize the strength of the forest and each tree, I think it’s important to plant the seeds you want around you and to take care of the trees in your woods.

Consider the value of yourself and those around you, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Rachel Wolchin, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Castle in the Sky, Jamie Foxx, and Dhammapada Ch 5

Rachel Wolchin, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Castle in the Sky, Jamie Foxx, and Dhammapada Ch 5

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 11, 2022

Sunday Supplement #83 (December 11th, 2022)

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.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.”

– Rachel Wolchin

Book of the Week:

Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne

Journey to the Center of the Earth follows a geology professor Otto Lidenbrock who finds a manuscript claiming a route to the earth’s core.

Lidenbrock embarks on a journey with his nephew Axel and native Icelandic guide Hans Bjelke into the depths of an extinct volcano.

Jules Verne is the second most translated author of all time. His bestselling literary works of the 18th century inspired literature and film well beyond his years.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a wonderful combination of imagination and adventure. For being written in the 1860s, the prose holds up magnificently.

There’s much to appreciate from Verne’s novel, and it’s worth checking out for its vast history in storytelling.

Movie of the Week:

Castle in the Sky

It’s been a while since I’ve featured a Studio Ghibli film. Their studio has one of the best catalogs of movies I’ve seen, and there are many worth recommending.

Studio Ghibli is solely an animation company, however, their movies have themes and stories that all ages can appreciate.

Castle in the Sky follows a young girl, Sheeta, who possesses a magic crystal that is the key to finding a legendary lost city in the clouds.

Multiple parties search for the lost city, including pirates and government agencies. Sheeta, with help from a young boy, Pazu, attempts to reach the city first.

The animation, music, and story combine beautifully for a fantastic film. Castle in the Sky marks the first official film in Studio Ghibli’s incredible roster and is one of its best.

Brainfood of the Week:

Jamie Foxx Interview | The Tim Ferriss Show

I frequently featured Tim Ferriss’s podcast when I started this blog. I haven’t used a full episode for the Brainfood of the Week in a while, but this is a good one to revisit.

Tim is famous for his top-rated podcast, bestselling self-help books, and lifestyle blog. In this podcast episode, he interviews actor, comedian, and musician Jamie Foxx.

The interview with Jamie Foxx is one of my favorite interviews I’ve come across. One of the top benefits of Ferriss’s podcasts is the long-form format and insightful questions.

Foxx delves into his life growing up in Texas, successful habits, and untold Hollywood stories. There is much wisdom in his stories and answers.

The podcast episode runs for a little over two and a half hours, but if you can check it out in full, it’s worth it.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Perform those actions you will never regret: actions that will ripen into future joy and delight. Why do what you will regret? Why bring tears upon yourself? Do only what you do not regret, and fill yourself with joy.”

– Dhammapada Ch 5

The Dhammapada is one of the most well-known Buddhist scriptures. It contains sayings of the Buddha in verse form.

This passage from the Dhammapada shows me where my internal compass should always point.

I think back on times when I regretted my actions or indecision, but I’ve used those experiences as a chance to learn.

When I face new choices, I try to remember this verse’s message and make the decision that I will not regret and take joy from knowing I did my best.

Look for the choices you won’t regret, and have a blessed week ahead!

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