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Theodore Roosevelt, Being Mortal, Kingdom of Heaven, Simon Sinek, and 2 Timothy 2:15

Theodore Roosevelt, Being Mortal, Kingdom of Heaven, Simon Sinek, and 2 Timothy 2:15

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 8, 2021

Sunday Supplement #13 (August 8th, 2021)

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 this post that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Book of the Week:

Being Mortal – Atul Gawande

Atul Gawande is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a professor at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and a bestselling author. A quick Google search shows many other awards and associations Gawande is connected with, including the MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius Grant”).

In Being Mortal, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Gawande explores how the advancement of modern medicine doesn’t always sync with human and spiritual needs, especially in the later years of life. The breakthroughs in medicine and surgery have allowed humans to live much longer than previous generations, but Gawande poses that the cost is often overlooked.

His father’s experience with cancer prompted Gawande to research and write Being Mortal. Often, a medical condition requiring surgery can be viewed as something just being broken, and the solution is to fix it. However, what happens if the surgery isn’t wholly successful is often overlooked. Is an additional couple of years of life worth it if that person is bedridden because of a partially successful surgery?

Gawande goes over many different scenarios often misjudged in modern medicine and provides insight into how best to handle doctor visits and surgery decisions. It is an invaluable book that should be read by anyone looking to understand healthcare and how to best advocate for themselves or on behalf of others.

Movie of the Week:

Kingdom of Heaven (Director’s Cut)

Balian mourns the death of his wife and child when his estranged father shows up with an offer for Balian to join him and find solace and salvation in Jerusalem. Balian’s intended journey is thrown into chaos when his estranged father, the lord of Ibelin, passes his title to his son. The lordship comes with power and land that puts Balian at the forefront of the Crusades. He must decide what kind of ruler he will be in the face of enemies and adversaries.

I highlighted Ridley Scott’s The Martian in Sunday Supplement #7 and briefly touched on his poor run of films in the eyes of critics. Kingdom of Heaven fits in that time period but shouldn’t be considered a flop because the movie Scott made never received a theatrical release. Instead, a considerably edited version of the film became the movie that most people saw or passed over.

In the Director’s Cut introduction, Ridley Scott explains how his three-hour movie was cut down to just over two hours. One of the consequences of the cuts was a diminished storyline for a crucial character. Eva Green’s Sibylla becomes a side character that comes off as weak with no purpose in the theatrical version. In the director’s cut, her story is fully fleshed out and excellently explores the conflict of a woman in her position. Sibylla’s character was crucial to the story, and the theatrical cut suffers for her diminished role. 

The original film is truly a masterpiece of Cinema and thankfully was released as a director’s cut. The depiction of Christians and Muslims in the movie is beautifully explored, and the full story should be a classic in film history. The cast is full of brilliant performances, including Liam Neeson, Eva Green, David Thewlis, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Brendan Gleeson, and Orlando Bloom.

I highly recommend this film.

Brainfood of the Week:

A Simon Sinek clip on “The Paradox of Being Human – Individuals and Groups”

This is a quick clip where Simon Sinek talks about the paradox of putting the individual or the community first. There is no definitive answer because it’s a paradox, but Sinek explains how to be in touch with both in this short clip. It is an interesting way to view a relationship predicament that is prevalent across society.

Sinek is an inspirational speaker and bestselling author. He spoke at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in 2016 and later launched a new imprint at Penguin Random House, Optimism Press. The Press aims to find authors from the business world, the nonprofit world, the military, politics, education, the clergy, and elsewhere to offer direction on building a more optimistic world.

Simon’s YouTube page is a fun place to start to get an idea of his work. If you enjoy his content, his books are a great next place to look.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

– 2 Timothy 2:15

When I break this passage down, I think of holding oneself accountable without shame— to be satisfied with one’s presentation.

I believe this happens when you fully accept yourself and can honestly say you’ve done your best. For me, part of that comes from being in touch with my emotions. I believe that feelings can be an internal compass and a way to know when you are in line with your purpose. That doesn’t mean I let my emotions control me, but I do my best not to shut anything out. 

We might not always be at our best, though. And the quote from Theodore Roosevelt at the top of the page reminds me of that— “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I believe if we live by this principle, we can speak without shame.

This is a work in progress for me but something I will always strive to align with.

Be easy on yourself, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Maya Angelou, Michael A. Singer, City of God, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and verse 122 of the Dhammapada

Maya Angelou, Michael A. Singer, City of God, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and verse 122 of the Dhammapada

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 1, 2021

Sunday Supplement #12 (August 1st, 2021)

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 this post that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.”

– Maya Angelou

Book of the Week:

The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer

Michael A. Singer is a remarkable person with a wild adventure of a life story. Singer studied and taught economics, established a meditation center, and later picked up programming as a hobby, which led to the founding of the Medical Manager Corporation. WebMD later acquired his company for around $5 billion. In his autobiography, The Surrender Experiment, Singer recounts these pivotal moments.

The Surrender Experiment was a New York Times bestseller, and Singer’s follow-up book The Untethered Soul reached the number 1 spot. While his first book recounts his life story, The Untethered Soul goes over his thoughts and insights on limitations in our human experience and how to break through those barriers to become more conscious of the many opportunities around us. 

The best indication I can give for the quality of the book is Deepak Chopra’s endorsement, “Read this book carefully, and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity.”

A lot of self-help and spirituality books can be wordy and fluffed up unnecessarily. In this book, Singer makes every sentence convey something thought-provoking. It is one of those books you can put down in awe after reading one paragraph.

There are many brilliant thoughts and ideas in the book. The way Singer breaks down these concepts into easily digestible content is wonderful. I had a hard time not underlining everything when I read it. I highly recommend The Untethered Soul and hope you check it out!

Movie of the Week:

City of God (Cidade de Deus)

Two kids’ paths in the favelas of Rio diverge as one becomes a kingpin while the other struggles to become a photographer.

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. 

In 2004, it wasn’t a common occurrence for international films to be nominated for anything other than Best Foreign Language Film. It’s baffling that City of God wasn’t nominated in this category, but it’s no surprise that it received nominations in the other categories. If it wasn’t for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the movie might have won a few awards.

Even though the movie didn’t win any Oscars, it is on many top films lists and is considered one of the best movies in Cinema history.

Director Fernando Meirelles explained how because of the content and his decision to cast unknown actors, he didn’t receive any funding for the movie. He ended up backing the film with his own finances and received support across the board in production and post-production from friends he worked with for years. The result was a critically acclaimed film that made over $30 million from a $3.3 million budget.

Many movies from the early 2000s don’t stand up to a modern viewing, but this is a film that will become an ageless classic. The movie may be in Portuguese, but its story breaks through any language barriers. Its themes of poverty and choice are powerful and are based on a true story. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ll have a great movie night ahead.

Brainfood of the Week:

Tim Ferriss’s first interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show.

I’ve featured Tim Ferriss’s podcast on the Blog in a few posts now— Sunday Supplement’s #1, #5,and #9. The reason for this is because Tim is an excellent interviewer and has many interesting guests from a wide variety of fields on his show.

In this episode, Tim interviews Arnold Schwarzenegger. Most people won’t need an introduction to Schwarzenegger, and the podcast does a great job of quickly highlighting Swarzenegger’s career before delving into topics and stories Arnold hadn’t spoken about before. He recounts his time growing up in Austria, moving to California, and becoming a millionaire through real estate and landscaping before his career took off.

The above highlights are just a glimpse into the whole episode. There are many more entertaining and impactful stories that Arnold shares throughout the podcast. I didn’t know too much about Schwarzenegger before listening to this interview. I knew that he was an actor and the ex-governor of California. I’m glad I gave this episode a listen because there is a lot to learn from this man who journeyed from a very small village in Austria to becoming one of the world’s most recognizable people.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.”

– verse 122 of the Dhammapada

The Dhammapada is one of the best-known Buddhist scriptures, consisting of a collection of Buddha’s sayings in verse form.

This particular quote reminds me of the power of consistency and focus. It’s easy to be discouraged when one focuses on the distance between where you are and when you want to be. A reason for that experience is the concentration on the gap being the focus of your perspective. Instead of entertaining that viewpoint, a reframe can be knowing each step you take on the path is one step closer to your goals. Every drop in the water pot is progress.

In Sunday Supplement #8, I recommend the book Atomic Habits for insights and strategies on starting new routines or discontinuing negative ones. It discusses a similar principle as the above quote from the Buddha in taking small steps consistently over time to reach great distances. I try to adopt this mentality with any hobby or goal I set for myself, and I’m grateful for the synchronous moments that remind me to keep moving forward. 

Take some small consistent steps, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Thomas Edison, Atomic Habits, Bad Boys (1983), Sadhguru, and Matthew 7:12

Thomas Edison, Atomic Habits, Bad Boys (1983), Sadhguru, and Matthew 7:12

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on July 4, 2021


Sunday Supplement #8 (July 4th, 2021)

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 this post that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

– Thomas Edison

Book of the Week:

Atomic Habits – James Clear

James Clear is an expert on habit formation. The New York Times, Entrepreneur, and Time are a few of the many publications that featured his work. Clear’s work has also been used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. His website receives millions of monthly visitors where he writes about habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement.

Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, was a New York Times bestseller. The book helped me quit smoking and get back in shape. I accomplished both before, but I found myself burning out at various points. I would eventually use my willpower to push myself back to my best, but I struggled. Atomic Habits broke down concepts that made it easier to improve in areas of my life that I wanted to build up while letting go of things that weren’t good for me.

In the book, Clear goes over topics like identity, which help with starting good habits or breaking bad ones. For smoking, I always viewed myself as a smoker trying to quit smoking. He explains how that frame of mind is rooted in identity and makes it hard to stop. The shift of implementing the identity that I’m not a smoker was a simple concept with profound results.

There are many valuable strategies and systems that Clear explains in his book. One of my favorites is akin to the Edison quote above. Clear gives the metaphor of an ice cube melting to signify one’s dreams and goals. You can work for a long time to melt the ice cube. You can bring the temperature up to 31.9 degrees, and it will still be an ice cube. But you are so close to making water from your efforts. Don’t give up!

Atomic Habits is one of my favorite self-help/self-improvement books. It is an enjoyable read as well. There are many true stories from various inspirational people that will entertain and motivate. Check it out!

Movie of the Week:

Bad Boys (1983)

A Chicago youth Mick O’Brien plans to rob a rival’s drug deal. The heist goes horribly wrong, and O’Brien is sent to a juvenile detention center. He must face the consequences of his actions and decide if the path he’s currently on is one he wants to continue. The story gets more intricate as the film continues, but that is a quick summary without too many spoilers. 

Sean Penn stars as Mick O’Brien in his first film released after the iconic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. His role as Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High created the possibility of being typecast as a comedic actor, but Penn made the deliberate decision to go in a different direction with Bad Boys. Penn’s performance was assisted with a brilliant supporting cast. Reni Santoni, Jim Moody, Esai Morales, Ally Sheedy, and Clancy Brown are some of many who brought immense quality to the screen. 

Bad Boys was a small film and didn’t get too much recognition when it came out, but it received mostly favorable reviews. A testament to the quality of the script and Sean Penn’s performance is that actors like Tom Cruise and Kevin Bacon auditioned for the lead role.

It could have been a simple movie, but instead, it allowed for depth in the narrative, which resulted in complex characters and a powerful story. Even though the film isn’t well known, Bad Boys deserves to be recognized.

Brainfood of the Week:

A conversation with Sadhguru led by Angella Nazarian.

Sadhguru is an Indian yogi and bestselling author. He is a spiritual leader and founder of the Isha Foundation, a non-profit spiritual organization with over 9 million volunteers. Sadhguru’s YouTube page features many videos where he discusses spirituality, perception, and various other topics. His videos have just shy of 1 billion views in total.

Angella Nazarian is a philanthropist, bestselling non-fiction author, and conference organizer. She co-founded Looking Beyond, a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children and young adults with special needs, and Visionary Women, a non-profit community, focused on engaging conversations with innovative leaders and funding high-impact initiatives for women and girls.

In this video, Nazarian speaks with Sadhguru about vision, willingness, and joy. Sadhguru discusses how willingness can be tested when other people do not act in accordance with one’s beliefs. However, it ultimately our choice in how we respond or react. This culminates in a direct link with how we experience joy.

Sadhguru’s discussion is a great lesson and reminder of how we can shape our world.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Therefore whatever you desire men to do for you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”

– Matthew 7:12

There are a few bible passages I can quote off the top of my head. Matthew 7:12 one of them. But I didn’t know about the final part— “for this is the law and the prophets.” This part reminded me of the law of attraction. The basic principle of the law of attraction is positive thoughts bring positive experiences, and negative thoughts bring negative ones.

It always sticks out to me when different religions or philosophies I come across repeat similar passages. More often than not, you can find the same messages in different religions or spiritual practices. However, quotes like think positively don’t always have a positive reception when I’m not doing well. That is something I want to change.

In my first Sunday Supplement, I quoted Matthew 22:39— “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” I discussed how if you don’t love yourself, you won’t be able to love your neighbor. I then talked about filling your cup so you can help others. Matthew 7:12 reminds me that assisting others in filling their cup can fill yours as well. I believe in this way, Matthew 22:39 is linked to Matthew 7:12.

Trying to balance the two and knowing when I’m balanced is the goal I’m setting for myself going forward. I also plan on re-reading Atomic Habits to help me with that objective.


Be kind to yourself and others, and have a blessed week ahead!

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