Tag: Stoicism

Bob Marley, Tesla: A Man Out of Time, To Kill a Mockingbird, Einzelgänger, and a Bible Passage

Bob Marley, Tesla: A Man Out of Time, To Kill a Mockingbird, Einzelgänger, and a Bible Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 6, 2024

Sunday Supplement #178 (October 6th, 2024)

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:

“The greatness of man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.”

– Bob Marley

Book of the Week:

Tesla: A Man Out of Time – Margaret Cheney

I picked up Tesla: A Man Out of Time because I was curious to learn more about a man entrenched in history but whom I knew little about.

Cheney’s biography of Nikola Tesla is an engaging read that covers Tesla’s childhood in Yugoslavia to his death in New York in the 1940s.

There are entertaining anecdotes, including some of Tesla’s friendship with Mark Twain and interesting insights into his inventions, which others commercialized.

After reading the biography, I found that it wasn’t as in-depth as it could have been and wasn’t as objective as it should have been.

I think it’s worth reading if you are interested in whetting your appetite for a deeper excursion into the history of a brilliant scientist and inventor.

Movie of the Week:

To Kill a Mockingbird

The 1963 film To Kill a Mockingbird, based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, remains a classic, as does its source material.

The story is set in a small town in 1930s Depression-era Alabama. It follows the childhood of Scout and the events around the trial of a Black man for an underserved rape charge.

Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, a widowed lawyer, defends the man on trial and tries to educate his children against prejudice.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic in film and literature. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for a brilliant performance by Gregory Peck.

Brainfood of the Week:

3 Stoic Ways To Be Happy | Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger’s YouTube channel features videos that explore different people and ideas of history with the aim of inspiring, resonating, and entertaining.

The video starts with the observation that many people are concerned with achieving a happy life. Einzelgänger highlights how the Stoics figured out how to suffer less and enjoy more with a system of exercises, wisdom, and ethics.

The first point Einzelgänger covers is about altering your judgments to be aware of what lies within your control and what lies outside of it. Check out the video to see the other two points.

I’ve featured several Einzelgänger videos in previous Sunday Supplements. If you enjoyed this video, check out the other posts or his YouTube channel.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

– Proverbs 21:3

I think it can be an easy trap to create narratives around your actions or the actions of others to support your opinion of yourself or others.

This Bible passage reminds me not to get wrapped up in excuses for poor behavior. We can stumble and make mistakes, but we should be honest with ourselves.

The part of the verse about sacrifice reminds me of how we can take on burdens or cope with a wrong situation rather than speak up for what is right.

Reflect on the integrity of your actions, move forward, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Rosa Parks, It, Lars and the Real Girl, Tim Ferriss, and a Japanese Proverb

Rosa Parks, It, Lars and the Real Girl, Tim Ferriss, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on August 20, 2023

Sunday Supplement #119 (August 20th, 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:

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

– Rosa Parks

Book of the Week:

It – Stephen King

For those who haven’t read this blog before, I’ve recommended quite a few Stephen King novels.

The previous posts have been varied to showcase the many different types of novels that King has written. They aren’t all horror books.

However, Stephen King’s classic It is definitely a horror novel. For those unfamiliar with the story, it’s about a small Maine town whose children are terrorized by a shapeshifting monster.

I’m not a huge horror fan, but I find that King’s “horror” books often are belittled by the tag. In It, the world of children vs. the world of adults is beautifully explored.

*There is one scene in the book I do not condone. Look it up to know precisely what you are getting into. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book.

Movie of the Week:

Lars and the Real Girl

The 2007 film follows Lars, a kind-hearted but socially awkward young man who starts a nonsexual relationship with an anatomically correct doll, Bianca.

Lars, played by Ryan Gosling, has haphephobia due to a traumatic childhood experience and lives on his brother Gus’s property in a converted garage.

Gus’s wife Karin attempts to engage with Lars, and throughout the course of the movie, the small town accepts Lars and Bianca and try to support him as a community.

Lars and the Real Girl is definitely an oddball film, but it has something special about it. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing – Original Screenplay.

Look it up if you’re interested, check it out, and let me know what you think!

Brainfood of the Week:

Why You Should Define Your Fears | Tim Ferriss | TED Talks

I’ve featured Tim Ferriss in many previous Sunday Supplements, but usually episodes from his podcast where he interviews top leaders/thinkers from various fields.

In this TED Talk, Ferriss discusses his experience with bipolar depression and the method he found best to combat the worst situations.

Ferriss discusses his studies around Stoicism, the historical figures who were students of the school of thought, and the Stoic exercise he found most helpful in his life.

The exercise focuses on training yourself to separate what you can control from what you cannot control through fear-setting. The practice involves filling out a prompt of “What if I did… – What might be the benefits of a partial attempt? – The cost of inaction.”

Watch the video for a complete look at the exercise and Ferriss’s experience with Stoicism. He is a bestselling author, top-rated podcaster, and blogger worth checking out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb reminds me of the power the mind has over our experience of the world. This can be a positive thing or a negative thing, depending on our thoughts.

Often we can get lost in a tunnel of despair, where we can’t find any source of light or positivity to cling onto.

I believe that when we’re at our lowest, we need help. I highly recommend therapy or, at the very least, asking for help when we feel stuck.

The positive side of this proverb is that we have the power to conquer our fears. It is not something we are helpless against.

Be aware of your thoughts, conquer your fears, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Rachel Wolchin, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Last Duel, The Art of Improvement, and Proverbs 24:16

Rachel Wolchin, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Last Duel, The Art of Improvement, and Proverbs 24:16

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on March 13, 2022

Sunday Supplement #44 (March 13th, 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:

“It’s not how we make mistakes, but how we correct them that defines us.”

– Rachel Wolchin

Book of the Week:

A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin was an American novelist whose career spanned from the late 1950s until her death, aged 88 in 2018.

Le Guin was the first woman to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel for her work The Left Hand of Darkness.

A Wizard of Earthsea is the first novel in her classic Earthsea Cycle series. It tells the story of Ged, the greatest wizard in the archipelago of Earthsea, when he was a reckless youth known as Sparrowhawk.

In his quest for knowledge and power, the young Ged meddles with dangerous dark secrets and releases a wicked shadow upon the land.

The novel then follows Sparrowhawk as he journeys forward to master the words of power and eventually face the shadow he loosed upon Earthsea.

There are other novels in the series worth reading, but the first one can be read as a standalone and is worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

The Last Duel

Ridley Scott came out with two films in 2021. While House of Gucci received more attention at the box office, The Last Duel came and went without much notice or praise.

The movie tells the story of Sir Jean de Carrouges’s duel to the death with his squire Jacques Le Gris after Carrouges accuses Le Gris of raping his wife, Marguerite.

The Last Duel gets broken up into three chapters. The first tells Carrouges’s version of events, the second tells Le Gris’s, and the third tells Marguerite’s.

Oscar-nominated writer Nicole Holofcener and Oscar-winning writers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon penned the script for this medieval tale.

Adam Driver, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck all put in brilliant performances, and Jodie Comer stole the show in the final chapter as Marguerite.

While this film didn’t make much of an impression upon its release, it was one of the best films of the year, in my opinion. It told a simple story in a clever way.

If you’re interested in a lengthy period piece, put the film on your to-watch list.

Brainfood of the Week:

This is How to Overcome Your Fear of Failure | The Art of Improvement

The Art of Improvement is a YouTube channel that makes videos on self-care and self-improvement techniques. I’ve previously featured the channel’s videos in Sunday Supplement #30 and #34.

In this video, the topic is how to overcome failure. The video starts with a story about Picasso sketching on a napkin. A woman sees him about to throw it away and says she’ll pay for it.

When Picasso says the napkin will cost her $20,000, the woman protests how can he charge that much for something that took him two minutes to draw. Picasso responded that it took him 60 years to make.

The lesson of the story is that mastery takes time. The video then explains how we need to be able to make mistakes without giving up to move forward with a practice.

Failure ultimately becomes something people can fear. The comfort of the known becomes a safety net that we adapt to avoid trying new things that could prompt failure.

The video later explains the Stoic philosophy around the sphere of choice. Broken down, it falls into the categories of things we can control (internal) and things we can’t control (external).

We must learn to focus exclusively on the internals and let go of all things we cannot control.

There are more tidbits in the video that I do not cover here. It’s only seven minutes and worth the watch to pick them up.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For the righteous fall seven times and rise again.”

– Proverbs 24:16

This bible passage makes me think about how we respond to our mistakes. I think it’s easy to view the quote as a simple reminder never to give up, but it can say much more.

I’m drawn to the word rise when I read this verse. When I searched the meaning of the word rise, I found the definition of moving from a lower position to a higher one.

For me, I think that means more than getting up when you fall. It means to rise above where you were before you fell.

I think that we can learn much from our mistakes. Even if all we can do is move on, not worry about the past, and look to the road ahead, we have made progress and have risen.

How we handle our falls shapes our perception of our lives. I’m working on seeing the opportunities to rise when I encounter my trip-ups.

Find the opportunity to rise from a perceived fall, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Anne Frank, The Obstacle is the Way, Mrs. Doubtfire, Absolute Motivation, and a Japanese Proverb

Anne Frank, The Obstacle is the Way, Mrs. Doubtfire, Absolute Motivation, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on January 16, 2022

Sunday Supplement #36 (January 16th, 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:

“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.”

– Anne Frank

Book of the Week:

The Obstacle is the Way – Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday dropped out of college at 19 to apprentice under Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power. Holiday went on to advise multiplatinum musicians and bestselling authors. He is a media strategist and bestselling author whose campaigns have been used as case studies by Google, YouTube, and Twitter.

The Obstacle is the Way is Holidays bestselling book that breaks down Stoicism and the principles laid down by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

The book breaks down into three parts. The first discusses and analyses perception. The second focuses on action. And the third highlights will. Each has specific components that showcase the value of each term and how others used them to make their lives better.

The book’s subheading reads The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.

Holiday’s guide to Stoicism with examples of the famous people who’ve used its practices (i.e., John D. Rockefeller, Amelia Earhart, Ulysses S. Grant, and Steve Jobs) is a brilliant read. A grain of salt should be added with the principles, but it is a self-help manual well worth putting on your list of books to read.

Movie of the Week:

Mrs. Doubtfire

Robin Williams provided much joy to many people throughout his life. As an actor, Mrs. Doubtfire is arguably his best work.

The script, written by Anne Fine, Randi Mayem Singer, and Leslie Dixon, follows an actor after a bitter divorce and his attempts to spend time with his kids. He disguises himself as a female housekeeper and gains employment under his former wife to take care of the kids while she’s at work.

The movie brilliantly showcases both comedy and drama throughout. The story takes the complexity of the characters’ situations and doesn’t try to downplay the seriousness. Instead, the film focuses on the emotions of each scene while bringing out the absurdity and sadness in the right places.

Mrs. Doubtfire only received one Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. The film won the category, but it got snubbed in many other categories. The acting was superb from all involved, including Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson.

Chris Columbus directed this masterpiece, but Robin Williams steals the show. If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out. And if it’s been a while, it’s worth putting on the to-watch list again.

Brainfood of the Week:

Matthew McConaughey – This Is Why You’re Not Happy | Absolute Motivation

Absolute Motivation is a YouTube channel that aims to enhance the human experience by creating thought-provoking and actionable content that helps exercise, stimulate, and expand the mind and consciousness.

In this video, Absolute Motivation uses a speech from Matthew McConaughey that emphasizes the necessity of playing like an underdog and focusing on joy rather than happiness.

McConaughey is an Oscar-winning actor and philanthropist. His career and life journey is incredible and can be glimpsed through his memoir Green Lights.

His speech explains how happiness can be an emotional response to an outcome and can be rooted in a cause and effect standard that we raise every time we attain it. Because happiness can become result-oriented, we can often be let down frequently and depressed.

However, we find joy in doing what we love, no matter the outcome. Joy is not a response but an experience and a constant process. And gratitude can be a shortcut to joy and can help your focus shift toward what you have, which grows.

Pursuing joy doesn’t mean ignoring failure. But, you can analyze and dissect what makes us happy and what makes us sad. We can see what helps us and what hurts us. Then we can move toward success and joy from what we learn.

McConaughey explains the importance of finding your priorities and getting rid of the things, places, and people that don’t serve those priories or drag you down from what’s meaningful to you. He expresses how vital it is to define what success means for you and to move in that direction.

Get rid of the excess and focus on what’s important to you. Give yourself a break and eliminate what doesn’t help you.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“The festival afterwards.” (後の祭り)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb stands for not dwelling on something after the incident has already happened. Even if you regret something, the event has already passed, and it’s too late to change the outcome.

For me, this isn’t something sad. The proverb reminds me that, after processing the emotions, there isn’t any point in dwelling on the negatives. If I experience sadness when the scars get rubber, that’s okay. But I do get to choose how I move forward.

There is a lot of power in choosing how you want to view an event. Something sad or depressing will always be that way on one level, but you can also reframe the experience on another level and learn a valuable lesson.

The festival afterwards reminds me to find the silver lining in the cloud. The knowledge or perspective I gain can help me grow and find peace and happiness.

Find happiness in your perspective on life, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Dr. Glenn Doyle, Personality Isn’t Permanent, Hacksaw Ridge, Marcus Aurelius, and 1 Corinthians 13:2

Dr. Glenn Doyle, Personality Isn’t Permanent, Hacksaw Ridge, Marcus Aurelius, and 1 Corinthians 13:2

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on September 5, 2021

Sunday Supplement #17 (September 5th, 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 these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“When we base our worth on something that fluctuates, like our mobility, our body size, and shape, or our productivity, we’re setting ourselves up to feel like crap when life throws us a curveball… Our inherent worth is NOT tied to how attractive or useful we are to someone else.”

– Dr. Glenn Doyle

Book of the Week:

Personality Isn’t Permanent – Benjamin P. Hardy

Benjamin P. Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author. His blog posts have received over 100 million views and have been featured by the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and other esteemed publications.

In Personality Isn’t Permanent, Hardy analyzes and debunks misconceptions around personalities that have become popular assumptions over time. He explains why tests like Myers-Briggs and Enneagram can be psychologically destructive and are misunderstood for personal application. The purpose of going over the misconceptions is to show how they don’t root anyone in a stuck pattern of behavior.

From there, Hardy shows how to break free of past misconceived personality limitations. He shows how to design a current identity based on the desired future self and reframing past traumatic experiences. He also breaks down how to enhance your subconscious to overcome addictions and limiting patterns and how to become confident in defining your life’s purpose.

The book is a fun and quick read and mixes in studies and statistics with true stories of intentional self-transformation. Some of these stories include examples of Vanessa O’Brien, who quit her corporate job and set the Guinness World Record for a woman climbing the highest peak on every continent in the fastest time; Ken Arlen, who instantly quit smoking through a change in his identity narrative; and, Andre Norman, who became a Harvard fellow after his fourteen-year prison sentence.

Personality Isn’t Permanent is well worth the read and contains many inspirations for breaking free from your past to become the person you want to be.

Movie of the Week:

Hacksaw Ridge

Desmond Doss enlists in the Army as a conscientious objector with the aim to save lives as a medic rather than take lives as a rifleman. He faces abuse and ostracization from the Army and his peers in basic training. Doss fights for his beliefs and right to serve and ultimately proves to himself and his peers that these beliefs were worth upholding.

I’m not a big fan of war movies, but the genre has produced many brilliant films in the past that show more than a dramatization of events.

Hacksaw Ridge tells the true story of Desmond Doss, who served in the Battle of Okinawa and refused to kill people. He became the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.

There is much to admire about this movie in addition to its story. The acting from Andrew Garfield (Desmond) and Hugo Weaving (Desmond’s Father) is superb. Teresa Palmer, Rachel Griffiths, and Luke Bracey also steal many of the scenes they’re in and add to a well-rounded cast that carries the film.

The movie was nominated for six Oscars, winning two—Best Achievement in Film Editing and Best Achievement in Sound Mixing. The other notable categories were Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and Best Achievement in Directing.

It isn’t a film that you watch casually on a Saturday night, but if you do decide to watch it, you’ll experience a movie that does more than just pass the time.

Brainfood of the Week:

Marcus Aurelius – How to Build Self-Discipline (Stoicism) — Philosophies for Life

Philosophies for Life is a YouTube channel that breaks down philosophers’ works for a modern audience. Their channel has just shy of 30 million views and animates videos based on great thinkers like Plato, Friedrich Nietzsche, Aristotle, and Immanuel Kant.

In this video, Philosophies for Life looks at Marcus Aurelius’s autobiographical writings, Meditations. Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome from 161AD to 180AD and was considered the last of the five good emperors. His Meditations autobiography contains key insights on building self-discipline, and the video goes over ten important points from the writings.

Aurelius highlights the importance of finding your purpose by having a clear understanding of your goals and the tasks that fit within them. The biggest source of self-discipline is having a reason to do the task. If you don’t know what to do, start with what interests you. Build a practical plan of action to achieve your goals and be fully committed. Believe in yourself.

Mini milestones are a great way to keep you on your intended path and help you reach your outcome. They help you achieve your goals and avoid succumbing to being overwhelmed. Each day is a new chance to reset and move forward. Remembering that you have power over your mind, not outside events, helps you stay disciplined.

These are just a few of the topics the video discusses. You can always pick up a copy of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, but I find these videos helpful and quick motivational boosters.

I hope you enjoy the video and gain something from it!

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

– 1 Corinthians 13:2

In my research on this quote, I saw that versions of this passage replaced charity with love. In this context, it reminded me that love is something you can give as well as receive.

I’ve posted many times about the necessity of love in our lives to help give us meaning. This can be in the form of friendships, intimate relationships, and community. Being more aware of myself and my actions helps me connect in these different relationships and helps me connect with what’s around me. An act of kindness, whether given or received, often shines a light on my day.

I’m glad I came across this passage because it reminds me that accomplishments by themselves can mean little. I hope you find personal meaning in this passage as well.

Thank you to all my friends and family who have been there in my life.

Have a blessed week ahead!

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