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Tag: The Rich Roll Podcast

Carl Jung, Timeline, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rich Roll Podcast, and a Quran Passage

Sunday Supplement #134 (December 3rd, 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:

“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate; it oppresses.”

– Carl Jung

Book of the Week:

Timeline – Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton was a legendary author and writer. He wrote 28 novels, and his books have sold over 200 million copies. He also wrote and directed a few films and was the creator of ER.

Crichton’s most famous work is probably Jurassic Park; however, my favorite novel of his is probably Timeline.

Timeline tells the story of a group of history students who travel to 14th-century France to rescue their professor.

The students get wrapped in the workings of a secretive multinational corporation after they find an astounding discovery at a medieval site. What started as a rescue mission turned into a fight for survival over 600 years ago.

Timeline was made into a campy 2003 film starring Paul Walker, Frances O’Connor, and Gerard Butler. While it’s a fun watch, the book is lightyears better, and I recommend it for a fun read.

Movie of the Week:

Fiddler on the Roof

I only recently saw Fiddler on the Roof, and it’s always an amazing experience to see a classic in Cinema and find that it stands the test of time.

The story follows a Jewish peasant with traditional values in pre-revolutionary Russia who contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens the village.

I’m not a huge musical fan, but the songs and numbers in Fiddler on the Roof were excellently crafted to further the story in a dramatic fashion.

The film won three Oscars (Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Cinematography) and was nominated for another five, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

If you haven’t seen Fiddler on the Roof, you’ve probably inadvertently come across many references to the film. It’s a classic in Cinema history for a reason.

Brainfood of the Week:

Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman | Rich Roll Podcast

I’ve featured Rich Roll in a few previous Sunday Supplements, both as an interviewer and an interviewee.

Roll is a vegan ultra-endurance athlete who changed his life at 40 after struggling with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy living. His podcast has been consistently among the most downloaded/listened to podcasts in recent years.

In this episode, Roll interviews neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman. I just recently featured Huberman’s podcast in Sunday Supplement #131, but this episode was worth another highlight.

Huberman discusses the process of decision-making, addiction, and much more in this episode. The link starts halfway through the episode at a point I think makes a good hook.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.”

– Quran 13:11

I haven’t repeated a spiritual passage in a Sunday Supplement until this one. I first highlighted this Quran passage in Sunday Supplement #22 in another post about change.

For me, this passage speaks to the necessity to change ourselves first before we can expect things around us to change.

I often think of the metaphor of butting your head into a brick wall when you could find another way around.

Sometimes, you need to break down walls, but reflecting on how you can change yourself first can be the best answer to getting unstuck from a negative perspective.

Look for ways to change yourself that will improve your life, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Bruce Lee, Can’t Hurt Me, Amadeus, The Power of Letting Go, and Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:159

Sunday Supplement #40 (February 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:

“Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.”

– Bruce Lee

Book of the Week:

Can’t Hurt Me – David Goggins

I featured David Goggins in the brainfood section of Sunday Supplement #35. In that post, I gave a brief summary of Goggins’s history for the United States Armed Forces and his subsequent journey as one of the world’s top endurance athletes.

The accompanying video in that Supplement is an interview with Goggins on The Rich Roll Podcast. Check out the video, and if you like it, check out this book.

Can’t Hurt Me is a mixture between a self-help/personal development book and an autobiography. Goggins uses stories of his past to show how one can overcome obstacles to create the person one wants to be.

Goggins grew up with poverty, abuse, and racism. He failed at various points in different areas but decided to turn his life around. He went from being overweight and depressed to becoming the only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller.

This book is an excellent insight into how much control we have over our minds and bodies. You don’t have to become an ultra-endurance athlete after reading it, but there is much to take away and learn from.

Movie of the Week:

Amadeus

The 1984 film Amadeus won eight Oscars and is considered one of the best movies in Cinema history.

The film tells a fictional story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through the eyes of a rival composer, Antonio Salieri. The bitter rival reflects on the career of the genius composer and claims that he was the one who murdered him.

Amadeus was adapted from the stage play of the same name by screenwriter Peter Shaffer. Miloš Forman directed the film, and F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce starred as Salieri and Mozart. 

Every name above won their respective Oscar, except for Hulce because he was nominated in the same category as Abraham. The film also won Best Picture.

Amadeus currently sits at #82 on IMDB’s Top Rated Movies list and boasts above a 90% in both critics and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Add this movie to your list if you’re looking for an excellent (lengthy) biopic/period piece. It’s one of my favorite films and has an epic soundtrack.

Brainfood of the Week:

Einzelgänger | Taoism – The Power of Letting Go

In Sunday Supplement #20, I featured an Einzelgänger video as the brainfood of the week. The channel creates videos that explore different people and ideas of history with the aim of making content that inspires, resonates, and entertains.

In this video, Einzelgänger discusses the idea of control in our modern society. He then offers an insight into Taoism and its philosophy of letting go. 

The first way of Taoism Einzelgänger highlights is the art of non-doing. He breaks it down to knowing when to act and when not to. Control can be what combats effortless action or a flow state. And while control isn’t always a bad thing, like self-control, too much suffocates growth.

Embracing change is the next topic in the video. “The Living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.” —Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, 11.

Not focussing on outcomes is one of the last areas Einzelgänger goes over. When we focus too much on the future, we tend to paralyze ourselves in the present with anxiety. 

Einzelgänger goes into greater depth with these philosophies, and the beautiful video is well worth checking out. I provide the above to give a glimpse at what the video offers, but give it a watch and see if you take anything away from it.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them, and had you been harsh and hard-hearted, surely they would have scattered from around you. So excuse them, and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah.”

– Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:159

In this passage from the Quran, I’m reminded of the power of forgiveness. The two statements show the possibility of alienation if you’re too harsh and the power of resolution if you seek to forgive.

I believe that forgiveness can be for yourself as well as others. If we are too hard on ourselves or repress any negative feelings around ourselves or others, we lose the opportunity for catharsis.

For me, the most important thing is to see and acknowledge what is happening with an open mind. Look to resolve the situation and trust that everything will be okay. 

I believe, if you approach situations with others of yourself in this way, regardless of if you believe in God or not, you can find peace and move forward.

Forgive yourself and someone else, and have a blessed week ahead!

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David Suzuki, Walter Mosley, Stand and Deliver, Jesse Itzler, and Surah Ar-Ra’d 24


Sunday Supplement #3 (May 30th, 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:

“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore… if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity— then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”

– David Suzuki

Book of the Week:

Devil in a Blue Dress – Walter Mosley

Mosley’s first novel in the Easy Rawlins series was an Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel (1991). It follows Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, a Black World War II veteran living in the Watts area of Los Angeles in the late 1940s. He knows the neighborhood and is asked by a White man at a bar to locate a White woman known to visit jazz clubs in the area. The job turns out to be even more complicated than it initially appears. Blackmail, extortion, and secrets are just some of the many obstacles Easy runs into. 

The book is a classic in the private detective genre and delves into many different subjects, including race, money, sex, violence, and survival. It is the first of fifteen novels in the series, spanning decades of Los Angeles history and culture.

Mosley was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2020 in recognition of his contributions, which include more than sixty critically acclaimed books covering various subjects and genres. His Easy Rawlins series offers an intelligent and captivating read for those who pick up the books. You don’t have to read the series sequentially, but Devil in a Blue Dress is a brilliant way to start. 

* Devil in a Blue Dress was also adapted into a movie starring Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Tom Sizemore, and Jennifer Beals.

Movie of the Week:

Stand and Deliver

Ramón Menéndez’s Stand and Deliver is based on the true story of a high school teacher, Jaime Escalante. In the 1980s, James A. Garfield High School performed below grade-level expectations and did not have high expectations placed on the student body. Escalante became a mathematics teacher at the East Los Angeles school and galvanized his students to excel in academics. He recognized the untapped potential of the class and made it a goal for the students to take AP Calculus by their senior year.

Edward James Olmos portrayed Jaime Escalante and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the 1989 Academy Awards. He was also the reason why co-star Lou Diamond Phillips landed the role of Angel. Their characters’ relationship is one of the highlights of the film and one of the many highlights in their respective careers.

In an interview with The Hudson Union, Phillips explained how he was on the verge of moving back home to Texas because he couldn’t book a part and was running out of money. His famous role in La Bamba was in the bag, but it hadn’t been released yet, so no one knew who he was. Phillips caught a break, though, and got cast in a guest role on Miami Vice. He shot one scene with Olmos, and Olmos told him to get in touch with Menéndez about being in Stand and Deliver.

The interactions between Escalante and the students make the film, but the true story it’s based on makes it more than just a film. The movie is inspirational and is a great reminder of how expectations placed on us and from ourselves can affect how we view our lives. It also shows the power of believing in yourself and having others believe in you.

I’ve highlighted Los Angeles in a few posts now and twice in this week’s Sunday Supplement. Part of the reason for that is I’ve lived in Los Angeles for four years now, and I like to watch and read about the history of where I live. I also worked and volunteered at schools in Los Angeles for three of the years I’ve lived here. This film is one of my favorite depictions of the city and an educational setting.

An outside source of validation for the movie is that the Library of Congress selected Stand and Deliver for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011.

Brainfood of the Week:

Rich Roll’s interview with Jesse Itzler on his podcast The Rich Roll Podcast.

Rich Roll is a vegan ultra-endurance athlete who changed his life at 40 after struggling with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy living. His podcast is just one of the many ways he provides inspiration and information.

Jesse Itzler has an unbelievable biography. He came out of college with a recording contract under Delicious Vinyl records as a songwriter/artist. During this time, he made it into the Billboard 100, made music hits for sports franchises, and won an Emmy. After that, he found success as an entrepreneur, creating and selling companies like Marquis Jet and Zico Coconut Water. He and his wife, Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx), were part of a group that purchased the Atlanta Hawks in 2015. 

In the interview description, Roll asks the question: how does this guy have such an extraordinary life?—watch and learn. 

There are certain principles and perspectives Itzler shares that are nuggets of wisdom you can incorporate into your life. He tells many hilarious stories and gives insights into how he views life and the decisions that have improved his way of thinking.

Check out the interview; I’m sure you’ll pick up at least one useful tool from it.

Closing Prayer/Passage:

“Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home.”

– Surah Ar-Ra’d (24)

In high school, I had my first exposure to the Muslim religion through one of my best friends. I didn’t have many deep thoughts at the time, but looking back, I’m grateful for this exposure. And I’m glad to have had examples of good people from all faiths in my life.

There are literal breakdowns of passages and prayers, but I enjoy the metaphorical examinations as well. For me, this passage speaks to the benefits of reflecting and responding vs. reacting. The final home is the excellence of peace. It isn’t something I always embody, but I continue to work on incorporating that mind state.

Have a blessed week ahead, and may you find peace in it!

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