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:
“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”
Malcolm Gladwell is a bestselling author, journalist, staff writer for The New Yorker, and public speaker.
In his New York Times bestselling book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell directs how we often think without thinking during choices that seem to be made instantly.
Blink highlights examples from psychologists who learned to predict whether a marriage will last (I featured one of their books in Sunday Supplement #69), an expert tennis coach who knows when players will double fault, as well as other intriguing cases.
The book addresses why some people are brilliant decision-markers while others end up stumbling into error.
Blink directs how our brains work in different situations and how the best decisions can appear inexplicable at first glance. It’s a fascinating book worth checking out.
The 1997 film Men in Black follows an NYPD officer as he joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.
On the surface, Men in Black comes off as an entertaining Science Fiction Action Comedy movie. However, many deeper themes give the film an extra dimension.
The existential questions over what we assume about our world and our unconscious biases about those around us are at the core of the entertaining narrative.
The mentor figure of Tommy Lee Jones and the hero, young officer Will Smith brilliantly bring the movie’s depth to life in an exciting film for a thoughtful popcorn movie night.
Brainfood of the Week:
Experiential Learning: How We All Learn Naturally | Sprouts
Sprouts defines experiential learning as learning through experience or learning through reflection on doing and argues that it is the most natural and powerful form of education.
The video uses the example of learning to walk to show how we start out naturally doing this. It breaks down how our brain reflects on failure to help us understand how to succeed.
Musicians often perform better on most tests, regardless of what the tests measure, because of their experience of not being put off by failure.
The concept of experiential learning is pretty basic, as is the video, but it’s a powerful reminder of how we should embrace failure and see what we can learn from it.
Sprouts is a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers that makes educational videos about psychology, pedagogy, and child development.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Obstacles do not block the path. They are the path.”
– Zen Proverb
This Zen Proverb reminds me to think of the obstacles in my life from a different perspective.
Usually, when I think of an obstacle, I think of something that blocks a path or prevents someone from moving forward.
The proverb gives me the perspective of viewing obstacles as a chance to learn, deciding how to best move forward, and learning from the experience.
Sometimes obstacles can seem like hindrances, but I think in the end, they help us challenge ourselves and bring out our best.
Think about how an obstacle might be helpful, and have a blessed week ahead!
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:
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship.”
My first adventure into the self-help genre came in the form of Tony Robbin’s Awaken the Giant Within. He was the perfect entrance ramp for me on my journey of self-reflection and development. I’m not a massive fan of his voice or seminars, so I opt for his books rather than his videos.
Tony Robbins is one of the nation’s leaders in the science of peak performance, and he uses this book to guide people with the fundamental lessons of self-mastery.
Awaken the Giant Within provides techniques and strategies for mastering your emotions, your body, your relationships, your finances, and your life.
I first read the book around five years ago, and some of my favorite perspective tools stuck immediately. I particularly enjoyed neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and intention setting.
NLP is an approach to communication where you focus on removing negative and limiting words from your vocabulary. The power of what you think and speak is highlighted, and the research behind the technique is fascinating. With intention setting, I found out how powerful it can be to shape how you want to participate in an experience before it happens.
There are many more brilliant techniques explained in the book, and all of them are worth exploring to see if they click for you. Tony Robbins’ work is all over the world for a reason.
Finding Forrester follows basketball prodigy Jamal Wallace, as he is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. A chance dare connects him with a reclusive writer, with whom he refines and furthers his talent for writing while learning to express himself fully.
Mike Rich penned the brilliant screenplay that won him a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1998. Rich was picked up by Hollywood through his success in Nicholl’s screenwriting competition, and his script made it to the big screen in 2000.
Gus Van Sant directed the film, and the cast was wonderfully rounded out with newcomer Rob Brown and acting giants Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, and Anna Paquin. I’m still not sure how this movie completely missed the Oscars.
The simple story is well done and is a thoughtful narrative of stepping outside your comfort zone. An underlying feel-good aspect of the movie is subtly done while addressing timely topics.
Finding Forrester didn’t receive the best reviews from critics, but it is worth checking out.
Brainfood of the Week:
Marcus Aurelius: How to Think Clearly — The Art of Improvement
The Art of Improvement is a YouTube channel that makes videos with the focus of helping viewers learn how to better themselves and how to be more productive.
Much of the video focuses on breaking down some valuable lessons from Aurelius’s Meditations writings on living a balanced life.
Because of overstimulation, our brain limits our focus to what’s most important to us. This technique is useful to our survival but has the unfortunate side-effect of making us miss what’s going on outside of our perspective. We then can get easily distracted and removed from the present because of our thoughts.
Aurelius, in his writings, came up with methods to help himself be more aware and attentive.
The Art of Improvement video highlights three of his methods to help improve the consciousness of your surroundings and yourself.
The discussed methods delve into breaking the autonomous loop of everyday thinking, seeing situations through an objective eye, and practices of decluttering the mind.
The video is a wonderful introduction to some of the brilliant lessons left by Marcus Aurelius in Meditations. Let me know if you found anything helpful and applicable to your life.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Knowledge is learning something new every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.”
– Zen Proverb
This proverb reminds me that growth isn’t always about addition. I tend to gravitate toward making sure I experience something new every day, even if it’s as simple as reading a chapter of a book or having a conversation with someone.
However, as I get older, I realize that eliminating bad habits or decluttering my schedule and the space around me makes a huge difference for my mental health.
Jesse Itzler, featured in Sunday Supplement #3, discussed how he did the math on how much time he spent watching college football each weekend and how many hours that would total over the next twenty years.
The short of that experiment is being more conscious of how we use our time. Itzler says if you only see your parents once or twice a year and are getting up there in age, you might only have a handful of visits with them.
This kind of reflection is the perfect example of how elimination can create space for more meaningful activities in your life.
Make space for something meaningful, and have a blessed week ahead!
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:
“Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.”
I usually recommend a single book for this portion of the Sunday Supplement, but I’m recommending a Young Adult series this week. The Chronicles of Prydain consists of five books set in Prydain, a fictional country ruled by a High King who oversees several smaller kingdoms. Lloyd Alexander wrote the novels, and in the introductions of the books, he tells how he was inspired by Welsh folklore he became immersed in while receiving army combat intelligence training in World War II.
The first book, The Book of Three, follows Taran, an “assistant pig-keeper,” as he loses charge of caring for Hen Wen, a magical pig, and follows it into the forest, beginning his hero’s journey. On his adventure, he meets Prince Gwydion, son of the High King of Prydain, who is in pursuit of Hen Wen to consult the pig’s prophetic visions. The two team up, and after befriending a creature called Gorge, Taran gets captured by the “Cauldron-Born,” the undead warriors of the Horned King. While imprisoned, Taran befriends a princess held hostage, Eilonwy, and they escape captivity. They find the legendary sword Dyrnwyn in their retreat and later meet up with the rest of Taran’s group. Ffleeddur Fflam, a kind by birth who chooses to be a bard, joins their troop, and together with the companions (later joined by the dwarf Doli), determines to stop the plans of the Horned King and his maser Arwan.
The subsequent four novels follow Taran and each of the main characters established in the first book. Taran starts as a disgruntled young teenager who slowly learns to challenge and reframe his perceptions and thoughts about the world as he grows in each book. Each character has their own journey and contributes to each other’s growth in unique ways.
While this series is found in the Y/A or children’s sections of most libraries and stores, there is much to learn and enjoy from these books. I’ve read it in the last year, and it is one of my favorite ventures away from my usual reading patterns. I can’t recommend it more highly.
Good Will Hunting tells the story of Will Hunting, a 20-year-old South Boston janitor and unknown maths genius who becomes the patient of a therapist and student of a renowned advanced mathematics professor as a part of a deferred prosecution agreement after he assaults a police officer. The movie delves into his relationships with the therapist, the professor, his girlfriend, and his friends and how he starts to face the task of confronting his past and thinking about his future for the first time in his life.
This film is a brilliant story that shook up Hollywood at the script stage. Matt Damon (Will Hunting) and Ben Affleck (Will’s friend Chuckle) wrote the screenplay early on in their acting pursuits, and it was this movie that launched their careers. At first, it was hard for the young actors to get the film made because they were adamant they would be playing a couple of the lead roles in the movie. Finally, the script got into the hands of Robin Williams (Dr. Sean Maguire), and he signed on, which gave them the star power to get the green light for production.
After the long wait for the movie to get made, the outcome was Oscar glory for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They both won the Academy Award for Best Writing – Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The film was nominated for seven additional Oscars, including Best Picture, and won one other category, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robin Williams.)
In an interview with Graham Norton, Damon talked about the experience of winning the Oscar at 27 years old and how he had the grateful realization that he didn’t screw over anyone to get the award. He explained how much he appreciated that he didn’t pursue the award his whole life trying to fill a hole. It’s an interesting perspective given that resonates with a message in the film about intimacy. I encourage you to watch the movie and find the link. It’s a brilliant story and sits high on many top film lists for a reason.
Brainfood of the Week:
Hugh Jackman Interview on The Tim Ferriss Show
I’ve featured an interview from The Tim Ferriss Show in four other Sunday Supplements (#1, #5, #9, and #12.) Each interview is worth checking out, and this will be another brilliant one from the massive catalog of interviews conducted by Tim Ferriss. While the guests are the highlights from the podcast, Tim is a superb conductor for creating a fantastic flow and excellent dialogue with his guests.
In Sunday Supplement #1, I cover a brief background on Tim, so I’ll focus on Hugh Jackman and his interview for this post.
Hugh Jackman is an Academy Award-nominated actor, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning performer, and philanthropist. He is often touted as one of the kindest people in Hollywood and makes an impression as much off-screen as he does on-screen.
In this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Tim asks questions about Jackman’s past and how he got into acting, his morning routine with his wife, and his faith and meditation practices. The interview takes a journey that paints a wonderful picture of Jackman’s life and how he got to the point where he is today. There are so many brilliant nuggets of wisdom to pick up from the interview, and it is also highly entertaining.
Check it out. It certainly won’t be a waste of your time.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.”
– Zen Proverb
This quote reminds me of how the mind can be one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal if appropriately utilized. At our best, our minds can guide us and help us along the journeys we set for ourselves and the paths we want to explore. The experiences we encounter can be scary or exciting entirely depending on how we view the situation. Our thoughts and beliefs can all be our conscious decision if we learn to choose that way.
On the opposite side is an uncontrolled mind that directs our thoughts without our conscious input. I’ve noticed these reins most when I’ve come out of a funk or a binge and realized I had been in a hole for a certain amount of time without realizing I was there. Micheal Singer, who I highlighted in Sunday Supplement #12, discusses how we are like moviegoers at movie theaters in his book The Untethered Soul. We can get caught up in an emotional scene and get lost in the narrative, but if we pull back, we realize that we are conscious beings in control of how we view the picture.
This control is something I’ve worked on over the past few years of my life. It’s an interesting habit to build and one that has brought some amazing experiences. The Zen proverb above reminds me of the two relationships you can have with your mind. I believe the former is the experience we are meant to have.
Choose something next and exciting to do, and have a blessed week ahead!
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:
“Self-esteem begins with self-understanding, grows with courage and perseverance, and ends with confidence.”
Dr. Spencer Johnson was a bestselling author and physician. He wrote a series of children’s books, Value Tales, and was most famous for his book Who Moved My Cheese? The self-help book hit the New York Times Bestseller list multiple times and the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list.
Who Moved My Cheese? follows two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two “Littlepeople,” Hem and Haw, who live in a maze and search for cheese for nourishment and happiness. Each mouse and Littleperson has their own personality, which affects how they pursue the cheese in the maze. The cheese is a metaphor for what you want in life: a loving relationship, a good job, money, possessions, health, or spiritual peace of mind.
Throughout the story, the cheese continually moves. The cheese factories stop producing cheese, and each character responds differently. The mice are quick to search for new cheese, while the Littlepeople are reluctant to embrace change. Eventually, one of the Littlepeople plucks up the courage to dive back into the maze and leaves notes on the wall for the other Littleperson to follow.
The allegory of Who Moved My Cheese? is brilliant for those experiencing being stuck. It is a reminder of what happens when you choose to embrace change and the new opportunities that result. It is a short read but has many powerful messages throughout. Check it out if you’re in a rut or are looking for a motivational read.
With The Matrix Resurrections coming out later this year, I thought it’d be fun to look back at the first Matrix movie. The Wachowskis wrote and directed a brilliant film that is a visual masterpiece that makes you think. Many action movies that come out nowadays don’t require much engagement. The Matrix treats its audience as intelligent beings and poses questions and riddles that allow for a philosophical exercise wrapped in a Sci-Fi/Action storyline.
Thomas A. Anderson is a programmer for a software company who has a double life as a computer hacker. His alter-ego Neo searches for the answer to the question “What is the Matrix?” and finds out the rabbit hole goes much deeper than he could have imagined.
The film presents many existential questions, like “What is real?” Neo explores this question and embarks on a journey from Nihilism to Enlightenment. The YouTube channel, The Take, has a fantastic video that breaks down the themes and structure of the movie. They show Neo’s Hero’s Journey with the main stops being Dreaming, Destruction, Reconstruction, Self-Knowledge, Doubt, Belief, and Love. The video is a beautiful deconstruction of the film and adds a greater depth to those who’ve seen the movie before.
If you haven’t seen The Matrix, it is definitely worth checking out. It can be a little intense, so read up on it a bit before you give it a watch. If you’ve seen it before, check out The Take’s video and see if that gives you a different perspective for your next viewing.
The Challenge of Self-Esteem – Eckhart Tolle Teachings
I’ve covered Eckhart Tolle in Sunday Supplement #7, but he is a person worth revisiting. He is a spiritual teacher, public speaker, and best-selling author. Tolle’s #1 New York Times bestselling book The Power of Now has Deepak Chopra’s endorsement, “One of the best books to come along in years. Every sentence rings with truth and power.”
Tolle has a YouTube channel where he posts clips of his talks. In this video, he talks about the challenge of self-esteem and how to avoid a negative perception.
The video beings with Tolle explaining how we often live in a conceptual reality and identify with how we are thinking. How we see ourselves is rooted in typically rooted in our thoughts. The image of self often comes from comparison related to ego. We tend to rank ourselves based on material things or abilities to gauge our existence against others.
Tolle maintains that the only healthy perspective of self-esteem comes from a deeper place of presence. When you are aware of simply being, no narrative is required to justify your existence. His beliefs around this remind me of those moments when I am conscious and in the moment. I am not thinking but am feeling present and am in awe of the world.
Those moments don’t happen as often as I want, but I know they are there, and I focus on doing my best each day to build the habit of being present. I still plan for the future, but the less I worry about it, and the more I have faith that things will work out, the more I find myself at peace. Tolle is one of the authors I enjoy most, and I think his material is well worth checking out. Let me know what you think!
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.”
– Zen Proverb
This Zen proverb reminds me that everything happens for a reason. That is a challenging perspective to have when many things in life are always sad or horrible on one level. After I’ve processed more difficult times, I try to remind myself that I get to choose how I view the event and how I want to move forward.
That perspective allows me to take control of my life and my thoughts. I can reframe a painful experience as one I can learn from. I’m not always able to do this, but I try to catch myself when I am depressed. I try to be kind and remind myself that I can choose how I want to continue.
I hope this passage rings true with you, and I hope you see countless beautiful snowflakes in your future.
