Quotes
“Helping hands are better than praying lips.” — Mother Teresa
"There will always be someone who won't see your worth - don't let it be you" - Marshall Goldsmith
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." -Author and futurist Robert Anton Wilson
“Happiness is a state where nothing is missing.” – Naval Ravikant
"A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention" - Herbert A. Simon
"You have to be in the mix to make a stir" - Teronie J. Donaldson (yep, that's me - cool, right?)
Notes/Observations
“All humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal.
I am working to minimize distractions I feel I need to act on. I have taken moments in my week not to do anything.
While doing nothing I:
-Put the phone away.
-Do not respond to any notifications.
-Do not jump on an "emergency."
And to be honest, it is hard. It is boring, but it is essential. While doing this, I fight with the feeling that I could be doing something productive, but I have come to realize that the sit-down time is what I need to focus my mind.
I will keep you posted on my progress. If you already do this, please share what works for you.
Articles
Watched
I like hearing Naval Ravikant thought process; listen for yourself.
Strategy
Get more sleep
The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep.
Book of The Week
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
The essence of the book is this;
The three domains of human life — the mind, the spirit, and the body — must all be brought into alignment to achieve true stillness, and this true stillness is what allows us to cultivate virtue, and virtue helps us to live and become better.
My Takeaways
1- Let yourself have more silence for peace and clarity of mind.
As I discovered this week, sitting still is helpful when you have a lot going on. You notice all the "noise" around you when you sit still.
2- Slow down to get through difficult times.
No matter what kind of crisis you might be in, slowing down will help you get through it better.
The book mentions how the threat of a nuclear attack on America was suddenly very real in 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis.
President John F. Kennedy's advisors told him to destroy the missile stations. But he knew that failure in this would be catastrophic - millions of lives and another world war.
So what did he do to handle the situation successfully? Kennedy took time to pause and think. Rather than immediately deciding, he began to reflect on the matter. He would write notes repeating the words “Missile” and “Leaders” repeatedly. Swimming in the White House pool and spending time in the Rose Garden gave him space to think. After a while, Kennedy decided to go with a blockade of Cuba. This gave his opponent, Russian leader Nikita Kruschev, time to think as well. That time to think and save face averted almost certain war, and the Cuban missile crisis eventually ended.
3 - Get more sleep.
Your peak state is heightened when you get adequate sleep.
Question
(from James Clear)
Here's a simple question to ask before jumping into "all the work" you have to do:
What will happen if I don't do this?
It's remarkable how many things can be eliminated from your to-do list.
Music
An incredible Hip Hop album.