This Just In… Just Do It
Thanks for tuning in! This week’s post features: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (book), Screw Motivation What You Need is Discipline by Zbyhnev (blog), What I’ve Learned From My Autistic Brothers by Faith Jegede Cole (ted talk) & more. Enjoy…
Book: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (220 pgs)
You probably read this book in high school and a little different than the books I typically cover here. But if you’re anything like me you didn’t read this book in high school, you never paid attention to any sort of literature so had no idea what a good book actually was, you cheated on the tests covering this and every other book so, and had no idea what the greatness of this book was until you actually read it much later. Since I only read it now for the first time I have a tremendous amount of appreciation for this book.
If you did read it in high school and think I’m crazy for saying that, read it again as a new person in a different time. Because you changed and the world has changed, and oddly enough I think this book about a 16-year-old in the early 1950’s is more relatable to a mid 20’s person in 2018 than it is to a high schooler 10 years ago.
Reading this book will make you a better writer (or so I think), storyteller, and all-around sharer. Reading this book with an open mind will also make you a more empathic and thereby a better person.
Blog Post: Screw Motivation What You Need is Discipline by Zbyhnev via Wisdom Nation (4 mins)
Stop waiting until you’re motivated to do something, it’s counterproductive, develop discipline instead. In other words, just do it (shout out to Nike and Shia Labeouf). I always thought it was samurai’s, but from what I’ve seen since being in yeshiva, Orthodox Jews are the most disciplined people on the planet. it’s no secret that Jews do weird things: pray three times a day, going off the grid one day a week, only eating certain (kosher) foods, and that’s just the beginning of it. All these things are super hard to do day in and day out without any complaints (I can’t say I’ve been disciplined enough to do them).
You might be wondering how does this play into your own life? As for me, I can come up with one hundred and one excuses, and I’m sure you can too, as to why I shouldn’t work out. We a gym membership is expensive, I’m too tired, I’m too busy, the list goes on and on. So I built working out into my morning routine. It’s not much but everyday I have push ups and pull ups scheduled in my morning routine (if you want my morning routine send me an email and I’ll forward it to you). I made this a non-negotiable, I don’t wait until I got motivated because I know that if things come up my motivation will fade away. I try to be disciplined, I am creating momentum and I forging a habit. I’m starting with 10 push ups and 5 pull ups every morning, a very doable task because I believe the little things add up and I believe this is how Orthodox Jews do it. They forge habits little by little until all of the seemingly tedious tasks became a part of their lives and something they look forward to each day.
If you wait until you feel like doing anything, stop kidding yourself, you know you don’t want to do it and it’s not going to happen. You’re just making excuses and procrastinating. Which, I hate to break it to you, becomes a habit over time as well. Change your frame of mind and get things done. Start small, the perfect program that you’re not going to do is worthless compared to an okay program that you are going to stick with. If you want more on discipline check out Jocko Willink. He is probably the modern day master of discipline. Decide what you want and have the discipline to do what you know you need to do.
Ted Talk: What I’ve Learned From My Autistic Brothers by Faith Jegede Cole (5 mins 13 secs)
To follow up last week’s conversation on autism and what is normal, I have one more thing to share. In this Ted Talk, Faith shares why she doesn’t want to be labeled as normal. She shares that normal is a constraint and she is much more than that. Largely because of the influence of her two younger autistic brothers. As she noticed their difference’s she saw their uniqueness as beautiful and not as burdensome. By spending time with her brothers, Faith learned that the only way to be extraordinary is to be different and that “the pursuit of normality is the ultimate sacrifice of potential.”
I relate to this talk a lot because, like Faith, my younger brother Jake is one of my biggest influences and one of my greatest teachers. He has never directly taught me anything, but looking back I realize that I picked up a lot from him. One of the biggest things I learned from him is being true to yourself. Like I talked about last week, Jake is one of the most genuine people that I know. He doesn’t walk around saying “be genuine,” he just embodies it. It’s these discrete lessons that became ingrained in my subconscious and governed a big part of my behavior.
I am sharing this with you because I want you to take a good look at your role models and your influences. What are they teaching you? If they are teaching you to be more like them than they are playing you. Don’t be a sheep, be true to yourself and maybe you too can become extraordinary.
Bonus: Why I Create Content in the Way That I Do by Gary Vaynerchuk (21 mins 41 secs)
I want to work for this man. I don’t know what he needs or what I would do but I would do anything. I’ve thought Gary was awesome for a long time but this video really wants me to want to work for him. To just be around a world-class guy like this and the environment he seems to create would be awesome. I think I have a ton to learn from him like how to “listen” better, how to maintain proper mindset, how to be a better giver in all areas of life especially with this content, and to hustle harder than everyone else out there. All of that was expressed in this 21-minute video. Stay tuned for a lot more work from him because I’m sure it is going to come.
Quote: “Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness” — Chuang-Tzu
You know it’s funny. I spent a lot of my life trying to be happy. I had a lot and yet I always felt like something was missing. I focused so much of my energy on trying to obtain something that I could only get when I stopped trying to get it. Dropping everything and restructuring my life these past two years has brought me closer to happiness than anything I have ever owned has.
What was your favorite bullet in this post? If you had to pick only one bullet to keep in this post what would it be and why and if you had to get rid of one what would it be and why? Send a message or comment below.
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To your growth! Stay curious…
P.S. If you want my notes for the book above, send me an email with the subject “Notes for (insert book name)” and I will happily share.
