WPW: Maria Popova and Brainpickings

 

Lucy,

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote Read Write Think and Stay Whole Lucy. Today, I circle back to Maria Popova on Woman Power Wednesday. Maria started Brainpickings 14 years ago. 

In her words:

Brain Pickings was born on October 23, 2006, as a short email to seven friends. Seven years and several incomprehensible million readers into its existence, I began what has since become an annual tradition — a distillation of the most important things I have learned about living while reading and writing my way through life; private learnings offered in the public commons, in the hope that these thoroughly subjective insights of a single consciousness might be of succor or salve to another. It is the only overtly personal writing I do on Brain Pickings. (Though, of course, the whole of it remains a deeply personal exercise in processing my own life and annealing my own ideas through the lives and ideas I celebrate in writing.) We are, after all, made of the same stuff.

Like how Ryan Holiday deep-dives into the stoics, Maria has built her passion-work studying literature, art, and poetry that is not currently on the New York Times bestseller list. She finds classic-thinkers (or artists) and then connects dots between their thought and other's, or her own. I find this interesting and refreshing, much like I find Holiday's books so thoughtful and timeless. It seems especially invigorating as we live through a time when many people are so unsettled and upset.

Go here to read this year's Essential Life-Learnings from 14 Years of Brain Pickings. Scroll down to 14. Choose Joy. 

So few grains of happiness

measured against all the dark

and still the scales balance.

Lucy, you get to weigh the blue of your sky!

Dad

P.S. And note a link where you can see Maria's 13 prior years of essential life-learnings. And if you go deeper, you can also see thirteen of the pieces Maria has most enjoyed writing the past thirteen years. I'm hooked. Her writing style and her ability to use words in unique ways stirs and inspires me.

MiaGM: "I value?"

 
Hey Lucy,

As you know, we zipped over to Cape San Blas this weekend, and the WiFi is solid; the view from 'my back porch office' is rather nice, and the sunsets are remarkable.

At the end of the McConaughey podcast, which I listened to a couple of times last week, Tim Ferris asks Matthew his standard question. "So if you were to have a billboard metaphorically speaking to get a message, a question, an image, anything out to billions of people, could have a paragraph, could be a word, anything non-commercial, what might you put on that billboard?"

McConaughey: 'I value?' 

"It seems that the common denominator, or the bipartisan non-denominational solid stepping stones for us to evolve as a species, as a nation, and as individuals, is based on values. The fundamental principles that we can all agree on, I don’t care what side of politics you’re on, or what religion you are, is what do we value?"

What do we really value? We all want to be relevant. Well, let’s ask, “Relevant for what?"

Make it a great Monday,

Dad

FaaFF: Letter from a grandfather

 Good Fit as a Fiddle morning Lucy,

Saw this on an ESPN tweet and just loved it! Rays 1 - Dodgers 1 in Fall Classic. Yesterday was a 'travel day'; without any travel. Game three tonight.

Love you,

Dad

Anything goes: Digging deeper on McConaughey

Lucy,

I caught up with Sally in London early this morning, and she, like me, has gone all-in on Tuesday's Stay Whole: Matthew McConaughey talks 'Greenlights' on The Tim Ferris Show.

Here are a few other nuggets that resonate with me in a BIG way from the show:

My favorite poem, The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost. Always reminds me of Dr. Scott Peck and The Road Less Traveled.

Why has The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino had such an impact on Matthew, and how did he serendipitously happened upon it while studying to be a lawyer? [18:06]

Matthew’s 10 goals in life circa 1992, and what he was doing then. [26:52]

What did Matthew mean specifically with goal number five: be an egotistical utilitarian? [31:45] "That's what Jesus was up to!"

Take more risks. Why? [33:42]

What misconceptions does the world have about Matthew that he’d like to clear up? [1:21:30] Great stuff here on what Emily and I used to refer to as hard preparation, easy battle.

Hope you take some time to listen.

Love,

Dad

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

SWT: Matthew McConaughey talks 'Greenlights' on The Tim Ferris Show

Good stuff on Stay Whole Tuesday for you here, LuLu. 

I'm enjoying Tim Ferris with our Austin neighbor Matthew McConaughey this week. He touches on a lot of things that resonate. His father was a 'peddler,' and so was my Grandfather, William Patton McDowell Jr.

McConaughey was a goal setter and journaled about his dreams from an early age. Mom knows about some of my earliest journals and the goals I set years ago. I know you, too, are a journaling-type. He talks about how we tend to journal when we are at tough spots in our life, but he learned early why it is important to also journal when things are going well. 

His new book, Greenlights, looks like a winner - a guide to catching more greenlights—and to realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.

Give it a listen and stay whole,

Dad

Thanks Jim Loehr: Looking forward to reading Leading with Character!

Lucy,

A while back, I shared 'I am Woman' and Jim Loehr on FaaFF and the missing link from my bookshelves, my signed and annotated copy of Jim Loehr's The Power of Full Engagement. I ended the Fit as a Fiddle Friday intending to run Jim down for a new signed copy. That 'intention' lead me back to my Nashville tennis buddy, Jay Senter, now 80 and still 'fully engaged' playing championship-level age-group tennis around the US.  

Jay kindly connected me to his best friend Jim, and voila . . .

The photo above shows Jim's kind note in my new book, plus his latest book, Leading with Character: 10 Minutes a Day to a Brilliant Legacy, which has moved to the top of my reading list. Jim even used my favorite word, oscillate, in his note, which I love!

Make it a great 'oscillating' Monday,

Dad

Jim Chapman (82) on life habits that have helped him stay RELEVANT

Lucy,

With line-of-sight on eight generations of working professionals, I'm studying what it takes to maintain 'relevance' and find your 'voice' throughout your career and your life. Put another way, what does purposeful-work look like in your twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and so forth, allowing unique individuals to do amazing work well into their 9th and even 10th decade of life!

Taylor's grandfather Jimmy Chapman (82), is a great example. The photo is Jimmy talking to your sister Sally about architecture projects in his Atlanta office. (See Jimmy's crowning achievement: 'I'm so proud I'm about to pop.')

I recently encouraged Sally and Taylor to interview Jimmy, before they left for London for the next three years. The interview is remarkable, and I am certain it will be treasured. Today, on Fit as a Fiddle Friday, listen to Jimmy's response to this question:

What life hacks or habits do you consider the most important that have allowed you to stay healthy and maintain high-energy for so many years?

Five takeaways:

1. Infused with a love of movement and physical activity at an early age
2. The importance of 'energy' and 'discipline' when you need to spend long hours at your craft
3. Variety and diversification of exercise throughout life
4. Develop habits that involve fitness
5. Have a 'place to go', surround yourself with like-minded individuals

Great stuff, LuLu. 

Stay fit,

Dad