📪 Hello again, your Sunday read is here. As always, I will make sure that there is not a second wasted here.
Every week 4-5 hours are spent on writing, proofreading, and editing this newsletter. This does not include watching the videos, reading the books and articles of course. If you find this even a little useful, please subscribe (if not already), and/or share the newsletter to a good friend.
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📘 1 Book :
Today’s book is not actually a book , though it depends on your standards. In my opinion it is one of the most useful resources out there.
As you can see from the below graph, Americans lose much more time on their phones than they spend watching TV. Of course this is not a universal study, however I hear you saying “this totally fits my experience”.
From time to time, I have found myself thinking what else I can do right now instead of scrolling and scrolling… Then I bumped into this weird book, “5203 Things You Can Do Instead of Looking at Your Phone”. What an eye-catching title, I loved it.
Here are some of the ideas I most liked, and I have to admit I could not read all suggestions in the book.
keep a list of all the books you read, along with your favorite passages
ask a bunch of questions
follow a bird’s flight
come up with 10 alternate uses for an object
choose a different first name for yourself
close your eyes and study what appears
solve a brainteaser
open a book at random and read
create your day in advance by thinking about the way you want it to go
enjoy the aroma of a beverage before the first sip
decide what and who you want to care about and pay attention to
cook a meal from an unfamiliar ethnicity
make a wish list
tell someone how great they look
put your favorite chair in front of a window
study the behavior of someone who won’t notice
put together a great workout
design your dream something
spend an hour in silence
study the Tao and Confucius
spend a day in the countryside with a sketchbook
get a foot massage
practice tai chi or martial arts moves
make a list of 10 questions for a project you are about to begin
build something amazing with LEGOs
watch stars twinkle
dedicate an hour to watch the sunrise at dawn
take a sensory walk, during which you focus only on smell
do a face mask
get rid of every item of clothing that doesn’t look good on you
ask advice from a youngster
speak to someone you have never spoken to before
bathe by candlelight
practice yoga
leave time to read before falling asleep
teach yourself to do something new without watching the clock
seek a guru
support an independent local business
find a mentor
set five goals for the year
lift weights
choose a meaningful project
learn about a friend’s special interest or talent
indulge in a guilty pleasure
learn to lay a fire
offer counsel to those who seek it
listen to old 45s on a turntable
📝 2 Articles:
Today’s articles are the newly-found ones that I archived.
Here is a comprehensive introduction to Network Effects from one of the pioneers.
According to the article, network effects are responsible for 70% of all the value created in technology since 1994.
“Network effects are mechanisms in a product and business where every new user makes the product/service/experience more valuable to every other user.”
There are 13 network effects identified by the experts :
Physical (e.g. landline telephones)
Protocol (e.g. Ethernet)
Personal Utility (e.g. iMessage, WhatsApp)
Personal (e.g. Facebook)
Market Network (e.g. HoneyBook, AngelList)
Marketplace (e.g. eBay, Craigslist)
Platform (e.g. Windows, iOS, Android)
Asymptotic Marketplace (e.g. Uber, Lyft)
Data (e.g. Waze, Yelp!)
Tech Performance (e.g. Bittorrent, Skype)
Language (e.g. Google, Xerox)
Belief (currencies, religions)
Bandwagon (e.g. Slack, Apple)
Here are 13 ways to help you switch off from work. Now that our homes are offices at the same time, figuring out whether you are at work or at your comfort of home is hard sometimes.
Write it all down, use a brain dump activity to get ready for the next day and let the worries away after the workday is done.
Get crafty. Try to involve yourself in the art of creation. This could be guitar playing, painting, writing, you name it.
Lift some weights, do some yoga, run or walk. Get your body moving in any way you like it.
📺 1 Video:
This video was one of my hits last week. The common issue of happiness was handled very smoothly. I took some notes of the video.
Antifragility is resilience 2.0. We become better with pressure.
If you pursue happiness, you more likely become less happier. We have to pursue happiness indirectly.
Happiness is much more than pleasure, happiness is whole-being.
Happiness is a life-long journey, not a destination.
Everything does not happen for good, however it is at our hands to make good out of everything.
SPIRE MODEL
SPIRE is an acronym for what constitutes your happiness.
Spiritual : You have to have defined and engaging meaning and purpose for work and also private life.
Physical : Health and free time from stress or work.
Intellectual : Curiosity, deeply engaging with nature, art or work and sharp focus on material at hand.
Relational : Quality time with you loved ones.
Emotional : Embracing hard emotions and showing gratitude for what we have.
📜 2 Quotes:
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
—ERNEST HEMINGWAY
That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence.
—PEMA CHÖDRÖN
✨ 1 Poem:
STILL I RISE Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. —MAYA ANGELOU
📼 1 Playlist :
Here is a good Spanish playlist I have created. This playlist is perfect when I would like to understand nothing and just feel the music.
If you have no time for a song, just take a listen to this and tell me your mood did not change? How dare you ?
✔️ Read the issues you might have missed:
Until next time,
Forward, always.
Ratip.