You may have noticed that in each Monday’s Quote of the Week post, I usually include a link to an item bearing the selected quotation or other words of wisdom spoken or written by the same person. I do this not because I want to encourage you to buy things (I am not compensated for these links), but because I like to surround myself with statements of my values and important lessons. Read more
“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for . . . .”
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Necklace or keychain available from LiteraryGiftsUK on Etsy
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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how I’ve cut back on the amount of time I spend scrolling through social media feeds and reading articles online in order to free up more time for writing in the mornings and evenings. I’m also attempting to replace mindless phone-checking throughout the day with other more meaningful tasks — things like mindful breathing, short bursts of physical activity, and reading books. My overarching goal is to use my time more deliberately instead of impulsively reacting to whatever is aiming to capture my attention. Time, after all, is a scarce and non-renewable resource. To riff off Annie Dillard, how we spend our minutes is how we spend our hours, how we spend our hours is how we spend our days, and how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.
I listen to a lot of podcasts while driving, working out, and doing chores around the house. In this weekly feature, I’ll tell you about one episode I particularly enjoyed that week.
Note: This week’s podcast episode contains explicit language that may be objectionable to some listeners.
I’m a little behind on my podcast listening, and this week’s selection is about two weeks old. I’m posting it anyway because it serves as a nice follow-up to Sunday’s post on financial management. On the Tim Ferriss Show, the author of The Four Hour Workweek interviews top performers in a variety of fields about their habits, beliefs, experiences, lifestyles, and how they do what they do. Tim recently talked to “Mr. Money Mustache,” Pete Adeney, about how he retired at 30 and lives comfortably (with a family of three) on $25-27K of passive income per year. I was not familiar with Mr. Money Mustache before this podcast, but I’m intrigued by his advice and plan to check out his website (which apparently has a cult following).
I am not a naturally athletic person. I was never one of the first kids picked for the team in gym class, and I dreaded the days in elementary school when we had to run a mile. Aside from one less-than-stellar summer of softball when I was eight, I didn’t play sports. In my early years, I was slow, clumsy, and had poor hand-eye coordination, and I felt terribly self-conscious on any kind of court.