Sunday Six: Elon Musk, Bob Iger & Zen Buddhism

Hey Friend 👋

I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday Sabbath! Did I catch you? Are you not sabbathing? Uh oh! Don’t do that to yourself — even God rested on the 7th day…

If you are doing a true Sabbath, kudos to you 👏 we need to #BringSabbathBack.

In fact, this weekend our family did a double-sabbath. One weekend, two sabbaths.

“You’re kidding!?”

”Totally serious. We did.”

Yesterday, we lingered around brunch until about 12PM just:

• Drawing
• Coloring
• Painting
• Having toast
• Reading books
• Writing articles
• Drinking coffee outside

It felt like time stopped. We didn’t have to be anywhere. Do anything.

Do you remember the last time you felt life like that? We definitely can’t double-sabbath every weekend (usually just Sunday) but sometimes you need time for your soul to catch up to your body.

It’s safe to say if the wisest people to ever live (including Jesus) took part in the sabbath, it may be worth it for you to explore.

A few pro tips that have helped dial in our family Sabbath:

1. Eat meals that are easy to prepare 🍳

You don’t want to get caught up cooking and cleaning all day. Kinda eliminates the point, doesn’t it?

1. Read fiction books 📚

Fiction transports you into another world. Non-fiction gets your brain stirring on how to fix stuff in the real world. That stuff can wait until Monday.

2. Spend most of your time outside 🌤️

Enjoy the sun. Run in your back yard. Throw the football. Walk the neighborhood. Go to the pool. Read outside. Eat outside. Whatever you can do outside, do it out there. The air will bless you all day.

Sunday Six 🔅

📚 Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

I’ve been long anticipating the next Walter Isaacson biography since he released the Steve Jobs biography in 2011. Arguably the best biography writer of all time.

Love him or hate him, the incredibly risk averse life of Elon Musk has allowed him to innovate ideas such as:

• Tesla
• SpaceX
• X (Previously Twitter)

I’m a couple chapters in and didn’t realize what an incredibly tough life Elon grew up with. It’s always eye opening to peel back the curtain on somebody’s life and have a bit more empathy for them.

A fascinating book so far. Incredibly written (as expected). Definitely worth the pick up.

Link to book here: https://amzn.to/44UWETA

🚶‍♂️ How To Get 10,000 Steps in One Day

Everybody tells you the importance of getting 10,000 steps per day (and I agree with them!) but then when you go to try it yourself — you figure out… it’s a lot harder than it looks.

First, here’s the math of 10,000 steps → 1 Mile = 2,000 steps → 10,000 steps = 5 miles

Simple, right?

Here are two ways I’ve personally used to cross 10,000 steps everyday:

Option One:

• Morning walk before breakfast, two miles, 36 minutes
• Afternoon walk after lunch, one mile, 18 minutes
• Family walk after dinner, two miles, 36 minutes

Option Two:

• Morning jog, three miles, 30 minutes
• Afternoon walk after lunch, one mile, 18 minutes
• Family walk after dinner, one mile, 18 minutes

These guarantee 10,000 steps without any other movement added throughout the day. Which is good because you should be getting at least 10,000 steps. Humans are made to move. If you’re not moving daily, you’re dying.

🧘 10 Tips on Life from a Buddhist Monk

I’ve been reading this book, Zen: The Art of Simple Living, to begin understanding ideas and perspectives on the wisdom of happy living from other cultures.

Here are my five favorite takeaways so far:

1. Make time for emptiness 🈳

Even a mere 10 minutes a day to sit and not do anything can do wonders for your soul.

2. Discard what you don’t need ♻️

Before buying anything new, get rid of one thing you no longer need. Life gets too cluttered too fast.

3. Make a delicious cup of coffee ☕

Intentionally do things that require you to slow down and enjoy the very small things of life. We spend most of our time in the mundane, make it meaningful.

4. Do not neglect your meals 🥑

Most of us scroll our phones or watch TV while eating meals. Or even talk to our co-workers next to us. Next time, just eat your food. Savor each bite. Think about the ingredients. Enjoy the flavors.

5. Seek out the sunset 🌤️

Nature gives us an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It also reveals how small we are in the grand scheme of God’s creation. Do not let that pass by. Enjoy it daily.

✍️ The Wisdom of Bob Iger

Bob Iger is the CEO of Disney and is widely regarded as one of the wisest CEOs of all time. His wisdom of leadership, character and business acumen are unparalleled.

So much so that this week I wrote an article with 20 gold nuggets of wisdom from Bob. Here are my top 5 from that article:

1. Don't let ambition get ahead of opportunity.
2. “Great" is often a collection of very small things over time.
3. Long shots aren't usually as long as they seem.
4. If something doesn't feel right to you, it won't be right for you.
5. No one wants to follow a pessimist.

You can read the full article here: https://www.alindragu.com/bobiger/

☀️ The Benefits of Morning Sun

For the past few weeks since the summer heat has calmed down, I’ve been spending my early mornings on my back patio.

This is the time where I:

• Journal
• Read my Bible
• Drink a cup of coffee
• Write articles and ideas

It’s been so good for me that I’ve even been telling Adri that “I don’t want to miss my morning air time.”

The time outside has been so good for my mental state of mind, sleep and overall energy. But I can’t explain why.

But I remembered an old tweet from Andrew Huberman that explains much better why you should go outside as soon as possible in the morning:

🙏 Biblical Wisdom on Desire

A reminder for all of ambitious and driven folk: be careful with your motivations that they are not driven on selfish ambition.

The goal is always = who can I seek to serve today?

Whether you’re:

• Building a business
• Growing a following online
• Trying to sharpen your skills or character

Remember, it’s never about you.

It’s about those who God created you to serve.

Love God. Love others.

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P.S.

Here are the sneakers I wore today to church.

Nike '72 chunky check blazers. Let's go!