Hello Friend 👋

I’m on my patio enjoying 72 degree sunny fall weather. I’m not sure of a better way to spend the Sunday afternoon than reflecting the highlights of the week. And sharing them with you.

We came back from church a few hours ago, made steak & guacamole tacos and just put the kids down for a nap.

Amazing insights and inspiration from church today… a few thoughts:

“Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind.”

“Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”

“Both science and scripture agree that our minds have the strongest influences in our lives.”

If you couldn’t guess, today’s teaching is about conquering the mind.

It’s a powerful one, if you’re interesting in checking it out...

Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/0fQC_tC96dI?si=L_DHPt20yf0Vea87

It’s been a special weekend in the Dragu household — it was fight night weekend 🥊

Canelo vs Charlo championship fight was last night and I make a big deal out of fight nights 😎

We load the fridge with Topo Chicos, grill steak tacos and even bring the kid's beds out into the living room to pass out while we stay up until 1PM watching all the fights.

Spoiler Alert: Canelo locked in his 60th win at 33 years old last night. Absolute insanity! Great fight, amazing time.

Next big fight is December.
Ryan Garcia.
Can’t wait.

I’ve had a few people ask me — are you into UFC at all or just boxing?

I like UFC, but I love boxing. More strategic. Less brutal. Very tactical and IQ driven. Very much my style.

Ready to dive in?

Sunday Six ☀️

10 rules for a life you won’t regret on your deathbed ⚰️

I’ve been writing 1,000 words a day to continue to sharpen my skills and ingrain the habit deeply. (Weekends included… every single day)

1,000 words per day x 30 days = 30,000 words.

With 30,000 words, you could essentially write a book every two months.

Sometimes it is just that simple.

We overcomplicate things.

An article I wrote one this past week was “10 rules for a life you won’t regret on your death” — it hit me emotionally, here are the 10 rules:

1. Do things that scare the sh*t out of you
2. Master the art of your kitchen table
3. Schedule a daily meeting with the sun rise
4. Throw the Jonah’s off your boat
5. See if you can out-give God
6. Run a marathon every single year
7. Spend hours where it feels like minutes
8. Never skip a Sabbath Sunday
9. Put in overtime with your kids
10. Die empty

Read the full article here: https://www.alindragu.com/10-rules-for-a-life-you-wont-regret-on-your-deathbed/

Idea from Marcus Aurelius 💡

“In your actions, don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse. In your thoughts, don’t wander. In your soul, don’t be passive or aggressive. In your life, don’t be all about business.” – Marcus Aurelius

My translation:

• Don’t wait to start doing the right thing
• Be clear in your communication
• Focus your attention on the things that matter
• Accumulate soul health instead of material wealth
• Be more relational in life than transactional

Focus Is A Superpower  🦸

One meaningful project.
One hour of focused work.
One day at a time, without waiver.

That’s the secret you’re looking for.

- Dan Koe

Dan Koe wrote an article about the tension of the digital / Information Age we live in where our attention is our greatest asset because it’s how we use time, our greatest resource.

“The most important thing you can do in these times is curate your digital, mental, and physical environment.“

How you curate your environment dictates what you think about and how those things influence your life.

I’ve been focusing heavily on the idea of attention curation. (As you’ll see me continue to dive into shortly…)

I don’t believe we as humans are aggressive enough when it comes to conquering the things that are interrupting our life for the worse and implementing the things that are helpful for our thoughts.

Things good for your attention:

• Having notifications off (Except calls and texts)
• Keeping apps on your laptop or iPad, instead of your phone.
• Parenting your phone (and not having it with you all the time)
• Removing auxiliary devices that keep you reachable always.

How to conquer your attention bad for good:

• Never watch the news
• Turn off notifications
• Go analog everywhere you can
• Only use social media to connect with friends

Read full article here: https://thedankoe.com/letters/focus-is-a-superpower-how-to-succeed-in-the-information-age/

Beyond Order, 12 Rules for Life & 1984 (New books!) 📚

I was listening to a podcast by David Perell and he mentioned:

“Most books that people read have come out in the last 5 years when there are books that have influenced humanity for generations.”

I am peeling back the onion of that thought.

After looking at my personal library a couple months ago, I realize that most of my collection were also relatively new books…

But there are so many titles that have influenced the way humans have thought and created for so long like:

• The Bible
• How to win friends and influence people By Dale Carnegie
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Constellation of Philosophy by Boethius

I am continuing to challenge myself to expand my horizons of thinking to truly understand human culture, wiring and history.

Wouldn’t it make sense to read the ideas of those who have stood the test of time?

Jordan Peterson isn't necessarily generational thought but I am curious about him because he is known as this generations leading philosophical thinker – and I want to know why.

Sabbath Coffee Roasters ☕

I connected with a new friend of X (formerly Twitter) who introduced me to a roastery called Sabbath Roasters.

I’ve got to say, it’s one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. Not to mention…

• The branding is beautiful
• I love the idea of Sabbath
• I love supporting friends

An amazing cup of coffee. Highly recommend trying a cup with your next novel. ☕

Enjoy Sabbath: https://sabbathcoffeeroasters.com

Becoming Obsessed with Analog 📓

Over the last 5 years, I’ve noticed subtle shifts in my attitude towards the digital age.

I use to upgrade my iPhone every single year.

About 4 years ago, I decided that was unnecessary and just kept my phone. (Still have it…)

I use to dive into the latest and great productivity management softwares like Asana, Trello and ToDoist.

3 years ago, I switched to a physical notebook to track everything.

The list goes on…

Meditation App → Sitting Outside
YouTube → Books
Apple Watch → Timex
Elliptical → Running
DayOne → Pen & Paper

I’ve been reflecting on the pro’s and con’s of all the technology in my life to see if it’s making my life better or distracting me from the things I actually want to give my attention to.

Your greatest obstacle to growth is not the people around you, but your ability to stay focused.

I’m taking this seriously to live a spiritually, mentally, physically and creatively healthy life.

So far, I’ve seen decades of evidence that proves that 80% of technology has more cons than pros to every aspect of our lives.

Haven’t you?

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