17 - Priorities and summer reading
Currently I am back in Northern Ireland for family reasons - putting first things first - recall our discussion back in Issue 13. I am taking an extended period off work to focus on some personal priorities and personal projects.
What are your priorities for the coming months?
Recall Steve Jobs giving the 2005 Stanford Commencement address - three stories from his life - listen and reflect - especially story #3.
Fun discovery of the week
You likely know that I am facinated by psychology and what causes people to do with they do and what affects how they feel about things - so imagine my joy when I came across Truity Enneagram. I have long been familiar with other systems, including Meyers Briggs MBTI, Hogan, Keirsey, True Colors and even the Rorschach Inkblot Test - but the result of this one rings especially true to me. Can you guess my type?
If you want to take your own test - you can do it here. The test is free to take and you get the result immediately; you will likely want to use a disposable or unique email address so you can unsubscribe from the subsequent mailings to suggest you should buy custom reports. For disposable addresses, I use simplelogin.io - this is a fantastic service - well worth the small annual fee. This was another interesting discovery, learned via Seth's Opt Out with Son.
In you have not worked me out yet - see here. How does your result compare?
Reading and listening
I am also taking time to get back into reading and share some interesting findings and reflections below. Do take the time to look at and consider them - you might be surprised that a few things you had always assumed to be true now appear different from what you had thought or believed!
Consider the items below to be for your summer reading list - for when you have some time to stop, think and reflect. Feel free to reach out to me if you want to discuss or need more pointers.
Starting light - I'm listening to Sherlock Holmes (the definitive collection) read by Stephen Fry. At more the 62 hours of inspirational listening this should keep you going for quite a while and get you "in the flow". Each of the stories is itself intriguing and the collection overall demonstrates how much society has changed in the last 150 years.
Moving on - consider Terry Pratchett and look into one or more of the Getting Started Guides. Superficially these are Fantasy books - look deeper and you might be surprised.
I started with "The Carpet People". In the beginning, there was nothing but endless flatness. Then came the Carpet . . . That’s the old story everyone knows and loves. But now the Carpet is home to many different tribes and peoples, and there’s a new story in the making. The story of Fray, sweeping a trail of destruction across the Carpet. The story of power-hungry mouls—and of two brothers who set out on an adventure to end all adventures when their village is flattened. It’s a story that will come to a terrible end—if someone doesn't do something about it. If everyone doesn’t do something about it . . .
As you read, do look one level deeper to the motivations behind the key players in the story - you should see some interesting parallels to society today and recent history as you have learned it.
Next up was "Guards! Guards!". The story follows a plot by a secret brotherhood, the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, to overthrow the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork and install a puppet king, under the control of the Supreme Grand Master. Using a stolen magic book, they summon a dragon to strike fear into the people of Ankh-Morpork. Once a suitable state of terror and panic has been created, the Supreme Grand Master proposes to put forth an "heir" to the throne, who will slay the dragon and rid the city of tyranny. It is the task of the Night Watch (quite a motley crew) to stop them and save the situation.
Maybe now you begin to see or suspect things beneath the surface - an itch in the back of your mind that something isn't right?
You might want to go back and re-read Issue 8 - How Fed Up are You? And if you haven't read it yet do go through the Report from Iron Mountain.
Switching media - an interesting listen is Svetski reading his article "The Remnant, the parasite and the masses" or read his original article yourself! This is based on an interesting article from The Atlantic Monthly in 1936 "Isaiah's Job". You may prefer to listen to Svetski reading that article too.
If you have maxed out on the Kool-Aid from the mainstream media, you might be surprised to read (or listen to) the recent address by Vladimir Putin to the Russian people (perhaps to the world?), delivered last week at at the Plenary Session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2022. Do set aside an hour for this one. Pro-tip: Listen to the audio recording at 1.5x speed and read along in the text. If you prefer to watch the delivery in Russian with English subtitles see here.
Closer to home, do a least listen to Neil. Whatever you decide, do not say that nobody told you! ...and so it starts with Bail Ins...
No one can be told what The Matrix is.
You have to see it for yourself.
If your eyes and mind are open you'll find more here: Reading List and References
That's it!
No one can be told what The Matrix is.
You have to see it for yourself.
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