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December 2020

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2020: What a Year.

In Uncategorized 6 Mins Read By

“An unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates

2020 has been one of those years that was filled with challenges and uncertainties. Apart from the COVID-19 pandemic, the year was kind of tough. Just like every other year, it was a roller coaster of a year, ups and downs, smiles and frowns, peaks and valleys. All in all, the year was kind of depressing with the turmoil in the world, but in the end, we stay grinding and moving forward.

My year in a Nutshell

Work from Home

The COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown meant I had to work from home starting from March 2020 till now. It was not easy adjusting to that way of working, but it is the new normal now. It meant setting up a new routine, setting up an office space at home (I did not set up the office desk and table until October).

100 Books Reading Challenge 2020

At the beginning of 2020, I set a goal of reading 100 books and listening to 50 audiobooks by the end of the year. It was not easy getting in the grove to read most days, but with discipline, commitment, and a daily routine was able to do the following:

IT Security Certification Exams

One of my major highlights of 2020 was writing multiple Cyber Security/Cloud Computing Certification exams in which I passed some and failed some.

Passed – 6

Attempted (Failed)

  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate – Feb 08, 2020
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate – Mar 17, 2020
  • CCSP – Certified Cloud Security Professional – Aug 31st 2020
  • CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional – October 20,2020
  • CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional – December 29, 2020

Failing these exams have been extremely tough, with the sleepless nights and study time dedicated for preparing for the exam, not to talk of the financial commitment of writing these exams as they are not cheap exams. What has kept me going is my WHY for writing these exams, the big picture, my daily routine, and the opportunity to become more self-aware because of the experience.

Sometimes you WIN, sometimes you LEARN, do not let success get into your head, and do not let failure get into your heart. The key is to keep pushing, learning, and unlearning, trusting the process and become a better version of what you can become. I would be attempting to pass the exams; I did not pass in 2020 again in 2021.

‘Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.’

Commitment to Life Long Learning

One of the great things that happened during the pandemic is the ability to have more personal development time. I tried to explore self-education more during this period and was on the lookout for platforms that would enhance my self-education. I stumbled on the following platforms, and I have been obsessed with them:

Masterclass

  • MasterClass is a streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to learn from the very best. MasterClass is an online membership – accessible on your phone, web, Apple TV, Roku devices, and Amazon Fire TV – that offers classes on a wide variety of topics taught by 90+ world-class masters at the top of their fields.

MasterClass Annual Membership

Great Courses Plus

  • The Great Courses is the global leader in lifelong learning and our video-on-demand service The Great Courses Plus gives you unlimited, uninterrupted access to a world of learning anytime and anywhere you want it. With courses on thousands of topics, you are sure to find something that will ignite your curiosity and invigorate your passion for learning.
https://youtu.be/QxFj0uf4sa4

Knoweable

Learn life-changing skills with audio courses led by 200+ of the world’s leading experts. Invest in yourself anytime, anywhere.

Daily Routine

I was able to commit to a daily routine, and it made all the difference. After reading Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear, earlier in the year, I committed to setting micro habits such as having my bath twice a day, Calm Morning Wake Up (8 Minutes stretch), Using the five-minute Journal, daily long handwriting routine with a yellow pad. These micro daily routines made all the difference during the turmoil in 2020.

Self-Care

I took a 2-hour walk every late afternoon after work in the summer, and I listened to Audiobooks during those walks. One of my favorite apps for 2020 is the Calm App that helps with Meditation, Sleep, and morning stretch.

Getting Laid Off

In late October, I got laid off from the financial institution I was working with. The CEO had earlier announced that the bank was going to reduce its workforce by 5%, and I got affected by the downsizing. The COVID-19 pandemic also made the lay off faster with automation, digital transformation, and business requirements changes as the new watchword for most organizations.

It was a shock hearing about the lay-off from my manager, but after going through the roller coaster of emotions, the grief, and the adjustment – I am in a better place now. It has not been easy dealing with the lay-off challenge, but I am getting better every day, sticking with my routine, and becoming more dedicated to my personal development.

Daily Writing Routine

One of the habits that made the challenges of 2020 not too harrowing was the habit of longhand writing every morning and my commitment to have a blog post on LanreDahunsi.com. I have posted at least one article on this blog since April 2020, and it has been very therapeutic for me, as the daily discipline and the routine is a great cross-training for the vicissitudes of life.

The Road Ahead

2021 is going to be a great year and I have set the following goals for the year:

  • Project Python 2021: Learn the Python Programming Language in 2021
  • 100 Books Reading Challenge: Read 100 Books in 2021
  • 50 Audiobooks Challenge: Listen to 50 Audiobooks in 2021
  • Pass 6 Cybersecurity/Cloud Computing Certifications in 2021
  • Daily Writing Routine: Write in longhand form on a yellow pad.

All the best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

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Barack Obama’s 2008 Commencement Speech at Wesleyan University.

In Speech 16 Mins Read By

Then presidential aspirant, Senator Barrack Obama stood in for Senator Edward Kennedy, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and Barrack delivered an inspiring commencement speech to the 2008 graduating class at Wesleyan University. He implored them to be of service to their community and make the world a better place.

Barack Obama’s 2008 Commencement Speech Transcript at Wesleyan University.

Thank you, President Roth, for that generous introduction, and congratulations on your first year at the helm of Wesleyan. Congratulations also to the class of 2008, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your graduation.

I have the distinct honor today of pinch-hitting for one of my personal heroes and a hero to this country, Senator Edward Kennedy. Teddy wanted to be here very much, but as you know, he’s had a very long week and is taking some much-needed rest. He called me up a few days ago and I said that I’d be happy to be his stand-in, even if there was no way I could fill his shoes.

I did, however, get the chance to glance at the speech he planned on delivering today, and I’d like to start by passing along a message from him: “To all those praying for my return to good health, I offer my heartfelt thanks. And to any who’d rather have a different result, I say, don’t get your hopes up just yet!”

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The Real Successes by Edgar A. Guest

In Poem 2 Mins Read By

You think that the failures are many,
You think the successes are few,
But you judge by the rule of the penny,
And not by the good that men do.
You judge men by standards of treasure
That merely obtain upon earth,
When the brother you’re snubbing may measure
Full-length to God’s standard of worth.

The failures are not in the ditches,
The failures are not in the ranks,
They have missed the acquirement of riches,
Their fortunes are not in the banks.
Their virtues are never paraded,
Their worth is not always in view,
But they’re fighting their battles unaided,
And fighting them honestly, too.

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Prove them all wrong.

In Life 7 Mins Read By

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

It started a long time ago from the moment you were delivered to this world; your family and friends are wired to make you want to take the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, the challenge with that is that the ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are made for; you have to follow your bliss, discover your purpose, reinvent and become who you are meant to become. Live, learn, leave a legacy and make the world a better place.

Haters, Doubters, Critics and Naysayers do not really hate you, they despise themselves because you are the reflection of what they could have become had they followed their bliss.

 “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” – Winston Churchill

The key to letting the doubters eat their words is to focus on yourself; Winners focus on winning, and losers focus on the winners. The key is to work on yourself, tune out the noise, execute relentlessly and be the best version of yourself. When you eventually make it, you will know the value of the haters as it would propel you; it becomes the fuel to execute. They would remember your name. As doubters would always doubt, haters would always hate, they would underestimate you, but you have to believe in yourself as you are born to be extraordinary and exceptional.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. – Mahatma Gandhi.

What people think about you and your dreams and aspiration is none of your business, they have the right to their opinion but not the fact; you determine that.

“An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until finally he knows everything about nothing.” (A manager, therefore, must be someone who knows less and less about more and more until finally she knows nothing about everything. So what happens when an expert and a manager meet?)”

People would always have opinions even the so-called experts, but most times they might also be wrong, Remember there are no right answers, just informed opinions and opinions are just transitory perceptions, it changes all the time. Imagine if the following inventors listened to the naysayers and experts, we would not have the following innovations:

  • “The phonograph is of no commercial value.” —Thomas Edison, remarking on his own invention in 1880.
  • “There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.” —Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize winner in physics, 1920.
  • “It is an idle dream to imagine that automobiles will take the place of railways in the long-distance movement of passengers.” —American Road Congress, 1913.
  • “With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market.” — Business Week, August 2, 1968.
  • “I think there is a world market for about five computers.” —Thomas Watson, chairman IBM, 1943.
  • “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” —Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977
  • “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union internal memo, 1876.
  • “While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility.” — Lee DeForest, inventor.
  • “There will never be a bigger plane built.” — A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people

Imagine if the innovators listened to the above statements by the gurus, the experts are usually well-meaning most times but they do get it wrong sometimes. If you think you can, you can, if you think you can’t you won’t. It is all in the mind, what the mind of a man can conceive and believe it can and would achieve.

“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.” – James Allen

We are all going to be doubted at one point or the other whether you are Barack Obama, Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Lebron James, Usain Bolt, Lanre Dahunsi, the key is to prove them wrong and strive to be the best version of yourself. Don’t rest on your laurels, work so hard that people know you on a first-name basis, Ronaldo, Barrack, Lebron, Jordan, Brady and turn your signature into an autograph. The only way to shut the haters and doubters up is by your results, as your results would cancel the insults and Success is the Best Revenge.

You have to use the doubt, hate, criticism, and noise as fuel to achieve your dreams and aspiration. It will not be easy; the road will be rough with its twists and turns, peaks, and valleys, but you have to promise yourself that you would not let the success get into your head, neither would you let your failures get in your heart. You’ve got this, you are made for extraordinary, and exceptional feats, Just Do It.

In his book, “Put Your Dream to the Test.” Author John C Maxwell writes: “Which critics count and which don’t? Heed the advice of the critic when . . .

  • You are unconditionally loved by the one who criticizes you.
  • The criticism is not tainted by his or her personal agenda.
  • The person is not naturally critical of everything.
  • The person will continue giving support after giving advice.
  • He or she has knowledge and success in the area of the criticism.

You have to analyze who is criticising you or giving you the feedback have they done what they are talking about. We live in a world where someone can give you advise on writing who is not a writer, entrepreneur coach who has not started a business, Life coaches who have not got their shit together, the key is to be mindful of who you listen to and try to listen more to your inner voice. Block out the noise, execute and the results would eventually come but you have to hang in there. Start that business, start the manuscript, attend the class, write that goal down, the key is constant motion and getting things done.

Vision + Action + Passion = Unstoppable Momentum

As Anthony Robbins often says, we do not get our shoulds in life; we get our musts. You need to tune out the noise, believe and bet on yourself, do the work, and prove the naysayers wrong. I would be rooting for you as I do hope to see you at the Top.

All the Best in your Quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

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Top 30 Quotes on Self-Improvement.

In Quotes 4 Mins Read By

Self Improvement is the improvement of one’s knowledge, status, or character by one’s own efforts. It is the ability to become a better version of yourself and discovering what you can become. The great thing about self-improvement is that eventually, the results would come as we get rewarded in public for the things we practice in private.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

Here are some great quotes on self-improvement:

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Colonel Anderson and Books.

In Books 5 Mins Read By

In his Autobiography, Steel Magnate and Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie writes a glowing tribute about Colonel James Anderson, the man who opened his library to young boys in the community and in the process encouraged young Andrew to become a life long learner.

“As the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.” The treasures of the world which books contain were opened to me at the right moment. The fundamental advantage of a library is that it gives nothing for nothing. Youths must acquire knowledge themselves. There is no escape from this.


With all their pleasures the messenger boys were hard worked. Every other evening they were required to be on duty until the office closed, and on these nights it was seldom that I reached home before eleven o’clock. On the alternating nights we were relieved at six. This did not leave much time for self-improvement, nor did the wants of the family leave any money to spend on books. There came, however, like a blessing from above, a means by which the treasures of literature were unfolded to me.

Colonel James Anderson–I bless his name as I write–announced that he would open his library of four hundred volumes to boys, so that any young man could take out, each Saturday afternoon, a book which could be exchanged for another on the succeeding Saturday. My friend, Mr. Thomas N. Miller, reminded me recently that Colonel Anderson’s books were first opened to “working boys,” and the question arose whether messenger boys, clerks, and others, who did not work with their hands, were entitled to books. My first communication to the press was a note, written to the “Pittsburgh Dispatch,” urging that we should not be excluded; that although we did not now work with our hands, some of us had done so, and that we were really working boys.  Dear Colonel Anderson promptly enlarged the classification. So my first appearance as a public writer was a success.

My dear friend, Tom Miller, one of the inner circle, lived near Colonel Anderson and introduced me to him, and in this way the windows were opened in the walls of my dungeon through which the light of knowledge streamed in. Every day’s toil and even the long hours of night service were lightened by the book which I carried about with me and read in the intervals that could be snatched from duty. And the future was made bright by the thought that when Saturday came a new volume could be obtained. In this way I became familiar with Macaulay’s essays and his history, and with Bancroft’s “History of the United States,” which I studied with more care than any other book I had then read. Lamb’s essays were my special delight, but I had at this time no knowledge of the great master of all, Shakespeare, beyond the selected pieces in the school books. My taste for him I acquired a little later at the old Pittsburgh Theater.

John Phipps, James R. Wilson, Thomas N. Miller, William Cowley–members of our circle–shared with me the invaluable privilege of the use of Colonel Anderson’s library. Books which it would have been impossible for me to obtain elsewhere were, by his wise generosity, placed within my reach; and to him I owe a taste for literature which I would not exchange for all the millions that were ever amassed by man. Life would be quite intolerable without it. Nothing contributed so much to keep my companions and myself clear of low fellowship and bad habits as the beneficence of the good Colonel. Later, when fortune smiled upon me, one of my first duties was the erection of a monument to my benefactor. It stands in front of the Hall and Library in Diamond Square, which I presented to Allegheny, and bears this inscription:

To Colonel James Anderson, Founder of Free Libraries in Western Pennsylvania. He opened his Library to working boys and upon Saturday afternoons acted as librarian, thus dedicating not only his books but himself to the noble work. This monument is erected in grateful remembrance by Andrew Carnegie, one of the “working boys” to whom were thus opened the precious treasures of knowledge and imagination through which youth may ascend.

This is but a slight tribute and gives only a faint idea of the depth of gratitude which I feel for what he did for me and my companions. It was from my own early experience that I decided there was no use to which money could be applied so productive of good to boys and girls who have good within them and ability and ambition to develop it, as the founding of a public library in a community which is willing to support it as a municipal institution. I am sure that the future of those libraries I have been privileged to found will prove the correctness of this opinion. For if one boy in each library district, by having access to one of these libraries, is half as much benefited as I was by having access to Colonel Anderson’s four hundred well-worn volumes, I shall consider they have not been established in vain.

 Source: The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, 1920.

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Andrew Carnegie Biography (Steel Magnate)

In Bios 11 Mins Read By

Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist, steel magnate, and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in history.

The Carnegie family had left their home in Scotland and come to America when Andrew was 13.  Andrew worked first in an American textile factory, then as a Morse code telegrapher, and then for the railroads. He served as an assistant on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1850s while still in his 20s. There, he learned sophisticated business management techniques—dealing with distributed assets, levels of trustworthiness, strict accountability, unforeseen problems, and cost-effectiveness. He showed a great talent for buying successful stocks, taking advantage of what we now call insider trading, which was then legal.

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Lessons Learned from Dr. Patrick N. Allitt’s Great Courses Class: The Industrial Revolution.

In Great Courses 16 Mins Read By

The machines are coming! Winter is coming! Those are some of my favorite aphorisms of late; the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the fourth industrial revolution. The thing with history is that it does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I have always been curious about the industrial revolution; why did it take place in Britain? Why did America eventually become the eventual pacesetter in that revolution? What are the similarities between the victorian inspired industrial revolution and the present day 4th industrial revolution? The role of industrialization in the world wars?

The great courses class answers a lot of these questions, with 36 Lectures in 18 hours

The Industrial Revolution Great Courses class covers the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in 18th century Britain and the spread of its inventions and ideas to the fledgling United States, seeking to show how and why this great modern transformation occurred.

From the steam engine to the horseless carriage, the rise of the factory to the role of immigrant labor, the course provides insight not only into the historical period but also into the birth of modern life and work as we know it.

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Your Time is Limited.

In Life 6 Mins Read By

Most of us live our lives like we would be alive forever, but the truth is that we are all living on borrowed limited time. The Buddha once said that the challenge is that we think we have time. When we hear someone DIE especially if they are young, like Kobe Bryant or Chadwick Boseman, we reflect for a minute about how short life is and how one needs to have a sense of urgency. Still, that reflection does not usually last for many of us as we go back to our lives of quiet desperation.

We continue to perform for the world as we have always done in most of our adult life, spend 4-5 years of our lives studying a course we are not passionate about and would not use for work eventually, we eventually get a job we are not excited about, and we keep jumping from one job to the other with perks such as promotions, health and dental benefits, salary to pay for our mortgage and hence we do not follow our bliss. We give a shit about what people think about us and edit our performance for their validation; what would my family members say or think? How would my co-workers look at me? How would the social media platforms algorithms validate this?

When you’re 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking about you.
When you’re 40, you don’t give a darn what anybody thinks of you.
When you’re 60, you realize that nobody has been thinking about you at all!

We say to ourselves, I would start the business when I have gathered enough money, start traveling when the kids leave the house, volunteer for great initiatives when I retire, and read more books when I leave paid employment. It follows the same pattern: Someday, I’ll...When I get here, I will do this.

We all start the day with the same amount of time: 86,400 seconds, 1,440 minutes, 24 hours. The billionaire, the homeless, the politician, the celebrity, the entrepreneur, and the 9-5er. We all start the same way but what determines how successful we become is our use of time, which invariably determines our decision making, choices, and routine. Imagine your time like a bank account with credits of $86,400 each morning, and it is carried over no balance from day-to-day.


Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance.
It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”.
You must live in the present on today’s deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of today

In his very thought-provoking 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, the late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, advised that we find what we love to do and live every day like it could be our last as our time here is limited:

You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

We are all on a journey in this world and having a sense of urgency can not be overemphasized cos Life is very short. Most of us do not understand this very profound message of life until we lose a loved one, escape a ghastly motor accident, survive a terminal diagnosis, or endure a boiling point moment. Depending on which part of the world you are in, let’s use the USA as a reference country which has a life expectancy of 79 years.

We spend at least one third of our lives sleeping, and spend another one third of that working. After spending 2/3rd of our lives working and sleeping. After factoring in grooming, schooling, commuting, gossiping, watching TV, Social Media, Whatsapp, we have just like 10 years left to be really productive and try to leave a legacy in the world.

The moment you realize that your time here is limited, you begin to re-order your priorities. Instead of viewing 90 minutes of soccer, you view the highlights instead, most times; it does not feel like the time is much, but when you add 4 hours of viewing premier league soccer, midweek and weekends; it eventually adds up that is 200 hours (8-10 days) of soccer per year, in 36 years, you would have used one year of your precious life to view soccer.

Your time here is limited, don’t waste it performing for others, follow your bliss, have fun, get things done, be remarkable, exceptional and leave a legacy in the process.

All the Best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

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Aaron Sorkin’s 2012 Commencement Speech at Syracuse University.

In Speech 14 Mins Read By

Develop your own compass, and trust it.  Take risks, dare to fail, remember the first person through the wall always gets hurt. 

Aaron Sorkin ’83, screenwriter of the Social Network, used his particular blend of wit and principles to deliver a stirring commencement address for the Syracuse University 158th graduation ceremony on Sunday, 13 May 2012.

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The Value of Time.

In Poem 2 Mins Read By

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!
Each of us has such a bank. It’s name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance.
It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”.
You must live in the present on today’s deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of today.

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Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas

Book Summary – Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas.

In Book Summaries 8 Mins Read By

Print | Kindle(eBook) | Audiobook


Former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas writes about the charade of changing the world pushed by a lot of the elites from antipoverty consulting firms (Technoserve, Dalberg), billionaires turned philanthropist who want to solve poverty but not economic inequality, young people trying to solve problems they don’t understand, who get flown around the world to elite networking forums such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, Clinton Global Initiative, Davos World Economic Forum. And in the process, abandoning the reason they started their initiatives in the first place.

 The book offers a series of portraits of this elite-led, market-friendly, winner-safe social change.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on not understanding it.—UPTON SINCLAIR

Here are my favorite takeaways from reading, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas:

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Top 30 Quotes on Trust.

In Quotes 5 Mins Read By

Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Trust is what solidifies a relationship, and without trust, it is nonexistent. Whether it is building a solid relationship, creating a great culture, making a sale, or trusting your instincts, they all require trust.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, in his great book, Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos, puts it this way:

THE WAY YOU earn trust, the way you develop a reputation is by doing hard things well over and over and over. The reason, for example, that the US military, in all polls, has such high credibility and reputation is because, over and over again, decade after decade, it has done hard things well.

It really is that simple. It’s also that complicated. It’s not easy to do hard things well, but that’s how you earn trust. And trust, of course, is an overloaded word. It means so many different things. It’s integrity, but it’s also competence. It’s doing what you said you were going to do—and delivering.

Here are some great quotes on Trust:

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David Goggins Biography (Endurance Athlete)

In Bios 6 Mins Read By

David Goggins (born February 17, 1975) is an American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, motivational speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL and former United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party member who served in the Iraq War. His self-help memoir, Can’t Hurt Me, was released in 2018.

David Goggins is one of my favourite  endurance athlete, he lives is truth and his book Can’t Hurt Me, was very inspiring. Goggins has completed over 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons, setting new course records and regularly placing in the top five. He once held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups completing 4,030 in 17 hours.

The only man in history to complete elite training  as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside Magazine to name him “The Fittest (Real) Man in America.”

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Lessons Learned from Stephen Curry’s Masterclass Session on Shooting, Ball-Handling, and Scoring.

In Masterclass 5 Mins Read By

High achievers have something in common: they sweat the small stuff, are the hardest worker in the room, deliberately practice, are relentless, and have a compelling vision of what they are trying to create.

Stephen Curry was born in 1988 and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephen’s father, former NBA player Dell Curry, imbued him with a love for basketball and inspired Stephen to pursue the game professionally. After a meteoric college career with the Davidson Wildcats, Stephen went to the Golden State Warriors as the seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Stephen exceeded expectations for a player of his size, shattering numerous NBA records during his first five years in the league. He scored more three-point field goals during the 2012–13 season than any individual player in league history and broke this record again during the 2014–15 season, working to become one of the most accurate and consistent shooters in the league. He won his first NBA championship in 2015, his second in 2017, his third in 2018 and earned back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, the latter by unanimous vote—a first in NBA history.

Here are my favourite take-aways from viewing, Stephen Curry’s Masterclass Session on Shooting, Ball-Handling, and Scoring:

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