Do the Opposite #63
Video Edition: How to Live a Full Life, the Skill of Self-Confidence, Reduce Your Waste, Skinny Home
Good News Everyone!
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Welcome! This week I’ve got a lot of great videos for you! I’m also trying out embedding videos into the newsletter itself so they’re easier to reach - tell me what you think of that!
Small Request: Tweet Testimonials
I’m starting to collect information to create a landing page for the newsletter signup, and I’m looking to collect some tweets with testimonials to place as embeds on that page.
I’ve previously received some here and there (huge thanks for all of you who spreads the word!!) but it’s next to impossible to find them in the Twitter void now :/
My request is: if you enjoy the newsletter and find it valuable, if you do a tweet about it, I’d love to place it in the upcoming page on the dotheoppo.site website, describing what the newsletter is about. This would mean a lot! 🙌
Without further ado:
Videos
How to Live a Full Life: Integrating Productivity + Creativity + Self-Reflection | Tim Ferriss
I struggle with a lot of the same issues Tim mentions in this video: how to balance productivity with creativity and find time to relax; how to consistently get things done and don’t burn out. Tim schedules everything and uses batching to pack many similar tasks into one block of time. He has a lot going on: YouTube videos, talks, podcasts, blog posts, and more, so he knows what he’s talking about. I am talking lots of notes.
The Skill of Self-Confidence | Dr. Ivan Joseph
Self-Confidence is one of the most important skills a person can have. Our confidence level determines what kind of projects and tasks we tackle, how high we aim, how long do we persevere before we quit, and more. Confidence is not something we are born with, we develop it through our actions. The more we repeat an action or practice a skill, the higher our confidence grows. Here’s what Dr. Ivan Joseph has to say on the subject:
12 Cheap & Easy Tips for Reducing Your Waste - Sustainable Zero Waste Hacks | Exploring Alternatives
It’s not a secret that recycling is not enough, because only a fraction of the volume of recyclable material ever gets back to the facilities to be recycled. We can’t go on generating the amount of waste we do as a modern society, because we will drown in our own garbage. What can we do as people who strive to become better, to do the opposite of what the majority of people is doing? Here is a collection of simple tips that will help you and me generate less waste.
My wife and I have adopted some of these tips already, but there is more we can do. Remember that you don’t need to go crazy and do all of these changes at once. Changes that stick are the slow, simple ones. One by one, transform your habits.
My Minimalist Phone Setup | Ben Alagna
We spend so much time staring at screens these days that they shape our life experiences in more ways than we think. A lot of us are taking steps to declutter our homes: spaces in which we live. Our phones and computers are places where our minds live. Let’s simplify and declutter those as well.
Book Summary: Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield | Philosopher’s Notes TV
You often read about Steven Pressfield’s work in this newsletter. Here’s a little video I found that packs a punch. It’s a summary of the key ideas of the “Turning Pro” book. Find out whether you’re living out a shadow calling, and what it takes to become a pro at what you do.
You Don't Find Happiness, You Create It | Katarina Blom
Happiness is a very tricky subject. Katarina gives some helpful actionable advice in her talk on how we can improve our happiness levels and general well being through actions we do, specifically through our actions toward other people. Powerful.
Skinny home in Toronto as prototype for parking-space homes? | Kirsten Dirksen
Could you fit a home into an area too narrow to fit 2 cars standing next to each other? Could you make your neighbours hate you? :) This weird little building is located here in Toronto where I live. I might even go check it out some day.
This just shows the ingenuity and resourcefulness that some people develop. The creative solutions to the problems Cyril (the owner of this home) had to find to build this house boggle the mind.
Tweet of the Week
Ethos
Quotes
“The point is clear. People who get things done in this world don’t wait for the spirit to move them; they move the spirit.”
― David J. Schwartz, “The Magic of Thinking Big”
“Live in the present. The past is gone; the future is unknown ― but the present is real, and your opportunities are now. You must see these opportunities; they must be real for you. The catch is that they can't seem real if your mind is buried in past failures, if you keep reliving old mistakes, old guilts, old tragedies. Fight your way above the many inevitable traumatizations of your ego, escape damnation by the past, and look to the opportunities of the present. I don't mean some vague moment in the present ― next week or next month, perhaps. I mean today, this minute.”
― Maxwell Maltz
What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that’s another matter.
― Peter F. Drucker
“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.”
― Bruce Barton
ZERNO APP
I am building an app called Zerno ― if you join the waitlist, you’ll get early access to the app!
YOUTUBE
There's also a YouTube channel with weekly videos on the same themes that are covered in this newsletter. Take a look at the channel here and let the ideas influence you into an improved and happier life!
TELEGRAM
Do the Opposite has a public Telegram channel. The content there is a little different than in the newsletter: faster to consume, a bit more random ― basically anything weird or interesting that catches my eye: articles, tweets, videos, images, etc. Hope to see you there as well! :)
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Keep doing the opposite,
Alex Kallaway
Website: dotheoppo.site
Twitter: twitter.com/ka11away