Do This First (Daily Motivational Podcast)

On The Waterfront: Terry Malloy, played by Brando, is a former boxer who now works on the docks. His boxing career was derailed primarily due to the actions of his older brother, Charley Malloy, who worked for the corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly. Charley convinced Terry to deliberately lose a crucial boxing match by throwing the fight. This act, orchestrated by the mobsters controlling the unio...

Today, we're kicking off our new 10 part podcast series, The Greatest Inspirational Movies Of All Time w/ on e of my personal faves BraveHeart. Set against a backdrop of betrayal, and war, the film is a powerful depiction of one man's fight for freedom and justice. William Wallace witnesses the brutality of English rule firsthand after the death of his wife at the hands of English soldiers. Enrage...

For the past 9 episodes, we’ve leaned in on the benefits of reflection. It’s a simple, and straightforward personal development tool, but incredibly powerful. Just a few minutes a day can boost your mental clarity, and help curb emotional knee jerk responses.  As we talked about yesterday, the effectiveness of reflection centers around ruthless self honesty. The temptation to gloss over...

Reflecting on our experiences is a crucial part of personal and professional development. Analysis and evaluation play a key role in this reflective process, as they allow us to critically examine our thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to gain a deeper understanding. The analysis can be jarring as it has a tendency of revealing aspects of ourselves that we disassociate with or want to explai...

Antonio Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" is a timeless masterpiece that is heralded for its beauty and complexity. Composed in the early 18th century, this musical work is divided into four individual concertos, each representing a different season of the year. Vivaldi's ability to evoke the essence of each season through his music is truly remarkable, and listening to "The Four Seasons" can be a deep...

Claude Monet, one of the most celebrated figures in the history of art, was a leading French painter in the Impressionist movement. His greatest influence was Artist Eugène Boudin , who introduced Monet to outdoor (plein air) painting, an approach that would become fundamental to his style. Monet, generally speaking, is considered the founding father of impressionism. The movement was a decisive d...

Autumn-A Time For Reflection #6 For the past five episodes, we’ve been focusing on Reflecting. It is a necessary activity for clarity and our overall health, yet it is so underrated.  Many overlook or undervalue the benefits of setting aside a little time everyday to help stay centered, calm, for renewal, for mental and physical power.   Consider the mighty bear...

Autumn-A Time For Reflection #5 Today, we’re talking about the differences between Reflection and pondering. They are similar, but not quite the same thing.. Reflection involves serious thought or consideration, often about one's own actions, experiences, and beliefs. It is a deliberate and structured process of thinking back on something in order to gain insights and understanding. The outcome of...

Autumn-A time For Reflection #4 Pausing is much more than just a momentary stop; it's a scientifically backed method to enhance cognitive function, emotional well-being, physical health, social interactions, and productivity. By incorporating deliberate pauses into daily routines, we can reap numerous benefits that contribute to overall health and performance. In this podcast episode, we'll take a...

Autumn-A Time For Reflection #3 Today we’re talking about learning from other people’s mistakes as the Autumn season is a good time to reassess, strategize and set up for the coming year. Let’s start with a quote from probably one of the most successful investors still walking planet earth, and a personal favorite Warren Buffett.  The quote is as follows: "It's good to learn from your mistake...

Yesterday, we touched on the transitions that happen during Autumn and how the themes of reflection and renewal are linked to the changes we see in nature during the fall.. Reflection, however,  can mean many things... Reflection when done correctly can help us recognize destructive thought processes, actions and overall behaviors that need to be addressed and in some cases eliminated. Reflec...

Autumn is a time of transition and change literally and symbolically. In this podcast series, Autumn-A Time For Reflection, we’ll explore the many meanings of fall from a personal development perspective always seeking confirmation through science mostly. I say mostly because, we do have to leave some room for wonder and the unexplainable. As Science can’t explain everything just yet.. The followi...

The Romantic era highlighted the importance of nature, childhood or innocence, and negative capability. Negative capability centers around not having to explain every detail logically. In Romantic era poetry, some things can be mystical and without explanation. Several notable saying that are part of pop culture came from the romantic era such as: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  E...

Alfred Lord Tennyson is widely recognized as a significant literary figure in English literature. His poetry provided an important transition from Romantic era stanzas to early Victorian poetry. The iconic line " Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" ,is found in his magnum opus In Memoriam A.H.H. The experience of love, even when followed by loss, can lead to personal...

The Third Generation of Romantic poets, following the more prominent First Generation (such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge) and the Second Generation (including Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats), consists of poets who maintained and developed the Romantic tradition into the mid-19th century likeGeorge Darley, who we spoke about in our last installment as well as...

The Third Wave Romantic era poets, a group of writers who emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were a powerhouse of creativity and innovation in the realm of literature. Building upon the foundations laid by their predecessors in the Romantic movement, these poets brought a new level of introspection, emotional intensity, and intricate lyricism to their works. George Darley was an Ir...

The second wave of Romantic Era Poets brought a hyper focus on individuality and emotions regardless of personal cost. Keats represented the finer, yet overly sensitive pieces that impelled reflection, and beauty. Byron, on the other hand was defiant, uncompromising and bold. One of the key differences between Keats and Byron lies in their personal background, experiences, and how they chose to li...

William Blake, the renaissance man of the Romantic era. He was an artist, an engineer and a poet, a man with many interests. Born in London in 1757, he attended art school as a teenager and later apprenticed as an engraver, developing a unique style that combined intricate illustrations with poetic texts. Like many of his Romantic era peers, Blake's works were often themed with emotional authentic...

Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the iconic, and polarizing figures of the Romantic period in English literature, is renowned for his visionary poetry and radical ideas. His early years were marked by a passion for literature and a defining defiant demeanor that in some respects was admirable and in others was ill advised. He found some respite and refuge in his writing from a young age. His life was...

Robert Burns is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets to have ever lived. Born in 1759 in Alloway, Scotland, Burns is considered the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated for his lyrical poetry and poignant observations on life, love, and nature. Burns had a unique ability to convey complex feelings and ideas in a simple and accessible way, making his poetry relatable to people of all...

1798 to 1837 marks the Romantic Era. Writers were inspired by the French Revolution. People were populating the newly formed industrial cities for jobs and moving away from rural life and agrarian societies. The Romantic era in poetry was a time of impactful change in literature and art. This era was marked by a sense of longing for a lost past, a fascination with the supernatural, and a celebrati...

William Wordsworth, one of the most influential and iconic poets of the Romantic era, was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. He is often credited with launching the Romantic movement in English literature with his groundbreaking works that celebrated the beauty of nature and the power of the human imagination.  Throughout his life, Wordsworth remained committed to his...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Autumn" is probably one of his most beautiful pieces. It uses descriptive language to paint a picture of the nuances of Autumn. The poem, in essence, is about transformation, and emotional depth. He calls Autumn a beautiful spirit as it is essentially imbuing everything it touches with new life. Longfellow reflects on the passage of time as Autumn is also cl...

Today, we're taking a closer look at Light of Stars. It's one of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's early poems. The piece explores the theme of suffering, strength and the indomitable will. Empirical research supports some of the assertions Longfellow highlights in the poem. We'll share some of the findings as well as unpack a potential reason why some humans are more resilient than others. Longfellow...

Longfellow's final poems highlight his musings on a well lived life. They also provide notable lessons that impart pearls of wisdom from one of the greatest poets of all time. In this podcast episode, we focus our lens on Loss And Gain, a poem included in his posthumously published collection In The Harbor published in 1882. In this brief, but impactful piece, Longfellow teaches us the importance...