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Mindsmash

Mindsmash is an incredible youtube channel filled with anything from fight breakdowns to tips on posture and philosophy of life. As I'm very invested in martial arts it is sometimes difficult for me to imagine that others are not - so this channel might not actually be for everyone, but man does it feel like it to me.  Mindsmash has a beautiful heart as well, looking to make the world better.

The Matrix

Honestly, these people break this down far better than I would have. The short version is that we are The One, when we decide to believe it is so. It honors me that The Shard Chronicles has been called "The Matrix meets The Bourne Identity", as I feel The Matrix is one of the greatest movies of all time.

Scrooge McDuck and Money

It's interesting how educational cartoons used to be.  Compare this to the modern take on duck tales and the difference is staggering. I know that it's due to branding, and that edutainment is still a real thing in places like Sesame Street and so on, but I wonder if there will ever be a time when the majority of entertainment is put towards a higher purpose than simple distraction?

Doctor Strange

Sure, on principle it's the story of an arrogant prick who, as a result of texting and driving gets given superpowers, but, if you look a little deeper, I think you'll find there are some decent lessons sprinkled throughout. Chief among them, being the potentially transformative effects of hallucinogens. Now, I should preface this with the fact that I have not ever done an iowaska, mushrooms, LSD, salvia, or any other form of hallucinogen, but, I know enough people who have who all unanimously claim the positive benefits that I figure there might be something to it, and specifically the iowaska is apparently very, very similar to the entire Doctor Strange out of body experience scene with the previous sorcerer supreme. The more I learn about hallucinogens and their effects, the more I'm inclined to view them in a positive light.  Granted, my lab partner in high school staring at the screen saver all class and being quite unable to tie his own shoes reminds me of th...

Inside Out

Tony Robbins believes we have six major needs.  Certainty, Connection, Contribution, Growth, Uncertainty and Significance. This movie manages to take a premise like that, and show the inner workings of a child's mind as they solve problems with fear or anger, empower things like joy, and even come to understand the necessity of sadness. This is, quite frankly, a beautiful peace of work.  I could actually see this being used as a counselling tool, and, much like pay it forward, I feel it should be something kids watch in school at some point or another.

Good Will Hunting

While one of the dramatic climaxes of this film directly contradicts Tom Bilyeu's "everything is my fault" statements of taking personal responsibility for change, this nonetheless is a very inspiring movie. I see that life creed contradicted in other areas of PTSD recovery, so Tom might only be right when it comes to taking responsibility for one's growth. Regardless of where you fall on the "fault spectrum" this movie shows how anyone can take themselves from where they are, to where they want to be, if they take on the responsibility to get there, and do the work.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Bruce Lee is indeed a legend, for a great many reasons. In the context of this movie, I will mainly be focusing upon how he deals with the back injury - but rest assured, we all owe Bruce a great debt for what he brought to the western world, and martial arts as a whole. Anyone who seeks truth has the capacity to be legendary, and that was what Bruce did.  He sought out, and created his own truth.  He added what made him stronger, removed what made him weak. He overcame, he endured, he perfected. There have been many artists, but Bruce Lee was considerably more.  He did what he loved, he pursued what he loved, and he created what he loved. Plus, he punched big blocks of ice ;-)  Good movie!

Gattaca

We all have "early wins" in some areas.  Sometimes, those areas are also our areas of interest, and sometimes they aren't. Just because we're tall doesn't mean we should play basketball, and just because we're good at math doesn't mean we should be an accountant. Now, I wholeheartedly believe in Ikigai, but I think the often-neglected aspect of it is the "love to do" category. Gattaca is a story based upon someone being genetically created to do one thing, while being emotionally driven to do another. As Tom Bilyeu would say, the game we're all playing is brain chemistry.  Do what lights you on fire. The struggle is guaranteed, success is not - so you might as well do what you love. It's also a rather telling tale of just how much a person will go through to do what they love.  A man with a strong enough why can achieve any how!

The Sneeches

This book made a pretty decent impact on me as a kid. They say that the addiction to other people's opinions is more insidious than drugs and alcohol, that to be enslaved by what other people MIGHT think of you is a horrific way to live. I'm not sure if this book was what helped me escape that particularly pervasive addiction, but I think that it helped. I do think that social awareness and empathy are the unfortunate casualties of leaning too far one way over the other however, and I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned in those arenas.

The Shard Chronicles

"The Matrix + The Bourne Identity + a self-development seminar" Sexy, violent, action-packed, raw... and somehow incredibly insightful and educational. This 2019 urban fantasy is the epitome of mindsettertainment.  The reader is just as interested in Amber's boobs as they are in mastering the art of human needs psychology. It is my hope that  Tom Bilyeu , Tony Robbins , Tim Ferriss , Moran Cerf and dozens of others would love to see their words of wisdom echoed in the lives of this series' characters. We need books like this now more than ever - if we are to survive as a species, we need to have more productive years.  The only way to achieve that is to get awesome sooner. The best way I know how to do that is through mindsettertainment. Increase The Awesome Any way you can. Ono Northey