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- A&B #107
A&B #107
📚 Alex & Books #107
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👋 Hey everyone,
Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:
PS: I teamed up with Morning Brew to give away 20 awesome business books to 1 lucky reader.
📚 Book Summary:
This week's book is The Hero Code by William McRaven.It's a short book filled with life principles and stories from a retired admiral who spent 37 years in the Navy SEALs. Think of it as a sequel to Make Your Bed. Instead of sharing 3 short lessons from a book like I usually do, I wanted to do a deep dive into the single most important lesson I learned from it.1) Forgiveness Is For The StrongMcRaven tells the story of a mission to capture a Taliban target gone terribly wrong.Soldiers from McRaven's unit had surrounded an old man's compound thinking a local Taliban leader was there. However, two of the old man's sons saw the soldiers and thought they were Taliban so the sons started firing at them to defend themselves.The US soldiers then fired back at the two young men. The US soldiers killed the two sons but stray bullets also accidentally killed the old man's daughter.Now imagine you were the old man–someone just killed two of your sons and your daughter. You'd likely be filled with hatred, anger, or other violent emotions. But when McRaven visited the old man to offer his apologies, he was surprised by his response."We will not keep anything in our heart against you," said the old man.Stunned, McRaven asked his interpreter how the old man was so quick to forgive such a horrible event. The interpreter said that the old man would never forget what had happened, but by offering forgiveness, he would remove the burden of hatred and anger for forgiveness was a gift not only to those that receive it, but also to those who give it.However, forgiving someone is easier said than done. It is hard to forgive because we are afraid it will take away the anger that drives us, the hatred that motivates us, or the righteous indignation of being wronged. We rather harness the outrage, feel the power of injustice, and lash out at the offender. We believe that revenge will soothe our souls, but it won't–only forgiveness will do that.Forgiveness will never be easy, it's not meant to be. It takes a strong person to forgive. So remember, be the victor, not the victim. Learn to forgive.McRaven ends the chapter by sharing a few powerful quotes about forgiveness:"The point of forgiveness is to overcome our own hatred...to win at least this victory over evil and hatred and not add evil to evil; to avoid becoming his accomplice as well as his victim." –Andre Comte-Sponville"To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable." –G.K. Chesterton"The weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." –Gandhi
✅ Actionable Advice: 1) Be the victor, not the victim.
Forgive those who are done you wrong, not for their sake, but for your own.
Forgiving others will strengthen your character and also release your anger and hatred.
PS: Did you guys prefer this 1 lesson deep dive or do you prefer the 3 short lessons? Let me know by responding to this email!
🎧 Podcast/YouTube Update:
Ever wondered what the day in the life of a book influencer is like?Probably not, but if you did here you go.
📖 Reading Lesson:Stuck on a boring book and can't decide if you should quit it or not?Here are 3 strategies to help you decide.
⭐️ Weekly Quote:One of the wisest quotes I’ve ever read:“I undertook to conquer myself rather than fortune, and to alter my desires rather than change the order of the world, and to accustom myself to believe that nothing is entirely in our power except our own thoughts.”-Epictetus
Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next Sunday!Read on,Alex W.
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