Update for 16 June 2022.

as Salaamu Alaykum,

An Idea I was thinking about this week

Content creation is a weird thing. There is a balance to be sought between uploading in a way which maximises your intended effect by leveraging the algorithms native to a particular platform but also remaining authentic and only uploading when you have the correct intention (niyyah). I have previously gone through phases where I would only make a video if I thought I had a unique thought or way of expressing an idea. I thought this was a decent methodology to follow but it was flawed. All content (minus a few exceptions) is repurposed. I now think of Youtube and Social Media as simply being a vehicle for communicators rather than "creators". Yes, if you're making cinematic highly edited videos purely for the aesthetic then it's different but if you are just discussing ideas, then you are repurposing content you have read or heard elsewhere. People will benefit from you if they align with your particular style of communicating. Simple. Another way I think about it is that I am striving to create the impact on someone else (by sharing this content) that I got when I came across it

Hadith

Abū Hurayrah reports: The Prophet kissed al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī when al-Aqraʿ ibn Ḥābis al-Tamī-mī was sitting with him. Al-Aqraʿ said to him: “I have ten children and I never kissed any of them.” The Prophet looked at him and said: “A person who shows no compassion will receive none.” (Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī and Aḥmad.)

Seerah 💚

"In 615 CE, two years after having gone public, the Prophet ﷺ advised many of his ﷺ followers to immigrate to Abyssinia, a country “ruled by a just king, where you may have a safe haven.” A total of eighty-three men and nineteen women immigrated to Abyssinia, where they were given asylum by Negus, its king. These represented about half the Muslim community in Makkah at the time."  Muhammad ﷺ, Adil Salahi

A quote to think about

“We are what we repeatedly do,” Aristotle said, “therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit.”

A Practice that supercharges my productivity

Intermittent Fasting. I used to do this almost every day for years whilst I was living away from home. I have recently re-started doing this consistently (not eating for 16-20 hours) and the effect on my mental clarity and thus productivity is noticeable. I've heard the experts say it has to do with the release of certain catecholamines like norepinephrine but just try it and find out for yourself. Everyone is different. This is free. Another lesson for me here was that it is often the tried and tested methods that yield the most benefit. This is more powerful than a lot of "advanced" nootropics.

Book recommendation

Abu Zayd al-Balkhi’s Sustenance of the Soul: the Cognitive Behavior Therapy of a Ninth Century Physician Rating: 9/10

The approach of the author emphasises the need to engage in metacognition (thinking about thinking). How so many of our emotional states hinge on habitual thought patterns - which you can change. In dealing with each issue, you will note how the author starts by stating "Another tactic of the mind...another strategy.." To some, thought exercises sound silly, but they are key.

Content I found beneficial this week:

For those who do not understand the value proposition of a Bitcoin Economy for Muslims, watch this interview from Practical Islamic Finance with Saifdean Ammous, the author of The Bitcoin Standard. Check it out

Powerful Reality Check

More quotes:

"There is (1) life respect, respect for the decisions you have made throughout your life, and (2) daily respect, respect for yourself that must be earned every day. Cultivating habits that earn you daily respect will increase your life respect. In turn, the more respect you have for your life as a whole, the easier it will be to earn daily respect" The Power Bible, William Beteet

"As long as desires exist, one must never feel safe from the possibility of the heart succumbing to them" The Way of The Spiritual Muslim

One question to ask ourselves

Is this how I want to spend my youth?

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Please share if you learned something, found it interesting, or think it's silly.

Aadil