Wanna know “The Strangest Secret in the World”?
Goodmorrow! ✨
Ready for some inspiration? 🤗
Let’s be honest: All of us have turned into binging monsters, gobbling up shows and movies since lockdown started. “Oh well”, we thought in the beginning, “finally time to indulge in all those bookmarked goodies in our watch-lists!” So we inhaled “The Godfather” 1,2 and 3, “Dark”, “Hollywood”, a few BBC Earth documentaries, and “Never have I ever”, and felt good about it, too. “I was waiting for the opportunity to cinematographically educate myself!” I heard a friend saying. Oh well, just another serial chiller. 🎬
However, things have changed. While we started lockdown with a certain of amount discipline, over the last six weeks, our behaviour has transformed into an impenetrable vortex of time, snacks and space. Days have lost their names, dates their numbers, and not only the TV is asking us “Are you still here?”. The result: We inhale entire seasons in one day; no guilt, zero shame, just worn-out pyjamas, hair that could do with a wash, and eyes that feel like falling out of their sockets. 👀
You most probably have CVS.
An eye-doctor would ask you questions such as
- Do your blinkers feel strained after starring at a device pretty much your entire waking hours of the day?
- Since the beginning of lockdown, is a headache your constant companion?
- Are your shoulders as frozen as the pizza you will heat up for dinner?
I am neither a doctor, nor a visual expert of any kind, but even I can tell you: If you answered 2 out of 3 questions with a yes, you might have caught yourself a good old ‘computer vision syndrome’ (CVS). This should not come as a surprise: With up to 35 hours of content consumption per week, your eyes officially hate you by now. 😅
This is how Eye roll*.
Commonly known as ‘digital eye strain’, CVS is a result of starring at a reflecting screen for too many hours. Unless you wear specific blue-light-blocking eyewear, or have laser beams coming out your head, it doesn’t’ matter at what kind of screen you look at, or if you watch, read, or game. For your eyes, it is all the same shitty job.
The bad news: CVS will not stop unless you stop starring at a screen.
The good news: CVS will stop when you stop starring at a screen. 😊
Often, we only have to give our blinkers a little break, and all the nasty symptoms disappear. So why not use today to ‘rest your eyeballs’, as my husband would say, and give our ears the stage instead? 👂
I am glad that you are ‘hear’.
Not so long ago, our ears were the key to entertainment. In the ‘Golden Age of Radio’, ranging roughly from the 1920s to the 1950s in the West, and all the way up to the late 70s in India, families were glued to their radio device not only to hear the news, but to listen to scripted plays, talent shows, soap operas, cooking shows.. you name it!
One man who knew how to use the radio to his advantage, and with its help sold over one million copies of a spoken record was a humble man with the poetic name Earl Nightingale.
Throwback to the ‘good old times’, when people dressed up to listen to a radio program. (Source: Magnolia)
Meet the “King of Motivation”.
Born in 1921, Nightingale grew up in poverty, always wondering why some people would be effortlessly successful, while others remained poor. He served the US Army during WWII, and was one of the few survivors of the Pearl Harbour attack. Right after the war was over, he embarked to work in the booming radio industry – and due to his formidable voice, his career took off in no time.
Fast forward: Nightingale died in 1989 as a multi-millionaire, the owner of a successful publishing house, and as a highly awarded speaker, writer, and radio personality. How did this man manage to completely re-invent himself from ‘rags to riches’? You will not believe it: With a simple pep-talk. 🤗
“The Strangest Secret in the World”
Today, lean back, close your eyes, and listen to the 40-minutes recording of “The strangest secret in the world” from 1956. OG retro-vibes guaranteed! 🤗
I hope this recording will help you to boost your motivational levels for the weekend, and align yourself with your dreams.
Give yourself permission to chase whatever your heart desires! Or to say it with Nightingale: “Start today. You have nothing to lose – but you have your whole life to win.”
Happy Friday, lovelies! 💖
With love from Goa,
Isabelle 🌿
*Mo, this line is just for you. 😊
