On Our World "Virtual Route 66" This Week: #RandomThoughts For the Week

 As a new week dawns, we present the following curated #RandomThoughts as we look forward to releasing our weekly all week throughout our properties.

The Tech Blog by Peter H. Diamandis, MD

Presented by

This Story Was Too Inspiring Not To Share...   Technology is a force that turns scarcity into abundance.   I often discuss how exponential technologies like AI are positively disrupting entire industries and creating more abundance for humanity as a whole.    But today, I want to talk about how technology has transformed one individual’s life for the better.    I learned about the following story at my private Abundance360 CEO Summit back in March during a conversation with Sal Khan, Founder and CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit that provides free world-class education online to anyone, anywhere.   He told me about a young girl in Afghanistan named Sultana who used Khan Academy ALONE to educate herself and change the course of her life.    I’ve reflected on this since our conversation and felt inspired to share it here…    Sultana’s Story Sultana grew up in Afghanistan, and when the Taliban took over her town, they forbade all the young girls from going to school.    Khan Academy became her lifeline.    She studied everything from elementary school math to algebra and trigonometry, eventually moving on to physics, chemistry and other subjects.   All from her home, using Khan Academy’s free online lessons and courses.   Here’s how Sultana later described the experience in a 2021 article in The Economist:    “Armed with an iPad, the internet and a free education website called Khan Academy, I taught myself English. And philosophy. And math. And science. And history. I wanted to understand the world in every way possible, and my place in it. Solving math problems gave structure to the uncertain world I was living in, even if just in my head. I felt liberated when I first learned to make a graph of a linear equation. On the page, drawing a two-dimensional coordinate plane and graphing an equation, the world was in my control.”   Sultana then decided that she wanted to be a theoretical physicist in the US. So, she smuggled herself into Pakistan to take the SAT because the test wasn’t offered in Afghanistan… and she PASSED!    Soon after, she was admitted to Arizona State University, graduating with honors!    Where’s Sultana now?    She’s currently a member of the research faculty at Tufts University studying quantum computing.    Why This Matters As I’ve often said, the world's most precious resource is the persistent and passionate human mind.   Even as the world changes rapidly around us, we should never forget that we are powerful beyond measure.    Our tools can help us become more—and give more. For example, Khan Academy is developing an AI that personalizes every student’s education, creating the gold standard of tutoring.     PODCAST TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK: In a recent episode of the Daily Stoic podcast, Ryan Holiday speaks with actor and singer Alexander Ludwig about how Stoicism can help achieve sobriety. Additionally, they discuss the power of surrendering to the present moment, mastering your craft, the importance of a good mindset, and more: “The little things are the big things. In life, in your career, in your relationship. In everything…When it comes to drinking, if you’re not on top of your sobriety, your addiction is doing pushups in the parking lot. It’s getting ready for you.” Listen To This Episode Subscribe to Daily Stoic Podcast @ WHAT RYAN HOLIDAY IS READING: “ “I could never precisely name what impelled me to spend time in the South during the summer of 1970. There was no reportorial imperative to any of the places I went at the time I went: nothing “happened” anywhere I was, no celebrated murders, trials, integration orders, confrontations, not even any celebrated acts of God. I had only some dim and unformed sense, a sense which struck me now and then, and which I could not explain coherently, that for some years the South and particularly the Gulf Coast had been for America what people were still saying California was, and what California seemed to me not to be: the future, the secret source of malevolent and benevolent energy, the psychic center.” ​South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion THIS WEEK'S BEST SOCIAL MEDIA POST:   YOUTUBE TAKEAWAY OF THE WEEK: In a recent videos on the Daily Stoic YouTube Channel, Ryan shares how to combat addiction with Stoic ideas. Addiction happens when we cede control to something other than ourselves like caffeine, alcohol, or drugs: “The reason we’re not masters of ourselves is we give that power over to someone or something else. Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, codependency. That’s the tragedy of addiction. Not only is it bad for the person, but often we can become addicted to our relationship with different addicts.” Watch How Stoicism Can Help You Get Sober (And Stay Sober) Subscribe to Daily Stoic YouTube @ YOUR STOIC WEEKEND REMINDER: Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the U.S. “One of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” -Howard W. Hunter Even if you are no longer with that person, or if that person has deeply hurt or even betrayed you, you must love the person responsible for a good chunk of your kid’s DNA or identity. You must love—that’s how your kids will know they are loved.