Basic physical fitness

A lot of symbolism can be interpreted in popular zombie films. 

The undead are the ultimate other of any us-and-them division, especially if you consider us to be savvy and them to be brainless. But Zombies were not used as just a frightening enemy, but were used to show the ills of the society: consumerism, capitalism, terrorism, etc. 

Zombie economics refers to theories or ideas that are long gone, but still refuse to die.

At this basic metaphorical level, "zombie economics," for example, can describe socialists or free-market thinking, depending on which side you believe holds the monopoly on functioning synapses.

The word ‘Zombie’ is derived from West African languages, with the Mitsogo language of Gabon describing them as ‘ndzumbi’, which means a corpse, to the Kongo language using the word ‘nzambi’ meaning the spirit of a dead person.

Pop culture and folklore from the Caribbean and Haiti seem to be the birthplaces for the concept of zombies that the American audiences crave so much.

• The Caribbean and its surrounding areas carried a large number of slaves, transporting them across the Atlantic, for making them work in farming. This created a mix of religions and infused many different traditions and practices like Catholicism, voodoo, Obeah and Santeria.
• Certain ‘bokors’ or witch-doctors in Martinique and Haiti created magic potions and used hypnotic spells to render victims dead, and then enslave or capture them, making them their personal slaves, The zombie, thus became a slave without any will or name, trapped forever in a living hell.
• The French Colony (later Haiti) where slaves were especially big in number and suffered the worst, witnessed a rebellion, and the rulers were overthrown in 1791. In 1915, when The US occupied Haiti, the native religion of Voodoo was spread even more. Stories of the vengeful dead coming out of the grave and chasing people became popular in pulp magazines of the 20s and 30s.

• The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts. Mastering your mind means seeing setbacks as opportunities. 
• Occupy your mind with uplifting thoughts, because they will give you the energy you'll need to attain the success you desire.

• Visualize your goal.
• Keep yourself positively motivated.
• Make a deadline.
• Take steps daily.
• Laugh along the way.

People who want to hire us, invest in our companies or collaborate with us increasingly look at our digital footprints on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google and Twitter to ‘profile’ us.

As we go more and more online, the way we are perceived digitally, in our display pictures, zoom videos, emails and social media provides a mountain of data for humans, and machines to make judgements about our personal and professional attributes.

As companies and individuals access our digital avatars and make their judgements, we have the ability to curate them and tell them a story that we want them to hear.

We need to understand the algorithms that are formulated to identify signals and patterns, and ‘hack’ them to our advantage.

Self-Reliance is the topic (and title) of an 1841 essay from US philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He argues strongly that self-reliance, self-trust, and individualism, amongst other things, are ways that we can avoid the conformity imposed upon us.

• Thinking independently: The ability to think autonomously goes hand in hand with trusting your own instinct.
• Embracing your individuality.
• Striving towards your own goals, bravely.

It’s important to remember that self-reliance is not about cutting yourself off from everybody.

One controversial study from an online dating platform claims that couples who met online have a 6 percent separation and divorce rate whereas couples who met offline have an 8 percent rate.

A study of 4000 people claims couples who meet on dating sites are less likely to get married and more likely to break up than couples who met offline. The phenomenon holds true for both married and unmarried couples.

A lot of people have related zombies to the lives of humans, mostly social ills, including consumerism, racism, capitalism, and terrorism.

Most of the films about zombies are not about the zombies themselves, but on how people cope or with the reality of the undead.

Samsara is a belief in Buddhism meaning the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. It is new life, but it is still full of suffering. As long as we are alive, suffering is present because it is natural for us to wish for good things not to end even though we knew that it would.

Just like the zombie which suffers because of its endless hunger, never satisfied and moves on to another prey which also ends up as a zombie.

• Only dynamic, flawed characters can connect with dynamic, flawed humans.
• Get inside your hero’s head and figure out what motivates them to do the things they do.
• If your hero has nothing to fight for, your viewers have no reason to root for him/her. Show your viewers why they should care.
• Show where your hero’s loyalties lie. If they can’t pick a side, your viewers can’t either.
• Allow your characters to drive the theme of your story.

• There is no such thing as an unimportant character. Secondary characters bring your hero closer to their goals or drag him/her further away.
• Fully develop a formidable villain that viewers love to hate.

Homer's Iliad opens with a plague visited upon the Greek camp at Troy. The Decameron (1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio is set during the Black Death.

The stories offer the listeners ways to consider how similar crises have been managed previously, and how to reorganize their daily lives, which have been suspended due to the epidemic.

• Mary Shelley's apocalypse novel The Last Man (1826), depicts the life of Lionel Verney, who becomes the last man after a devastating global plague. The book criticizes the institutional responses to the plague, showing the revolutionary utopianism and the in-fighting that breaks out among surviving groups before they also die.
• The short story, The Masque of the Red Death (1842), also shows the failures o authority figures to respond to a disaster appropriately.

Horror movie tip: Most horror movie bad guys are very slow but watch where you step so you don’t trip. Simply maintaining a brisk walking pace after sighting the enemy should be enough to get to safety.

Real world parallel: Spend time leveling up your sprinting skills. It builds strength, power, VO2max, endurance and quality of life while also helping you lose weight if paired with a healthy diet.

Horror movie tip: the unintelligent and unprepared often die in movies, so get smarter, train yourself and learn how to use tools and new skills.

Real world parallel: take a tactical approach to both your training and your behavior. Train functionally so that your body is prepared to function. Use your environment, your body weight and free weights to exercise. will give you a better body and the best chance for survival.