The beginning of philosophy is this: The realization that there is a conflict between the opinions of men and a search for the origin of that conflict, accompanied by a mistrust towards mere opinion, and an investigation of opinion to see if it is correct opinion, and the discovery of a certain standard of judgement, comparable to the balance that we have discovered for determining weights, or the rule, for things straight and crooked.
~ Epictetus
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On Castbox.fm — Dan Edwardes | Creating a Culture of Excellence
How can individuals develop a personal culture of excellence that enhances their leadership, goals, and daily habits?
Personal habits and daily customs shape success more than ideas or intentions.
So a lot of this stuff is about identifying why aren’t we fixing these things? Why are we carrying on with these bad habits? When, you know, they’re bad habits? They’re not helping you. And why aren’t you changing it?
~ Dan Edwardes (4:36)
The conversation centers around developing personal excellence by cultivating better habits and self-awareness. Dan emphasizes that personal culture—daily customs and habits—determines success more than external goals or beliefs. The discussion highlights that leaders often know what they need to improve but fail to implement changes without a structured plan. By focusing on small, consistent steps, individuals can build lasting momentum that fosters larger transformations over time.
Another key theme is the importance of self-care as the foundation for leadership and goal achievement. Neglecting self-care can undermine professional success, and Dan draws parallels with athletes and entrepreneurs, showing how each group handles this differently. The conversation stresses the importance of personal reflection and recommends small, actionable changes that compound into significant progress.
Takeaways
Self-care as foundational — Prioritizing self-care is essential for sustaining personal and professional success.
Small, consistent actions — Incremental changes lead to lasting improvements and create upward spirals of growth.
Leadership as coaching — Effective leadership involves guiding others through questions rather than dictating solutions.
Culture of accountability — Building team habits around excellence, like those of the All Blacks rugby team, fosters long-term success.
Judgment and empathy — Reducing judgment and practicing empathy enhances leadership and personal well-being.
Personal values — Understanding and reinforcing personal values drive consistent improvement and align actions with goals.
Resources
Dan Edwardes’ Website — Personal site for contacting Dan Edwardes and exploring his work.
Parkour Generations — Organization founded by Dan Edwardes offering coaching, certifications, and events.
Art of Retreat — A leadership and education retreat for Parkour and movement practitioners.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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What was fascinating to me about what T.R. said was that he never mentioned athletic ability or strength or speed. The qualities he cited were all mental. They were deeper than mental. They were psychological, emotional, and spiritual. They were qualities of aspiration, of commitment, of intention, of will, of intensity, and of perseverance.
~ Steven Pressfield from, “He’s a Winner”
These are all qualities that you and I have control of in our writing and our artistic lives.
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There was definitely a time, until very recently in fact, when I thought that bashing through the work was a predictor of success. I know see that my ability fetish for bashing through work was made possible by my ability to focus. It’s that focus which I’m still able to summon while the physical and mental strength to bash is gone—maybe not completely gone, sure, but certainly far reduced from the days of yore.
Should I spend time having a meaningful conversation, or should I spend that same amount of time working on this task? One requires bashing on work I don’t really feel like doing, while one is pleasantly challenging. I continuously come back to my touch-stone phrase for 2020: Get less done. Laser focus? Check. Laser focus on the right thing? Well, that’s what I’m trying to be more intentional about these days.
What are you up to?
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These three interviews, along with many others in the Roadtrip Nation archive, all undermine the notion that you should simply follow your passion, and you’ll immediately be happy. For Glass, Steele, and Merrick, the path was more circuitous. This doesn’t mean, however, that their success is entirely serendipitous.
~ Cal Newport from, The Pre-Med and Ira Glass
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Newport has written a lot geared toward helping college students navigate, (college, life, time management, everything.) This piece is of use to everyone, whether or not you feel you are currently following your passion.
I think, (and I’m not saying this is in contradiction to what Newport wrote—I’m just wandering off here,) it’s far more useful to follow your own compass—whatever it points toward. It’s not even critical that you always make progress in the direction is points. Having a compass simply keeps you oriented. Which is, obviously the opposite of disoriented. And who wants to be disoriented. Having some orientation, gives you at least some confidence, and confidence enables you to move.
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Conduct shorter think breaks. Even a few hours can be extraordinarily helpful. This can be as simple as leaving the office at lunch in order to have a phone-free reflection period at a nearby coffee shop.
~ Chris Bailey from, How to Take a Think Break
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The quote is a from a list of “Do’s,” so it may feel a bit odd. If you don’t immediately know what a think-break is, stop and go read that short article. (Which also contains a link to a longer article. :)
Some people famously take week-long, totally-disconnected (from people, technology, routine, everything,) think-breaks. I suppose I could do that—I mean I know it would be possible, but I feel that I don’t need an entire week to think.
All I do is come to a stop and start thinking. After a few minutes I’ve 11 new ideas—or worse, ideas that have been rattling around in my head—that I can either decide to outright kill immediately, or work into things that need to be done. I don’t need to spend more time thinking, I need to spend more time anti-doing things. Do one thing, cross off two, or better yet, three things from my literal or ephemeral lists.
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As addicting as it is, desire is the enemy to proper time management. Poor sleeping habits, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and just plain dissatisfaction are all byproducts of a poorly managed life.
~ Ryan Holiday from, 5 Stoic Lessons On Time Management
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Time management is the only thing—the only major skill critical for leading a good life… Time management is the only thing which no one ever attempted to teach me explicitly. Everything else was covered to some degree: science, religion, morality, philosophy, work ethic, hygiene, sexuality, language, geography, personal finance, and more, depending on how you want to subdivide all the stuff in my head.
Time management isn’t the most critical thing to know. Language and critical thinking are the top two, because with those two and sufficient time you can bootstrap everything else. However, things would be far better for everyone, if the third item on the list of must-have skills to be Human was a basic grasp of Time Management.
For me, I was trying to fix my sleep when it became obvious that I needed to arrange my day around sleeping. That lead immediately to an entirely new need for time management. “I need to be at work by 8,” is not Time Management (with capitals.) I then took a circuitous route discovering the needs and methods of Time Management.
But where do I wish I had actually started? That’s an excellent question. Right around 18 years old, I wish someone had handed me a copy of this tiny book: How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by A Bennet.
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Depending on your own personal history, there isn’t necessarily a lot at stake in how you conduct yourself at a cash register. What I’m trying to get at with my idiosyncratic cashier-focused story is this: there’s a vast difference between the habit of getting by, and the habit of getting better, and you may, without realizing it, be free to choose between them.
~ David Cain from, The Difference Between Getting By and Getting Better
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I’ve not gone down the exact same rabbit hole as Cain. However, being intentional with my work on the podcast interviews is amazing—it’s the same iterative path of discovery as he’s describing.
I’ve done well over 100 interviews—indoors, outdoors, quiet spaces, noisy spaces, while healthy, while sick-ish, with shy people, with insanely energetic people, during the day, at night, across sunsets with natural light, English-speakers and English-as-second-language speakers, old-ish, young-ish, men, women, couples, teams, while working alone and with an assistant, sleep-deprived and well-rested, with the occasional tech problem, in comfy chairs with tea, in an unpadded folding chair for 12 interviews in a row, well-fed and ravenous, . . .
None of that matters.
The conversations are always amazing. Time after time, once we get into the flow state, it turns out that people are interesting— most of the time surprisingly interesting. The more I work at this, the more I’m coming to believe that the art of communication, and in particular conversation, is the single most important skill for a human to possess.
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If anyone ever says to you, “your password must contain one capital, a digit,…”, you can be certain that they are an idiot, and that they do not understand security. If you encounter such requirements in software, then it was written by an idiot—or it was written to a standard which was written by an idiot.
I’m serious. This is not hyperbole. Anyone who says such things truly has not even the most basic understanding of computer security. You should immediately stop trusting them with anything related to computer security.
To begin to understand why this is true, please enjoy this wonderfully explanatory cartoon from XKCD: Password Strength.
The cartoon is fun, but its core point about the critical feature of your passwords being the amount of entropy they contain will make you smarter than the vast majority of people.
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On Castbox.fm — Kyle Koch | Nature Health and Movement
How can connecting with nature through movement and sensory experiences improve overall well-being and personal growth?
Connecting with nature can transform your health and mindset by simply spending time outdoors without distractions.
I believe in becoming the more heroic version of yourself. Movement and nature are key.
~ Kyle Koch (6:09)
The conversation highlights the importance of reconnecting with nature and movement as pathways to physical and mental well-being. It explores how modern life often limits sensory engagement and dynamic movement, which can negatively impact health. Simple actions such as stepping outside, observing greenery, and allowing oneself to be present can lower stress and improve eyesight.
The discussion touches on how nature remains present even in urban environments, subtly integrated into cityscapes. Practices such as walking, sitting in outdoor spaces, or even engaging in Parkour within natural settings can reshape awareness and resilience. Kyle emphasizes that movement in unpredictable outdoor environments fosters adaptability and enhances physical health.
Takeaways
Movement through nature — Engaging with natural environments fosters adaptability and resilience.
Outdoor sensory experience — Simple exposure to greenery can lower stress and improve health.
Urban wildlife — Nature adapts to cityscapes, remaining present even in unexpected urban spaces.
Restoring eyesight — Looking at distant natural views can reduce nearsightedness.
Small consistent practices — Spending 15 minutes outdoors daily can yield long-term health benefits.
Resources
Trotting Sparrow @trottingsparrow
Art of Retreat — The event where the conversation took place, focusing on Parkour leadership and education.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Imagine you have a book problem. (Don’t judge me, please.) You’ve read countless books. You’ve given away countless books in an attempt to get the foundation of your house to stop settling to one side. You’ve gone through your to-read book shelves and culled as many as you can bear over to the normal shelves, resigned to being okay with never reading them.
…and you still have hundreds of books that you really want to read.
There are two common ways that people recommend reading books: One-at-a-time, (whether thoroughly and carefully cover-to-cover or by breezing through them more quickly,) and multiple-at-a-time. In both ways however, you intend to pick some book and to completely, (whatever that means to you,) read the book.
I want to explain a third way: Single-serving sized visits.
Begin by allocating a set amount of time. Something like 45 minutes seems to work well for me, but it can be any amount that you can do in one sitting. Extra bonus points if you can make this a recurring thing you do regularly.
You will need post-it notes and a writing instrument. You will not need a bookmark.
You’re going to pay a short visit, (say 45 minutes,) to your book collection by picking one book. Take the book (and your post-its and your writing instrument) and head for your reading spot. (You do have a designated reading spot, right? :)
Spend 45 minutes reading the book however you wish. Skim it. Read the prologue. Dig deep into chapter 4. Start reading at page 88. Turn it upside down and read it [upside down] backwards. Whatever. If you really don’t like the book, you can walk out on the date and put the book on your read pile.
As you read it insert post-its…
After the allotted time, your visit is over. Put the book back, either in the to-read area, or maybe in the read-these area. (If you bother to distinguish.)
Over time, you will slowly get to know more and more of your books. You won’t feel like you need to read the books—you already know you can’t possibly finish them all. At least this way you’re going to have hundreds of great little visits with these ideas you’ve collected.
Over time, you’ll find more and more top post-its as you build mental links to other books. You’ll find all those side post-its marking ideas you like. You can also pick up a book and see what you think of it— I’ve never touched this book. [It has no post-its.] I clearly love this book. [It furry with notes.] When you want to recommend a book, you are likely to have post-its that have the good bits you’ll want them to see first. The top post-its are going to suggest other books in your collection you might want to visit next.
…and on and on.
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Yet that insidious voice keeps whispering. “But this is an opportunity, man! You gotta network. Get out there! Everybody promotes their stuff. Be a pro. Seize the moment, dude!”
~ Steven Pressfield from, Opportunities Are Bullshit
One way to look at it is through the prism of money. If someone wants you to do something and the remuneration is “exposure” or “opportunity” … you have answered your own question.
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It’s important to learn to avoid the siren-call of such “opportunities.” I’m scare-quoting because, as Pressfield points out, they’re not actually opportunities. They are in fact a siren-call attempting to lure your ship onto the rocks. They’re a siren call because the message is exactly what you want to hear: “Your work is good. Your work is valuable. We want you to succeed.”
Actual opportunity sounds different. The message is just off to the side from what you wanted to hear: “What you’re doing is interesting. It makes me think of this thing I’m doing over here. It occurs to me that we might work together on it.” You’re left thinking about some interesting tangential idea. Instead of thinking, (as with the siren-call,) “is this going to be worth it,” you’re thinking, “that’s interesting, I’d like to be involved in that.” Certainly, true opportunities may come with money, but in your own thinking that’s an interesting nice-to-have; but it’s secondary. Take opportunities where the opportunity itself interests you. Don’t take “opportunities” where the potential, down-the-road benefit interests you.
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Without an antagonist prowess fades away. its true proportions and capacities come to light only when action proves its endurance. You must know that good men should behave similarly; they must not shrink from hardship and difficulty or complain of fate; they should take whatever befalls in good part and turn it to advantage. The thing that matters is not what you bear but how you bear it.
~ Seneca
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I can say the same of a good man whom no difficult conjuncture has afforded an occasion for displaying the force of his mind. “I account you unfortunate because you have never been unfortunate. You have passed through life without an adversary; no one can know your potentiality, not even you.” For self-knowledge, testing is necessary; no on can discover what he can do except by trying.
~ Seneca
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Random photo from an early morning stroll in Yosemite valley.
You and I impose order onto our days not to make ourselves stiff or rigid or wooden but in order render impotent the pull of the superficial and the random and the current. We fix our attention not on the petty opportunities and emergencies of the day but on our inner Polaris, even if it’s something as humble as a kiosk business we’re trying to launch or a free app we’re aiming to design. We banish distraction so that we can address our call, our Unconscious, the summons of our Muse.
~ Steven Pressfield from, A Natural Life
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Some days the call—the summons of the Muse—is pleasant and I skip through my tasks. Some days it is not. No matter how many times I study the lesson, it’s still hard for me to believe in what can be accomplished through small daily advances.
Increasingly, (compared to, say, 20 years ago,) my body doesn’t cooperate, and some days my mind doesn’t cooperate. But on balance, I can say I’m making progress on the things which are important to me. I don’t expect to finish anything—you should see the book collection, for example—and that’s fine by me.
Chop wood; carry water. (Read a book. Watch a great movie. Jump on stuff. Go for a walk. Mix and season to taste…)
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The first step in clearing your head is to realize how far you are from a neutral observer. When I left high school I was, I thought, a complete skeptic. I’d realized high school was crap. I thought I was ready to question everything I knew. But among the many other things I was ignorant of was how much debris there already was in my head. It’s not enough to consider your mind a blank slate. You have to consciously erase it.
~ Paul Graham from, Lies We Tell Kids
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Sure, there are lies of expedience. (“What is thunder?” “It’s clouds bumping into each other.”) But it’s a water slide of lies when you start thinking about it. I know I never really thought about it; I certainly wouldn’t have expected a quick summary of the issues to be 5,000 words.
But there it is none the less, well done by Graham. It contains a litany of ways we all lie to children, (including those of us who don’t have or care for children in any way.) Frankly, some of the ways we all lie seem like an excellent thing to be doing. And if that’s the case, then we all have the we’ve-been-lied-to baggage Graham is describing.
Suddenly! (“It didn’t stop. It didn’t stop!”)
…I feel like I need to toss out the closets of my mind.
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On Castbox.fm — Angel Griffin | Performance 101
How can gym owners effectively create and manage performance teams that provide opportunities for athletes to grow and succeed in professional environments?
Building a performance team can transform a gym’s visibility and offer athletes pathways into professional arenas like Cirque du Soleil and stunt shows.
We live on the policy of, push our coaches to be the best that they can possibly be.
~ Angel Griffin (5:15)
The conversation explores the process of creating and managing performance teams within gym environments. Angel shares insights from her experience directing Firestorm Talent and Entertainment, emphasizing the importance of defining goals before launching performance initiatives. She outlines paths gym owners might take, such as raising community awareness, generating income, or offering new channels for coaches and students to develop.
Angel discusses how performance teams provide opportunities for athletes to transition into professional careers, citing successful placements in Cirque du Soleil and stunt shows. The conversation highlights the significance of supporting coaches’ ambitions, even if it leads them to leave the gym, and underscores the importance of delegating leadership roles to passionate individuals to ensure performance teams thrive without compromising gym operations.
Takeaways
Building community awareness — A performance team can increase visibility and attract new gym members.
Professional pathways — Athletes can transition into professional careers with proper guidance, including resumes, headshots, and demo reels.
Delegation and leadership — Gym owners should delegate performance team management to passionate individuals to avoid spreading themselves too thin.
Coaching retention — Supporting coaches’ personal goals often leads to long-term benefits for the gym and community.
Simple starting points — Birthday parties and small performances provide accessible entry points to build a performance team.
Clear goals — Defining the purpose behind starting a performance team is crucial for success and direction.
Training for success — Teaching performance etiquette and backstage processes prepares athletes for professional environments.
Networking value — Connections in industries like Cirque du Soleil can create opportunities for athletes to achieve their dreams.
Resources
Firestorm Talent — The official website for Firestorm Talent and Entertainment, showcasing performances and services.
Firestorm Talent @firestormtalent
Art of Retreat — Official site for Art of Retreat, the event where this conversation took place.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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She didn’t give me a chance because I was an “insider” or because I had the fire of an “outsider.” She gave me a chance because I did the work. When she was in on the weekends, she saw me there too. When she asked me to read something, she got a report on her desk the next day. If she took the time to solicit ideas from the window seats, I spoke up. I made an ass out of myself more times than I’d like to admit but I watched, read, and learned.
~ Steven Pressfield from, «https://stevenpressfield.com/2013/04/insideoutside/»
In all my years I’ve never worked a “real” job; I never had one of those corporate wage-slave jobs you may have heard of from the 80’s and 90’s. I had two, generic-type, hourly-wage-type jobs; one involving insane physical labor as a grounds-keeper on a golf course. I worked while in college, but only for the extra spending money, so I had the luxury of working jobs I wanted. Lots of people at those jobs helped me out, and lots of people have given me breaks along the way. Why?
Because I did the work.
I cut the edging of sand traps in the blazing heat, by hand, with a machete. I mopped floors, loaded and drove a delivery truck. Mowed grass, mucked horse stalls, loaded tons of paper into laser printers, read a room full of manuals, typed and then edited an entire book chapter full of complex math. Some things I did for money, some for favors, and some for fun. I put my back into it, literally and figuratively.
So now—on a Wednesday morning, relaxing before a fire, deciding what I will do today—I’m also thinking: Who do I know that could use a tip? Who could do wonders with an opportunity? Who could accomplish a lot if I just helped them get in motion?
Yes, each of us should seize the day, chart our own course, and begin now under our own power. But those of us in positions where we are able, we should be helping, nudging, pushing and guiding wherever our efforts can have outsized benefit.
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… excellence is not a law of physics. Excellence is a moral act.
~ Huch MacLeod
You create excellence by deciding to do so, nothing more. It doesn’t matter if you went to the wrong school, or were born on the wrong side of the tracks, or working the wrong job.
You go into the situation and you go the extra mile. Your decision. You own it. You own the potential downsides as well.
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I have a hard time distinguishing when I’m in the pursuit of excellence from when I’m in the paralysis of perfection. In my mind I can see so many options, permutations and problems, and my thinking wants to race down every path. Which path leads to excellence? Which path leads only to perfection? I spent a lot of time—let’s say the ’90s and ’00s—checking every available path to see where they led.
But I don’t want to do that any more. Here are things I’m doing, and of course I’ll do them with excellence. And over there? Over there are the rest of the paths throughout the entire universe which I’m perfectly fine leaving to others. The universe did just fine before I was here, and it will continue to be fine after.
You know that great Robert Frost poem about two paths diverging in a wood? Turns out that it does not matter which path you choose… until you’ve gone so far down that path that you cannot return and go the other way. Only then have you actually chosen.
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