Author: Craig Constantine

Intentional with Auraiya Madrid

July 14, 2023

Intentional – with Auraiya Madrid

What is the relationship between creativity, resilience, and adaptability in pursuing diverse interests and entrepreneurial endeavors?

Auraiya Madrid highlights the significance of creating meaningful relationships, embracing creativity, and being intentional in her practice, offering insight into her journey as a performer, athlete, and gym owner.

I try to live my life [without regrets] because you do the best with what you know and what you have at the moment. Generally, as long as you’re doing that, that’s all you can do.

~ Auraiya Madrid 18′ 55″

Craig Constantine talks with Auraiya Madrid. They explore her dynamic approach to life as a self-described “Hobby Hoarder,” constantly embracing new projects and challenges. They discuss the transition from performer to content creator and the importance of building authentic connections with audiences. The conversation also dips into Auraiya’s experience founding Edge Movement, a parkour gym, and the valuable lessons learned. Throughout the conversation, Auraiya emphasizes the significance of creativity, diversity, and intentionality in her practice.

Creativity is definitely a skill set … anyone who doesn’t think they have it, that just means they haven’t practiced it. You can always get better at creativity.

~ Auraiya Madrid ~3′ 20″

Takeaways

Embracing Diverse Interests — Erica is a self-described “Hobby Hoarder” who enjoys exploring various activities like movement, arts and crafts, music, and more. Embracing diverse interests can lead to personal growth and creativity.

Creativity as a Skill — Erica emphasizes that creativity is a skill that can be developed with practice. It’s not limited to a select few, and anyone can become more creative through consistent effort.

Prioritizing People and Mentorship — Erica prioritizes paying her coaches well and fostering strong mentor-student relationships. She believes in the importance of investing in people’s growth and providing a positive influence in their lives.

Resources

Edge Movement — https://www.edgemvmnt.com

@auraiyamadrid on IG — https://www.instagram.com/auraiyamadrid/

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Happiness

July 14, 2023

Happiness. I’m inclined to think it is something that arises spontaneously; When I create space within—meaning when I don’t fill my thoughts and actions up with stress and chaos—then sometimes I discover that happiness fills that space. But I can also tell you that it doesn’t always fill that space.

Kahneman contends that happiness and satisfaction are distinct. Happiness is a momentary experience that arises spontaneously and is fleeting. Meanwhile, satisfaction is a long-term feeling, built over time and based on achieving goals and building the kind of life you admire. On the Dec. 19 podcast “Conversations with Tyler,” hosted by economist Tyler Cowen, Kahneman explains that working toward one goal may undermine our ability to experience the other.

~ Ephrat Livni from, Daniel Kahneman explains why most people don’t want to be happy

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Perhaps I don’t understand the difference between the experience of happiness and satisfaction. I can only note that the idea of, “I am satisfied” or “I am not satisfied”, is a necessary part of feeling satisfaction. Have I ever been and felt satisfied? Yes, I’ve definitely experience that. But how is that different from happiness?

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Fatal but not serious

July 12, 2023

My deepening dive into conversation will continue for the foreseeable future. I’m still in the phase of learning where, the more I read and listen (explicitly to podcasts but also just to conversations in life in general) the more I discover that I don’t know. I’m definitely in the epoch of “study the masters” and “learn the state of the art.” But still, sometimes things snap into a clear relationship to things I already know.

On the whole, you could say that if you are defending your opinions, you are not serious. Likewise, if you are trying to avoid something unpleasant inside of yourself, that is also not being serious. A great deal of our whole life is not serious. And society teaches you that. It teaches you not to be very serious – that there are all sorts of incoherent things, and there is nothing that can be done about it, and that you will only stir yourself up uselessly by being serious.

But in a dialogue you have to be serious. It is not a dialogue if you are not – not in the way I’m using the word. There is a story about Freud when he had cancer of the mouth. Somebody came up to him and wanted to talk to him about a point in psych-ology. The person said, “Perhaps I’d better not talk to you, because you’ve got this cancer which is very serious. You may not want to talk about this.” Freud’s answer was, “This cancer may be fatal, but it’s not serious.” And actually, of course, it was just a lot of cells growing. I think a great deal of what goes on in society could be described that way – that it may well be fatal, but it’s not serious.

~ David Bohm from, On Dialogue

Everything, everywhere, in every moment does not need to be serious. That’d be exhausting. But if there’s too little in my life that is serious, my behavior starts to polarize. Moments where others want to introduce some levity become to me strident and annoying. I’m finding there’s a balance—but that’s not quite the right word because I’ve not yet discovered how to actually balance this…

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The letter kills

July 12, 2023

Individually and collectively, men have always been the victim of their own words […] Taken too seriously, symbols have motivated and justified all the horrors of recorded history. On every level from the personal to the international, the letter kills. Theoretically we know this very well. In practice, nevertheless, we continue to commit the suicidal blunders to which we have become accustomed.

~ Aldous Huxley

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Inspiration with Evan Beyer

July 10, 2023

Inspiration – with Evan Beyer

How does personal growth through creativity, movement, and coaching shape individual identity and inspire community connections?

I want to see the world and get a well-rounded view of what’s happening… You can read the news, watch the news all day, but you’re going to get a biased opinion.

~ Evan Beyer, 12’23”

Discover Evan’s desire to break free from the confines of his hometown and venture into different cultures, with Italy as his potential next destination, as he seeks to expand his perspective and embrace new challenges.

The way that I feed my creativity is actually out of curiosity… It’s like how does a doorknob work? Well, take it apart!

~ Evan Beyer, 1’54”

Evan Beyer shares his transformative journey from a rebellious teenager to a passionate movement coach. He discusses how his insatiable curiosity drives his creative pursuits, from woodworking to metalworking, and how he challenges societal stereotypes with his unconventional appearance. Evan reflects on his bold decision to leave his hometown and pursue coaching in Boston, where he found fulfillment and a deep love for teaching movement. He also expresses his aspiration to explore different cultures, particularly Italy, as he continues to seek personal and professional growth.

Living your whole life in one town is like looking at the cover of a book. You don’t know what’s in the pages until you travel.

~ Evan Beyer, a bit of wisdom heard in his childhood, 12’23”

Takeaways

Curiosity and Creativity — Evan emphasizes the importance of nurturing curiosity and allowing it to drive creative pursuits. By exploring new things and constantly seeking to understand how they work, individuals can unlock their creative potential and find inspiration in unexpected places.

The Power of Perception — Evan discusses how people often misjudge him based on his appearance, emphasizing the need to look beyond stereotypes and preconceived notions. It serves as a reminder to not judge others solely based on their outward appearance, as it may not reflect their true nature or intentions.

The Fulfillment of Coaching — Evan shares his personal journey in coaching and highlights the deep satisfaction that comes from imparting knowledge and helping others. Coaching is more than just physical training; it requires a unique set of skills and the ability to convey information effectively.

Embracing New Cultures — Evan expresses a desire to explore different cultures and gain a broader perspective of the world. His aspiration to live and work in different countries reflects the value of immersing oneself in diverse environments, embracing new experiences, and challenging personal boundaries.

The Importance of Community — Throughout the conversation, Evan acknowledges the influence and inspiration he derives from the parkour community and the support of his mentors and friends. He emphasizes the significance of fostering connections with like-minded individuals who share similar passions and can contribute to personal growth and development.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Becoming a Supple Leopard

July 10, 2023

…is both the title of a book, and a thing I’d very much like to do. What’s stopping me?

It’s not genetics, because that only sets the boundary parameters. Sure, I’ll never literally be a leopard. But the set of genes I’ve been dealt seem pretty choice. Bonus, I can even change my genetic expression. So genetics is not what’s holding me back.

There are two things holding me back: My mindset and knowledge.

Mindset — I like to think of it like this: See this body? This is the body which results from all my choices and my mindset up to this moment. I don’t want a different body so that I can do this or that. (Well, I do but that’s exactly the problem.) Instead, I need to make better decisions. Here are a few ways that I use to steer my life…

  • “I’m not currently able to do that. To do that, I would first need to work on this, strengthen this, and learn this other skill.” (Never simply, “I can’t do that.“)
  • “That isn’t a priority for me now.” (Never simply, “I don’t have time for that.“) Saying, “Sleep isn’t a priority,” or “Healthy eating isn’t a priority,” sorts my mindset out quickly.
  • “I am the sort of person who…” …is barefoot, until I have a reason to add things to my feet. …goes to bed early and regularly. …enjoys spending time preparing healthy meals. …is willing to say that isn’t a priority so that I can have a larger yes for things which are important to me.

Knowledge — There are many things which are a priority for me. Learning everything about each of the fields of human biology, physiology, kinesiology, nutrition, etc. is not a priority. I’ve made great strides in figuring out solutions to many of my problems, but it’s too enormous of a knowledge space for me to learn everything in every field.

Years ago (h/t Jesse!) I first saw a copy of Kelly Starrett’s book Becoming a Supple Leopard. It was an impressive book, and was well recommended. But I was still at a place in my journey where I wanted to carve my own path, and went on my way trying to figure everything out on my own. But no more!

Recently (h/t Andrew!) I was gifted a big, beautiful 2nd edition of the book. Which dovetails nicely with my no longer wanting to figure everything out on my own. So I’ve been diving into Starrett’s Becoming a Supple Leopard.

The third and most notable problem with our current thinking is that it continues to be based on a model that prioritizes task completion above everything else. It’s a sort of one-or-zero, task-done-or-not, weight-lifted-or-not, distance-swum-or-not mentality. This is like saying, “I deadlifted 500 pounds, but I herniated a disc,” or, “I finished a marathon, but I wore a hole in my knee.” Imagine this sort of ethic spilling over into the other aspects of your life: “Hey, I made you some toast! But I burned down the house.”

~ Kelly Starrett from, Becoming a Supple Leopard

I’m still reading the entire book-worth of information in the first part of the book. Plus, the middle parts are an encyclopedic compendium of gargantuan proportions with hundreds of mobility exercises. I skimmed through all of it, and resigned myself to never being able to try, let alone learn, all of them in a systematic fashion. Instead, in the back of the book there is a 14-day system for cherry-picking things to do, and that is the thing I’m digging into. In fact, I expect I’ll simply repeat the 14-day thing (changing what specific activities I’m picking) until I become bored or a supple leopard.

To make that a little easier, I made this PDF so I could print and write directly on it:

BASL-14-day-Overhaul-85×11-1Download

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Shame

July 10, 2023

While you can still avoid shame by hiding, you won’t find happiness or even stability that way. The thing is, shame is a choice. It’s worth repeating: Shame can’t be forced on you; it must be accepted. The artist, then, combines courage with a fierce willingness to refuse to accept shame. Blame, sure. Shame, never. Where is the shame in using our best intent to make art for those we care about?

~ Seth Godin

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Irrelevant in all circumstances

July 9, 2023

I waffled on my title. I started a draft with the current title, which is simply item #7 plucked from Housel’s post. Later, I misread it as “Irreverant…” and, even after noticing my speling error, still thought myself clever; “Haha, yes, I am irreverant in all circumstances.” Which my mind then toggled back to “irrelevant” and, “Yes, I am probably also irrelevant in all circumstances.” Ouch.

The firehose makes it easy to mirror the poor Oxford boy: since information is free and ubiquitous but adding context has a mental price, the path of least resistance is to know facts without a clue where they go or whether they’re useful.

~ Morgan Housel, from Different Kinds of Information

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And no, it’s not at all a diss on [a]social media. It’s a terrific little post listing different kinds of information. I’d love to be a source of a large amount of #2 and #4. But if I’m being honest, I’m more a source of #5. …and #7, I definitely generate a lot of that. Maybe even some of #8—but only in the, “oh my gawd, no! Spit that out!” sort of way.

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Listening

July 7, 2023

I was reading a single post, Waste time, from Mandy Brown’s aworkinglibrary.com. It’s worth reading just to realize there are two, contradictory suggestions for how to live a life depending on how you interpret this deceptively simple sentence:

There is so little time to waste during a life.

And then Brown led me to her reading notes from a book by Mary Rueflé where this left me gobsmacked:

I used to think I wrote because there was something I wanted to say. Then I thought, “I will continue to write because I have not yet said what I wanted to say”; but I know now I continue to write because I have not yet heard what I have been listening to.

~ Mary Rueflé from, Madness, Rack, and Honey

It is indeed unfortunate that there is so little time to waste during a life! I am redoubling my efforts to find more time to waste.

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Iteration

July 5, 2023

On any project I can quickly get to the doing. Nearly as quickly I start thinking about how to improve whatever it is I’m doing. Sometimes whatever-it-is has a clear end; I can spend many hours (thank you ADHD) laser-focused on an immense number of trivial steps knowing it will mean I can remove something from a to-should list. But with open-ended stuff, like “publish conversations as podcasts”, it doesn’t take long for my urge to fiddle to get the better of me.

I recently went to a Picasso exhibition. What impressed me the most was not any individual piece of art, but rather his remarkably prolific output. Researchers have catalogued 26,075 pieces of art created by Picasso and some people believe the total number is closer to 50,000.

~ James Clear from, The Shadow Side of Greatness: When Success Leads to Failure

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I think it comes down to motivation. (And I find reading about others’ huge accomplishments to be crushingly de-motivating.) If I have the intrinsic motivation, then the iteration happens; only by great effort could the iteration not happen! Clear points out that Picasso had a very dark side which presented in his interpersonal relationships. I don’t think that dark side—anyone’s dark side—motivates iteration. And a dark side is not a necessary feature either. I really believe one can be a decent human being and be motivated and get great stuff done.

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Change

July 5, 2023

If we can accept the idea that all real change is a shift in narrative—a new story as opposed to the received dominant story—then the function of citizenship, or leadership, is to invite a new narrative into existence. Narrative begins with a ride on the wave of conversation. For greatest effect, we need a new conversation with people we are not used to talking to.

~ Peter Block

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