Scree

noun : an accumulation of loose stones or rocky debris lying on a slope or at the base of a hill or cliff.

Education with Nicole Colter

Published July 30, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 30

How can podcasting serve as an effective tool for active learning and decentralizing power dynamics in the classroom?

Experimenting with podcasting helps students move from passive listeners to active creators.

They always get surprised at the end that, even as painful as it is in the process, you can look back and be like, ‘I knew nothing about any of this and now look what we’ve created.’

~ Nicole Colter (19:36)

The conversation explores the innovative use of podcasting as a tool for active learning in higher education, particularly in a management class. Nicole explains how podcasting helps decentralize classroom power dynamics, allowing students to collaborate, manage projects, and co-create learning experiences. By recording interviews with textbook authors, students engage in active learning while gaining communication and organizational skills.

Nicole highlights the broader learning benefits of podcasting, such as fostering creativity, confidence, and reflective listening. She shares how students begin to see themselves as creators and take initiative beyond assigned tasks. Topics discussed include decentralized pedagogy, alternative assessment methods like “ungrading,” and the value of indirect learning outcomes. Nicole also reflects on challenges such as students’ initial struggles with conversation and project management, ultimately noting their surprise and pride in their final accomplishments.

Takeaways

Active learning through podcasting — Students engage deeply by creating content and interviewing experts.

Decentralized power dynamics — The course empowers students to manage their learning experience collaboratively.

Indirect learning outcomes — Podcasting facilitates valuable skills beyond stated course objectives, like communication and confidence.

Overcoming communication struggles — Students learn and practice the art of meaningful conversations.

The role of reflection — Listening to their own recordings helps students critically evaluate and improve their communication.

Project-based education — Podcasting replaces traditional tests with real-world, outcome-driven projects.

Encouraging creativity — Students begin to see themselves as capable creators, even outside assigned tasks.

Experimentation and adaptability — Nicole views each semester as an opportunity to refine processes based on reflections and feedback.

Practical management skills — Students apply concepts like planning, organizing, and leading through collaborative projects.

The value of open resources — Projects like interviewing textbook authors create accessible learning materials for others.

Resources

The Last Lecture — Randy Pausch’s book referenced for the concept of “head fake” learning, which emphasizes indirect learning outcomes.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Education with Mark Hochgesang

Published July 30, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 30

What motivates someone to start podcasting as an educational pursuit after retirement, and what are the challenges they face?

Podcasting begins as a post-retirement pursuit but becomes an unexpected journey of storytelling and learning.

And also kind of express my point of view on a multitude of different things happening in that sports world. So that’s how it all kind of kicked off and as we talked about kind of pre-mic episode here I am a learner at heart and I knew that I was starting from ground 0 but that was invigorating for me.

~ Mark Hochgesang (1:21)

The conversation explores how podcasting became an unexpected post-retirement pursuit for Mark. Starting with a suggestion from former colleagues, podcasting offered a way to share perspectives on sports while continuing to learn and engage with others. The discussion touches on the personal aspects of podcasting, such as storytelling, preparation, and the intimacy of audio communication. His episodes often feature guests who have overcome adversity or achieved significant milestones, reflecting his interest in inspiring and game-changing stories.

The conversation also highlights the challenges of producing a podcast, from mastering technical aspects like sound quality to managing the editing workload. Preparation and thoughtful content development play significant roles, as does the balancing act of how much of the host’s personality to include. Podcasting has also strengthened connections within his immediate circle and reconnected him with old colleagues, further emphasizing the communal and connective power of the medium.

Takeaways

The learning process — He views podcasting as a continuous educational journey.

Game changers in sports — The podcast highlights guests who have overcome adversity and made significant impacts.

The power of preparation — Extensive research and planning go into every episode to ensure engaging storytelling.

Podcasting as a post-retirement pursuit — It serves as a meaningful and creative way to stay active and connected.

The intimacy of audio — Podcasting creates a personal and compelling form of communication.

Balancing personal presence — He reflects on how much of himself should be included in his podcast episodes.

Technical challenges — Managing sound quality and editing initially proved time-consuming but rewarding.

Building connections — Podcasting reconnects him with former colleagues and introduces him to inspiring new people.

Resources

Heavy Hitter Sports — Marks’ podcast featuring inspiring stories of game changers in sports.

Zencastr — The recording tool used in the conversation.

The Rookie (Movie) — A Disney film about Jim Morris, a guest mentioned in the podcast.

Multipliers —  Liz Wiseman’s book discussed during the episode.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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And speaking of cognitive biases

Published July 30, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 30

Confirmation bias is one of my faves. You know, where you suddenly notice all the other cars like yours when you buy one, or spot coincidences from which you draw an [erroneous] causal conclusion. I know right? Screw you cobbled-together-brain! But this coincidence can’t just be a coincidence:

I’ve been reading-around my copy of The Daily Stoic for about 5 years now. Each page of the book is for a specific date. I long-ago got sick of lugging the book around, so I photographed every page, and loaded them into my personal productivity software. For five years, I’ve had annually repeating todos with the day’s image attached. (Yes, it was a few hours of work to set up 365 todo’s, with “recurs every year on the same date,” and an attached image. Yes, it was absolutely worth it.) So every year, on the same date, the same photo of the same page of the Daily Stoic comes up for me to read. (Craig-level crazy: The image for February 29 is attached to the todo for February 28 and I read it every year.) Finally, you need to know that only a small percentage of the Daily Stoic entries quote from Marcus Aurelius’s, Meditations.

Recently, I bought a fresh, hardcover of my favorite translation of Aurelius’s Meditations. (My paperback copy of this same translation is mangled and marked up, and the typography isn’t as spiffy.) I photographed each page, and set it on recurring todos. This was slightly more complicated because it’s not a page-for-each-date. I simply counted the images and made the todo’s recur that often. So each day a page comes up, but it’s not the same page on the same date each year. (There are 139 pages of content, so I’m reading Meditations 2+ times per calendar year.) For added complexity, the modern book is comprised of Aurelius’s 12 original books; Each was a long scroll on which he wrote entries in sequence. What’s on each page of the modern book is simply determined by book layout: It might be Aurelius’s original book 4, entries 11 and 12, or it might have part of an entry continued from the previous page, or an entry which is cut short that runs to the next page. Sure, it’s messy to try to read a book a-page-a-day if it wasn’t designed that way, but it works, and I get to visit Marcus each day.

That’s the setup. Here’s the coincidence…

Today I hit a Daily Stoic entry that quotes Meditations. The page that’s up for reading in my sequence from Meditations, CONTAINS THE QUOTED PASSAGE.

o_O

After looking around suspiciously… “Am I on Candid Camera?” After looking up suspiciously… I decided I better blog about this.

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Campfire, marshmallows and conversation

Published July 29, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 29  ·  

Many moon ago, Movers Mindset had a weekly team meeting with 5 people. It was simply a video call to socialize. Work-related discussion was allowed, but mostly we were just talking about training, sharing instagram videos, discussing news and events in our sports and its surrounds, … that sort of stuff. Just hanging out with people who have a shared interest.

From the start we knew we didn’t want to record those calls. That suddenly makes everything too permanent; You have to show up looking not-insane, and you automatically hold back some of your energy to be on the safe side. But we also felt that we were losing something by having no artifact at all. Much of what we were discussing and sharing in the team call would be of interest to others— but we didn’t want non-team-members attending our private call. Thus, no recording. The meeting gave us what we needed, and that was good enough.

Time passed. (And many great team meetings were had.)

One day, as I sat around wondering how to make the already-great calls even better, my mind drifted as it so often does. It wandered back to the 80s/90s and I thought of the seemingly endless hours I’d spent on text-based chat with people in far off places. Stuck underground in some computer lab, (for real,) I’d open a text window and visit some distant friend. It was real-time interaction, but in a restricted medium; Restricted, at the time, because that’s all we had. But still, it was magical to have real-time access to other people. It felt so much more alive than bullentin boards (the online kind), Usenet, and email. Still wondering how to make our team meetings better, I recalled this once-in-a-lifetime experience I had.

It went like this…

A group of friends had all being doing Parkour together for several years. To be clear: We found ourselves doing Parkour together, and wound up a group of friends through countless shared experiences. (Ask me in person and I’ll tell ya’ some stories.) Two of the group eventually got married. The fellow ended up deployed to Afghanistan in a intelligence role with special forces. (I may have the details wrong, sue me.) Suffice it to say: Half a world away from everyone, and while not physically in immenent danger, his day-to-day surroundings drove him to depression. One day he apparently reached the cliff’s edge and in a fit of frustration he sent a message to a dozen-or-so of us, (which included his wife,) with an enormous brain dump of his current state.

He’d sent a Facebook Messenger direct-message—apparently one of the few channels he was permitted. This wall of text arrives in my phone, with a bright and cheery *ding* I suddenly have this giant message from my good friend. I was delighted to hear from him, but all of it was news to me, and frankly none of it was good. Then, two magical things happened:

We promised that we’d do pushups immediately when he wrote to us, if he promised to never miss a day. It had a terrifically witty name—which I’m not sharing because then I’d have to tell you his first name. Every day, around 2pm my time—but it was unpredictable—*ding* and I’d end up doing pushups right in the middle of the super market. Literally. Once I got caught driving, and pulled over to the side of the road to do my pushups, and message back, done! It didn’t take us long before those of us on the dm-list were racing to see who could reply, “done!” first. Our far away friend became a sort of evil pushup assigning drill Sargeant. But there’s a twist. On day one, we all did 1 pushup. On day 2, we did 2. Then 3. Then 4… And yes, we were somewhere above 100 by the end of his deployment. (Spoiler: He returned home safely.) He repeatedly told us that every day he pretty much spent the entire day planning his daily entry in the back of his mind, and day-dreaming about making us all suffer the next number of pushups. Somehow, we small band of merry idiots managed to create a small daily dose of inspiration for our far away friend. (We all got pretty good at pushups too.)

The second piece of magic happened because we were all there for it in real time. We’d each do our pushups—as the numbers got stupid-large, you’d do them in sets and start reporting your reps in real-time. And somehow, the entire thing became performance art. Soon, we were having our friend pick an “animal of the day”, and it had to be different each day. Finished our pushups, we’d try to find and share funny photos, making up our own silly captions. We tried constantly to Rick Roll each other. We did anything we could think of to make our friend, and each other, laugh. Because we were doing this at the end of our friend’s day, he’d eventually “call it” when he was ready for sleep, and we’d all drop off. Years later, we still have in-circle nicknames for each other, and inside jokes that make me giggle even now as I’m typing.

One day, after it was over, I realized how special it had all been. I opened up Messenger on my desktop browser, and I tried to scroll back through the thousands of messages. I wanted to screenshot it all and somehow make a book to give just to those who were involved. But my browser crashed from all the images, animated GIFs, etc before I got even halfway.

Now, back to those weekly meetings I wanted to improve…

Having that story about our far away friend flash through my mind was the spark I needed! In our team meetings, I wanted to capture some of that ephemeral, asynchronous-messaging based, magic. I wanted our cool meeting to somehow also be a little bit performance art that left us with something that others could enjoy, (and even find useful.) My “campfires” ideas was born.

Campfire, marshmallows and conversation! The MM team gets together occasionally in a sort of free-form discussion that’s not quite a chat, and not quite a discussion. It’s a cross between instant chat and performance art.

Each week, as before, we had a completely ephemeral video call. But at the same time, in real time, we would all co-create a long Google Doc. That sounds silly—it is. And it’s hard to do as things move around in the document. But it feels like instant messaging. At the end of the set time, we ended the call, and I simply copy-n-pasted the contents into a Discourse thread.

We eventually stopped doing them as the team shrank. But if you want to see what they were, they’re all still there, in https://forum.moversmindset.com/c/campfires/37 — they still make me smile, and I’m so glad we did them.

What—you might wonder—makes we write all this up now?

I’m bringing back this beloved idea as: Campfires in the Podcaster Community.

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Whimsy

Published July 28, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 28

This is Cathy Forest coming to you live from a big pile of primevial ooze for the running of the classic, Human Race. It’s the top of the Precambrian Era and …

~ The Frantics from, The Human Race – YouTube

It’s 2 minutes and 18 seconds of audio, and is completely G-rated. If it doesn’t make you laugh, there’s something wrong with you. I first heard this in 1986—which, alarmingly, I figured out because someone has put the Doctor Demento Show’s play-lists online. So as I was hunting for this, I first discovered when I’d heard it, which just made me want to hear it that much more. Share the heck out of it, make it go viral and make the world a better place through laughter.

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Iterative

Published July 27, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 27

This is the iterative method of purpose exploration. You try a mini-version of something for a couple weeks. Maybe longer. And keep doing this until you hit on something.

~ Leo Babauta from, A Well Lived Life of Purpose – Zen Habits Website

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What do you think of the common advice, “follow your passion!” (Or sometimes it’s, “follow your bliss!”)

It’s utter crap. If I knew what my passion, (or “bliss”,) was, well no shit! …that would make it easy. The hard part is figuring out what I’m passionate about. The impossible—literally not something you can do in a lifetime—part is figuring out what my one, true passion is.

The advice I find useful is to follow my interests [discovery], find things I’m passionate about [via reflection], and then pursue them [efficacy]. It’s critical that I build in some feedback to reality-check what I’m doing—my commitments to others, my morals, my values—to make sure I’m not off on narcissistic navel navigation. But an interative approach is the best way to live the actual purpose life.

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Alignment with Dafna Gold Melchior

Published July 26, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 26

What role does alignment play in sustaining motivation and purpose when creating a podcast?

Practical insights emerge about overcoming the challenge of balancing self-promotion with authenticity.

The thing that I find most problematic about self-promotion is that it very quickly becomes obnoxious— and I am physically allergic to obnoxious self-promotion.

~ Dafna Gold Melchior (14:12)

The conversation focuses on the importance of alignment when producing creative work, particularly a podcast. Dafna describes her experience of starting a podcast based on practical and professional interests, initially centered on researchers and entrepreneurs. However, she notes how a sense of disconnection emerged when she pivoted to cover remote work during the pandemic. While producing episodes was enjoyable, the content lacked deeper personal resonance, leading to waning motivation. Eventually, she revisited her original theme—working with researchers—and found renewed energy by aligning their podcast’s focus with their expertise and passion.

Another key topic discussed is the challenge of balancing self-promotion with authenticity. Dafna highlights her discomfort with overt self-promotion, stemming from their upbringing and values. She struggles with leveraging her podcast to communicate her professional services without coming across as pushy or self-indulgent. The conversation emphasizes the value of subtly aligning a podcast’s purpose with its creator’s broader goals while maintaining its standalone value for listeners.

Takeaways

Alignment and motivation — Aligning a podcast’s theme with personal expertise can sustain motivation and satisfaction.

Balancing self-promotion — The challenge of self-promotion lies in finding a tone that feels authentic yet effective.

Creative pivoting — Reassessing the original purpose of a creative project can reignite energy and focus.

Avoiding burnout — Choosing a personally meaningful topic can prevent creative projects from becoming a chore.

Podcast structure — Standardized intros, outros, and episode synopses can streamline podcast production.

Listener connection — Audiences value the host’s insights as much as they appreciate the guest’s story.

Resources

Seth Godin’s Podcasting Workshop — A program designed to help individuals learn podcasting through hands-on exercises.

Podcaster Community — A community for independent podcast creators to connect and collaborate.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Pitfalls with Jennifer Myers Chua

Published July 26, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 26

What pitfalls and challenges arise when launching and growing a podcast, and how can they be managed?

Starting a podcast reveals unexpected challenges, even with careful preparation and an existing audience.

I tried really hard. I had a good launch strategy, I thought. I used my existing audience and was giving away gift cards from some of the businesses that I was featuring, as well as a gift card from ours. I asked for people to download and rate and review. I did everything by the book— Marketing 101! But I think I was really just not well versed on how podcasts operate, and how podcast audiences are built.

~ Jennifer Myers Chua (6:07)

The conversation explores the challenges of launching and growing a podcast, particularly the difficulty of converting an engaged social media audience into regular podcast listeners. One significant topic is the expectation versus reality of audience growth, where traditional marketing strategies may not work as expected in the podcasting medium. Despite careful preparation, such as giveaways and surveys, the reality of podcast listenership often requires a mindset shift about success and audience engagement.

Another topic discussed is the value of podcasting as a passion project and a vehicle for meaningful human connection. Jennifer highlights the personal reward of interviewing guests on topics such as sustainability and small businesses, which align with their personal values. She also reflects on balancing creative fulfillment with the challenge of building a listenership. Additionally, the importance of finding community among other podcasters as a support system is emphasized as a way to overcome frustrations and shared struggles.

Takeaways

Existing audiences don’t always convert — Many social media followers may not transition to a podcast listenership.

Podcast growth is harder than expected — Even with a strong launch strategy, podcasting requires unique approaches to audience building.

Passion-driven work sustains motivation — Creating content aligned with personal values offers fulfillment, regardless of metrics.

Mindset shifts are necessary — Success in podcasting may require re-evaluating audience expectations and personal satisfaction.

The value of human connection — Podcasts can provide opportunities for meaningful conversations and relationships.

Metrics can be misleading — The focus on downloads and statistics may detract from the creative purpose of podcasting.

Community provides support — Engaging with other podcasters offers encouragement and shared insights into common challenges.

Content curation matters — Delivering intentional, well-curated content increases the potential for audience connection and impact.

Resources

Hip Mommies — Jennifer’s business focused on sustainable and family-friendly products.

The Cost of Goods Sold Podcast — Jennifer’s podcast highlighting brands with social and environmental impact.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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A mover’s mindset

Published July 26, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 26  ·  

It’s become clear, that somewhen in the last few years, I’ve lost a certain spark— some urge that used to be the initial impetus that got me moving. Out. And about. Moving and playing. It’s probably, simply age.

Efficacy is the power to produce a desired effect. Recognition of your own efficacy means that you have recognized your own potential for continued success and growth. Your choices of actions at this point are not based on concerns about current limits of your ability or understanding. Instead, your choices are guided by what skills, practices, and accomplishments will give you the most enjoyment, make your life better, increase your skills, or broaden your knowledge. Your experience in life changes from asking “What can I do?” to asking “What should I do to make my life the best it can be?”


~ From «https://forum.moversmindset.com/t/discovery-reflection-efficacy/614»

Where once I used to simply begin each day, and sooner or later I’d realize I’m doing something active, now I find that most days were going by without doing something active. I don’t like that trend. I went over everything in my environment and, quite honestly, little has changed—certainly nothing that would have sabotaged my being active. If the problem isn’t without, then it must be within.

And so, I’ve made a small change: What am I doing tomorrow? …then make a plan for that to happen.

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This might get personal

Published July 25, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 25  ·  

these nine principles for interviewing people about tender, personal, tough subjects are tactics that are helpful in any hard conversation. You want to be clear about your objectives for the conversation, to be prepared to listen closely and actively, to prepare the person you are talking to for a different, deeper sort of exchange. You need to respect the dignity of the person you’re talking with, and respect yourself enough to speak up when you disagree.

~ Anna Sale from, Treat an Interview Like a Relationship – Transom

Whether or not you’re doing recorded conversations with guests, there’s a bunch of great advice in that article. I’m particularly drawn to Sale’s point about how her interviews are enabled by the fact that she is creating a relationship with the guest. In any conversation, everything we do either builds up, or tears down, a relationship bit by bit.

In any conversation, it’s my experience that the more intentional I am, the better it goes. Part of that is intentional listening; listening primarily to understand. Another part is being mindful of the other person; deploying empathy and compassion. Another part is keeping sight of where you are headed, and also where it is not possible to get to; knowing what to stretch for and what to let pass is critical.

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Skepticism and cynicism

Published July 24, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 24  ·  

The result of this kind of influence is twofold: one is a skepticism and cynicism towards everything which is said or printed, while the other is a childish belief in anything that a person is told with authority. This combination of cynicism and naïveté is very typical of the modern individual. Its essential result is to discourage him from doing his own thinking and deciding.

~ Erich Fromm from, Erich Fromm on Why It’s Difficult to Think Originally and Critically in the Modern Age | The Art of Manliness

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Philosophical Skepticism, “is a family of philosophical views that question the possibility of knowledge.” (That’s a quote from the Wikipedia entry. If you want to go deeper, try the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s entry for Skepticism.)

As far as I understand it—your mileage may vary—Fromm, in that quote, wasn’t condemning philosophical skepticism. Rather, and I agree, let’s all condemn the little-s-skepticism; the naivete driven, disbelieve everything, skepticism that turns away from anything it doesn’t understand.

I prefer to turn towards just about anything I don’t yet understand. (See: “Oh. That’s interesting…”) I’m am frequently asking myself: “What is true, and how do I know it’s true?”

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Curiosity with Steve McCready

Published July 23, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 23

What role does curiosity play in creating engaging and authentic podcast interviews?

Following the energy in a conversation uncovers insights that even guests don’t anticipate.

One of the things that is very very true for the folks that I work with—the sensitive rebels as I call them—is they often feel isolated. They feel alone. They feel like some weirdo. There’s no one like them. And so when I have guests who have wrestled with some of the same things, who had some of the same struggles, some of the same thoughts, and I put that out there, I’m like ‘No, you’re not alone. Listen to these right here. Here’s all of this.’ It’s such an important thing for them to see.

~ Steve McCready (17:48)

The conversation focuses on the role of curiosity in podcasting and the importance of being present during interviews. Steve explains how curiosity serves as the driving force for exploring meaningful topics with guests. Instead of relying on a long list of prepared questions, the process involves following conversational “energy” and identifying interesting threads to explore further.

The discussion touches on the themes of coaching and podcasting as parallel practices. Both rely on creating space for people to share their stories and identify strengths they may not have recognized. Steve also discusses his perspective on “sensitive rebels,” individuals who often feel isolated but can connect through shared experiences highlighted in podcast conversations. The conversation emphasizes the balance between structure and spontaneity to create authentic and engaging dialogue.

Takeaways

Curiosity as a guiding principle — The process focuses on following what sparks interest or energy during a conversation.

Balancing preparation and presence — Over-preparation can distract from being present and responding intuitively to the guest.

Serving the audience and the guest — The interviews aim to inspire listeners while also highlighting the strengths and stories of the guests.

Energy as a conversational cue — Noticing and following the energy of a guest helps uncover unexpected and meaningful insights.

Coaching and podcasting as parallels — Both practices involve identifying possibilities, connecting dots, and helping people see strengths they may have missed.

The role of isolation and connection — Sensitive individuals often feel alone, and the podcast provides a platform to illustrate shared struggles and connections.

Resources

Steve McCready Coaching

Krista Tippett’s “On Being” — Mentioned as inspiration for thoughtful and reflective opening questions.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Forward. Backward. Preferred. Dis-preferred.

Published July 22, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 22  ·  

Like any good algebraist, he is made to think sometimes in a forward fashion and sometimes in reverse; and so he learns when to concentrate mostly on what he wants to happen and also when to concentrate mostly on avoiding what he does not want to happen.

~ Charlie Munger from, Stop Crashing Planes: Charlie Munger’s Six-Element System

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That item from a list of six elements, originally from the best pilot education program in existence, made me realize there’s this thing that I do. For me it’s such an intuitive, automatic thing, but it occurs to me to share it to make it explicit.

Let’s begin by thinking about planning and learning. (I’m done. You are now thinking about planning and learning. :) Next, we’ll trot out three magnificently useful, relative adverbs: how, when and why. Six sublime questions instantly appear:

How do I plan?
When do I plan?
Why do I plan?
How do I learn?
When do I learn?
Why do I learn?

I’ve certainly spent a lot of time thinking about those questions. For example, I’ve a bunch of blog posts about knowledge systems that came from thinking about, “how do I learn?” I could spend all my time thinking about those six questions. Exploring those questions, understanding myself, and learning in general, are fine projects to spend time on. But it’s tough to get started. Each of those questions is a deep, Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole.

What I want to share is how to use a different framework to flip the entire process over. I want to share my way of making progress on those fine projects without intentionally working on them. Things happen. Thoughts arise. (Your experience may be similar to mine?) The following framework will take anything—happenings or thoughts—and guide it into being deep work on those six questions.

Simply ask:

Forward or backward in time: Is the event in the future or past? Am I thinking about the future or past?

And…

Prefer or dis-prefer: Do I prefer or dis-prefer the event? Do I prefer or dis-prefer what I’m thinking?

For me, the act of examining something—an event, a thought—in the light of those questions, (forward/backward? preferred/dis-preferred?,) leads me to learning about one, and sometimes several, of those six, big questions.

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No too hot. Not too cold.

Published July 21, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 21

Self-motivated, self-starting individuals are incredibly motivated to find their weaknesses. It’s not far-fetched to say that some of us actually seek to make ourselves perfect — rational, calculating beings making the right type of decisions at just the right times. But we’ve learned from Star Trek; we don’t look to eliminate emotion either and turn ourselves into Mr. Spock. We want just the right amount of emotion in our lives.

~ Shane Parrish from, Tiny Gains. Massive Results.

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Here’s the two-pronged approach which has been working for me:

First, I remind myself to resist my innate urge to make things worse. Don’t add energy to emotions themselves, nor to things which cause emotions. Emotions are real. We are emotional beings. Emotions get their due. And no more. If things are going badly: relax, they won’t last. If things are going well: relax, they won’t last.

Second, I take note of—literally in my journal—things which cause me to be emotional. It turns out that sometimes I can simply eliminate chronic causes. My goal isn’t to remove all the causes; That’d be a stoopid plan. But sometimes a pain in my foot is simply caused by a stone in my shoe, and is easily removed.

Those could be summarized as, “reminding myself, and taking note.” Those two things are always possible, and always easy. The hard part is remembering to do them. But if I simply—as in: gently, and with self-kindness—do those two things when I do remember, they slowly become habitual. I can’t say I even understand what, “…just right,” would be. But I know for sure what, “just right,” is not.

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Community with Tania Marien

Published July 19, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 19

How can community spaces be designed to encourage meaningful engagement and participation rather than passive consumption?

Creating active engagement within a community proves to be far more challenging than simply gathering members.

With the community, I am trying to encourage conversation among independent professionals in the field. Not everyone identifies as an environmental educator yet. There are many people out there who, through their work, connect people with the outdoors. I am trying to connect them and have conversation, and to generate conversation between all of them.

~ Tania Marien (1:10)

The conversation focuses on the challenges of building active, engaged communities, particularly in the context of independent professionals working in environmental education. It highlights the difficulty of moving from asynchronous communication to synchronous, real-time interactions. Efforts to encourage participation often reveal a gap between people who self-identify with a community and those who actively interact within it.

One key theme is the importance of modeling desired behavior to inspire participation. When spaces are provided, such as structured co-working sessions or live interactive events, participants are more likely to engage, yet this still requires intentional facilitation. The discussion also touches on how modern habits shaped by social media influence passive consumption, making it harder to foster real conversation and collaboration.

Takeaways

Encouraging engagement — Communities often face the challenge of members identifying with the group but choosing not to interact.

Asynchronous vs. synchronous spaces — Real-time interactions tend to foster deeper engagement compared to asynchronous platforms.

Modeling behavior — Actively demonstrating desired participation helps inspire others to follow suit.

Environmental educators’ traits — Professionals in this field may sometimes lean toward introversion, complicating efforts to create interactive spaces.

Structured events — Hosting well-defined, collaborative experiences like co-working sessions encourages participation.

Social media habits — Passive consumption of content has become the norm, influencing how people approach online community spaces.

Clear communication — Defining terms like co-working and being overt about goals helps avoid misinterpretation of intentions.

Resources

Talaterra — Tania’s project focused on environmental education and community-building.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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You had me at ‘bacon’

Published July 19, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 19  ·  

One of the central conceits of the “man’s natural state” argument is that if we go back to some point in time, we’ll find it. We’ll finally come across the state of being where man lived totally in harmony with each other and with nature; eating the perfect diet for health, worshipping the correct gods, having sex in the natural and acceptable way. And besides studying religious texts, the tool that’s most frequently employed is the study of ancient, “pre-historic” man and woman. We hope that, by going back far enough, we’ll hit some arbitrary Point of Naturalness. That’s partially the approach used, for example, by the Paleo movement which has become such a popular force in nutrition. We evolved to eat bacon, right?

~ Shane Parrish from, The False Allure of a “Natural State” of Man

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I have avoided—I’ve no idea how—the rabbit hole of, “what is natural [for a human being’s flourishing]?” I have limited time, (I suggest doublechecking, as yours may also be limited,) and I’m really only interested in, “what is best for this human being’s flourishing?” I don’t care if we evolved to eat bacon. I do care how I feel after I eat bacon. …after I eat different types of bacon. …after I consider the monetary cost of buying bacon. …after I assess the environmental cost/footprint of eating bacon. …after I assess the societal aspects of bacon.

Sorry. All this talk of bacon. I lost my train of thought. Oh, right—

For a short span of several decades, I have complete control over my thoughts. At no time do I have absolute control over anything beyond my thoughts. (I have pretty reliable control over many things—movement of my hands for example. But even that control is not absolute. See: Disease, accidents, etc. At any moment, my preferences related to all the things beyond my thoughts, can easily be frustrated.) So the only thing that makes sense is to discover, reflect and then exercise what efficacy I have at any give moment: What do I know? How do I know it? What decision should I make now/today, given what I know? How would I find where my unknown unknowns are?

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Free time?

Published July 18, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 18

In his free time, …

~ Shane Parrish, from What Can We Learn From the Prolific Mr. Asimov?

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I mean, I knew Asimov wrote a lot. But it turns out I had no clue how much. I’ve read a bunch of his science fiction back in the day, but I’ve never read any of his other writings, and there’s no way I ever will. And really, that’s ok. Because trying to be a “completist” leads to a lot of wasted time. Instead, a little of this, some of that, a dash of variety, and some spice of life. Festina lente.

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Coaching with Anne Roche

Published July 16, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 16

How can coaching principles be effectively applied to various contexts like workshops, podcasting, and personal growth?

The intersection of structure and personal exploration reshapes the concept of teaching in workshops.

Life coaching is not about mentoring or consulting. It’s not telling people, ‘This is how you should live your life.’ It’s really about discovery and exploration and holding space for a client to do that.

~ Anne Roche (1:59)

The conversation examines the nuances of coaching, podcasting, and the interplay between them. Coaching is described as a practice rooted in discovery and holding space for exploration. Unlike mentoring or consulting, it focuses on fostering self-awareness and guiding clients toward their own answers. The unique challenges and rewards of coaching in structured environments like workshops are explored, highlighting how these spaces balance process-driven guidance with personal growth opportunities.

Podcasting emerges as another realm where coaching principles apply, particularly in creating space for meaningful dialogue. The importance of silence, transparency, and the host’s ability to manage ego are discussed as vital to both coaching and podcasting. The conversation also touches on the balance between offering direct advice and enabling self-discovery, recognizing that both approaches are necessary in different contexts.

Takeaways

Transparency as a coaching tool — Being clear about intentions and actions helps clients and students understand the process.

Balancing guidance with self-discovery — Coaching requires creating space for others to uncover their own solutions rather than providing all the answers.

The role of silence — Silence is highlighted as a powerful tool in both coaching and personal growth contexts.

Ego in hosting and coaching — Managing one’s ego is essential for fostering authentic interactions in coaching and podcasting.

Themes in coaching — While challenges often repeat, the individual approaches to these themes keep the work fresh and engaging.

The dual nature of podcasting — Podcasting involves holding space for guests while simultaneously managing technical and conversational structures.

Workshops as self-discovery platforms — Structured environments like workshops encourage both external skill-building and internal reflection.

Resources

Anne Roach’s on LinkedIn

Story Skills Workshop — A workshop designed to help participants refine storytelling skills within a structured environment.

Podcaster Workshop — A course aimed at guiding participants through the process of starting and sustaining a podcast.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Cole’s law

Published July 16, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 16  ·  

Hofstadter’s Law – “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”

~ “rogersbacon” from, Eponymous Laws Part 3: Miscellaneous — LessWrong

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It’s part 3, and it is a nifty collection of serious and whimsical laws. However, I doubt that Stigler is the originator of Stigler’s Law. Sometimes the only reason I write this stuff is to see if I can entice you to go read the thing to which I’ve linked.

But more often I do have a point. I’m wondering, in this case, how much of our urge to create, and our delight in such pithy Laws as Dilbert’s, comes simply from our mind’s desire to find patterns. There are a slew of cognitive biases, (confirmation bias springs to mind as fitting the pattern of my example,) which feel like they arise from pattern matching gone overly Pac Man.

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Speaking of Pac Man

Published July 15, 2021  ·  All posts on Jul 15

When Pac-Man needs a break from his endless cycle of hunger and pain, there is a simple trick he can use. When a new level starts, move Pac-Man one space to the right and three spaces up, then stop; the ghosts will leave him alone for about fifteen minutes or so. So when you’re feeling like life is completely hopeless (and it is), find yourself a cozy little corner to cry in. I can’t guarantee that your demons will leave you alone for at least fifteen minutes, but you’ll feel a lot better regardless.

~ Syd Lexia from, Pac-Man: An Accurate Simulation of Your Meaningless Life

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Turns out… Pac Man is an accurate simulation of your meaningless life.

My dad and I dropped bajillions of quarters into cabinet games back in the day. I can still vocalize Pac Man’s little jingle… bloo-dee doo-dee doodle-eedle doodle-eedle doo! wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka wa ka bee-ooh ee-oo ee-oo ee-oo ee-oo oop!

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