If I stick with it, however, my mind eventually downshifts — quieting the noisy neuronal clamoring for easy entertainment, and leaving instead an unencumbered attention of a type that I often seek in my work.
Once or thrice I’ve heard a baseball game on the radio. This would have been back in the 80’s when with some neighborhood friends—brothers, whose father was a plumber—we’d occasionally ride to a baseball game. The kind of game where we were playing as kids; semi-organized little league games at random churches’ baseball fields scattered around the Pennsylvania rolling hills. A homerun into left-field was in the graveyard and into right-field was in the corn field. I can’t convey in writing what it sounded like riding in the truck with the radio on; some combination of a monotonous announcer with a touch of crowd noise, a big ‘ol truck engine—this was the plumbing truck full of plumbing supplies in the back—a 5-speed manual floor shift and 3 rowdy kids with the windows rolled down and the smell of fields and manure and baseball gloves.
I think I had something else to say about baseball and focus when I started typing. But I forget what it was.
The secret to life, of course, is to first get away from it all, then grab that kayak. Because wherever I go, there I find myself. The things that one wants to “get away from” are all things over which you exclusively have control. That stack of papers that should be filed… This mountain of debt… That broken air conditioning… Even really hard things like mortgages, needy pets, frenemies, toxic family members… you are in control of how you act and how you assess those things.
Have you truly and honestly examined the things in your life which are weighing on your mind?
You have? Great! That’s the easy part.
The hard part? Let go. Toss things out of your life. Realize the hearse has no luggage rack. 15,000 years from now nothing you did or worried about will matter at all. You have exactly this one lifetime. Apprehend why each thing is in your life and appreciate it, right now. Build things up. Help people. Create. …we humans are creatures meant for social interaction, of course. But no regrets. No could’a should’a would’a.
How do the roles of teacher, coach, instructor, and leader differ, and how can understanding these distinctions enhance one’s effectiveness as an educator?
Understanding how intention, communication, perception, and interaction influence education can transform how we engage with students.
Besides just looking at the titles of teacher, coach, leader, instructor— we also started to define some really important words like intention, communication, interaction, and perception. Those were the four words that I really felt like I wanted to highlight this time.
~ Niko Pal (8:08)
The conversation explores the nuanced distinctions between different roles in education, particularly teacher, coach, instructor, and leader. A significant portion highlights how these roles overlap and how educators often embody multiple identities depending on the context. The discussion emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and reflection when choosing how to engage with students.
Another key focus is on the core concepts of intention, communication, interaction, and perception. These elements shape how educators approach their work and influence their effectiveness. The conversation also touches on how the unique environment of the retreat fosters open dialogue, mutual learning, and the sharing of perspectives that challenge assumptions and lead to personal growth.
Takeaways
Intention — Having clear, purposeful goals drives the effectiveness of educators in guiding their students.
Communication — Open, honest exchanges between educators and students are vital for growth and alignment.
Interaction — Body language, tone, and presence play a significant role in shaping how messages are received and interpreted.
Perception — Understanding how others see you and how you see them is essential for effective coaching and leadership.
Role Definitions — Differentiating between teacher, coach, instructor, and leader helps clarify educational approaches and goals.
Student-Centered Approach — Effective educators prioritize the needs and interests of their students rather than projecting their desires.
Retreat Value — Participating in collaborative environments like the retreat enhances professional and personal development.
Resources
Forge Parkour — Gym in Portland, Oregon where Nikko Pal coaches.
Art of Retreat — Annual Parkour leadership and education retreat.
At no point am I at a loss for something to write. Instead, I’m at a loss to decide what is worth sharing. This is true for this web site, conversations I have with podcast guests, and my personal journal. The way I sort out whether something is worth sharing is to think about who is it for. I read my personal journals in an ongoing way—each morning, (give or take,) I read that day’s entry from various numbers of years ago. So in my journaling I know that capturing my struggles and frustrations will serve me well; 9 years later, I read those entries and am relieved to see how that story turned out.
Other things—this web site, the podcast conversations—are not meant primarily for me. And so with pieces like this I try to have a point. Today it’s: Language, writing, conversation, reading, etc. are tools. As with any tool, it’s the intention of the user which matters most. You can break things or build things up using any tool you care to consider.
But first you have to ask yourself are you using your tools intentionally?
That’s just a screenshot from a system which is able to do oneboxing. The magic is that when editing, (wherever you are editing,) you simply paste in a raw URL and the oneboxing is done automatically by the system.
What wizardry is this?
It’s based on the Open Graph Protocol (OG). Facebook started this as a way to get sites on the open web to provide software-understandable, summary information. It took off everywhere because it’s just downright awesome.
A web site includes information stuffed out of sight, in the source HTML of the page. Software can fetch the URL, notice the OG information and craft a meaningful summary. This grew into the idea of presenting a single box summary—”one boxing”—of a URL if it has OG information.
Testing it
When something doesn’t onebox as you expect, how would you figure out which end has the problem? (Was it the end serving the URL content that doesn’t have OG data? Or is the end fetching the URL that couldn’t parse the OG data?) So someone wrote a handy tool that lets you see what (if any) OG data there is at any URL you want to type in:
Happiness isn’t something that is deserved or earned from something outside yourself. Happiness is created within yourself. And it’s created by the simple and constant choice to accept what is. To look at the pain in the face and not blink. To confront one’s fears and struggles and embrace them rather than fight them.
Manson has written a number of articles that feel like the fist from the adage: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” (~ Mike Tyson)
So, don’t feel bad about procrastinating when you need to write—humanity put the whole thing off for a couple hundred thousand years! By a conservative estimate, we’ve had writing for about 4% of the time we’ve been human. Chatting is easy; writing is an arduous chore.
The more time I spend texting—in all its various forms—the more I’m growing to understand the allure of the mode of communication. I’m a digital immigrant, born far enough before cellular, wifi and the Internet in general… or at least the publicly accessible one. Anyway. As an immigrant, I’ve always found the written form—email, forum, message boards, etc.—the easy form of communication, and the ephemeral “texting” the more challenging. Like anything else I suppose, the more you use it, the more you become accustomed to it. I’d say I’m a solid C+ at texting these days. The digital natives can spot me in 10 seconds. But I’ve learned to appreciate the medium.
After reading this piece from Hall, I’m shifting my opinion: I used to think it was, in descending utility, spoken word, written word, and then texting. But now I’m thinking texting slots in as better than the static written word precisely because it’s a form of two-way communication. When I write… *ahem* I get to spend all the time I want, preparing this salvo of characters to be launched at you. *tap* *tap* Hello? Is this on? …yes? Okay, now I can broadcast at you on and on and on and on and on until your eyes glass over and you stop reading. On the other hand, texting requires me to interact with you, not quite in real time, but it’s an interactive conversation.
Saying that taste is just personal preference is a good way to prevent disputes. The trouble is, it’s not true. You feel this when you start to design things.
I’m not certain about “good” taste. I’m not convinced that there’s an objectively good measure of, well, good taste. I think too much of what some would say is “good,” is actually rooted in the current culture.
But I feel comfortable saying that there is such a thing as bad taste. There are clear reasons, for which one can present a clear case, why things are gauche. There’re clear situations and choices that are in bad taste. Mind you, I can readily imagine art which is intentionally in bad taste; that’s a good thing because art’s purpose is (sometimes) to push the envelope or to change society and culture. But in general, bad taste exists.
How can a growing gym effectively hire, train, retain, and manage staff to sustain long-term success and positive culture?
Developing a team culture strong enough to survive rapid growth requires meticulous planning and personal leadership.
[L]ead by example. Right? So that’s number one. I cannot ask somebody on my staff to do something that I’m not willing to do.
~ Justin Taylor (8:18)
The conversation covers the journey of expanding a gym business from a small operation into multiple locations with large staff. Topics include managing rapid growth, hiring processes, and establishing standard operating procedures to ensure consistency.
Cultural development is emphasized as key to long-term staff retention and gym atmosphere. The importance of leading by example and fostering a sense of community within the staff is highlighted. Personal experiences with hiring missteps and lessons from managing team dynamics illustrate the complexities of gym leadership.
Takeaways
Hiring process — A structured hiring process with standardized steps is essential to avoid legal issues and ensure consistent results.
Staff retention — Retaining staff requires creating a positive culture and treating employees as part of a community or family.
Cultural leadership — Leaders must lead by example, modeling the behavior they expect from their staff.
Scaling challenges — Rapid expansion introduces difficulties in maintaining organizational culture, requiring careful management and strategic onboarding.
Training systems — Developing standard operating procedures helps ensure new staff are trained consistently and effectively.
Personal responsibility — Business owners are ultimately responsible for the livelihood and well-being of their staff, reinforcing the need for careful leadership decisions.
Resources
Parkour Professor — A resource created by Justin Taylor offering mentorship and resources for gym owners.
Yes, I do spend a lot of time chasing white rabbits down rabbit holes.
I cannot tell if that’s because diversity of experience and exploration is central to what it means to flourish as a human being, or if I’m simply the type of person for which that is true. Which case it is doesn’t really matter since I can only deeply relate to my personal experience of being. (Recall, I’m not trying to accomplish ‘change the world’ with this blog; Rather, I’m working on self-reflection here.)
Today, an example of a rabbit hole: I have a way of reading entire web sites, one page at a time—software that keeps track of an entire web site and feeds me “the next thing” to read each day. (Aside: If you want to pay to make this a commercial product, let me know.) Today a post from some author (I’m ommiting names) came up that referenced another author’s book which quotes Michelangelo… and it only took me a few minutes to dig around the internet to figure out the quote is correct (albeit translated from Italian) and the original source is in the British Museum. Note to self: See if I can find it next time I’m there. Along the way I found a few interesting things which I shared with some friends. Along the way I learned several new things.
As I elaborated in last week’s episode of my podcast, Neil Postman argues that it was the introduction of mass-produced longform writing that really unleashed human potential — ushering in the modes of critical, analytical understanding that birthed both the enlightenment and the scientific revolution, the foundations of modernity. It allowed us to efficiently capture complex thought in all its nuance, then build on it, layer after layer, nudging forward human intellectual endeavor.
I’ve often ranted against lack of attention-span, and wasted time. But Newport, and in particular some things he’s quoting and talking about from another article, make the point that all of human history is encoded in written form. Why is that so? Because it works, and it works really well.
There is a place for visual and auditory information, of course. Those tools of communication are power tools compared to writing—well, almost all writing. As I’ve said many times here though: One can have the power tools after demonstrating mastery with the manual hand-tools.
I wish I had learned much sooner the idea that distractions aren’t just wasting the time spent on the distraction, but are in fact decreasing the value of the time I do try to spend on anything focused and productive. Alas, it took me decades of experimenting to deeply understand it for myself before I could truly learn the lesson. Manson’s article is, as usual, irreverent and explicit—but it has some terrific points in it about how to go about crafting an attention “diet” to take back your mind.
My mind does need a lot of down-time and relaxation. But none of that looks like distraction. I deeply love sitting down to some great science-fiction movie with popcorn. I also deeply love me some burly physical work where my mind can press the “body: do things” button and then wander out of the control room for a snooze on the terrace. (I imagine Homer Simpson’s sipping-bird left in the control room; but mine’s pressing the, “continue hard labor,” button rather than his nuclear reactor alarm reset.)
Within the team that creates the Movers Mindset podcast, we assign numbers to our projects. We use “R42” for our 42nd recording project, then R43, and so on. This enables us to start naming things from day one, in a way that we don’t have to change later. If you’re putting your files in a folder, what would you name it, that you could be sure wouldn’t change?
We also use our podcast’s initials on file names, “MM.” When we see files whose name contains, MM-R42… we know what it belongs too. It’s part of the Recording-42 project for Movers Mindset.
We also exclusively use people’s family names on files. So a raw WAV file from an interview is 20200423-MM-SMITH-TR1.wav … April 23, 2020 recording for Movers Mindset, of someone named “Smith”, and this is track one [a recording from one microphone.] 20200423-MM-SMITH-TR2.wav is track two, and so on. No matter where you toss that file, it’s going to make sense.
Eventually, a recording project might lead to one (or more!) episodes of our podcast. They get assigned episode numbers, EP56, EP57, etc. Then we have filenames like MM-EP57… and it’s always clear what that is.
Sometimes we have a dozen files to keep track of in a podcast episode and we end up with 20200423-MM-SMITH-TR1.wav 20200423-MM-SMITH-TR2.wav MM-EP56-INTRO.wav (introduction recorded after interview) MM-EP56-OUTRO.wav (outro recorded in post production) MM-GCORD.wav (a little music ‘button’ used when joining bits of interview) …the final episode is then MM-EP56-SMITH.mp3
Since I’ve typed this much, here’s another thing we do: We use consistently numbered folders to store the files. Every project has a folder, 2020.04.23 Bob Smith R42/EP56 — we create 2020.04.23 Bob Smith R42 in our archives when we do the raw recording, and at the very end we add the /EP56 to make it easier to find things. In side each project we create five folders 1 assets, 2 recording, 3 episode, 4 publication, and 5 social — the leading number ensure they sort in nice order in various displays. 1 contains anything the guest gives us (photos, writing) or any photos we take during recording. 2 is the raw original recordings, 3 is everything to make a podcast episode (intro, outro, whatever we have to assemble, AND the finished MP3), 4 is anything we create as part of publishing the episode (transcript, articles, highlights ) and 5 is anything that’s ok for social media and sharing. And then we have a multi-terabyte file server with a “few” files on it:
Ever since I first read these words, they stuck with me as useful for understanding the working world in particular. The whole edifice that we now call “productivity advice” distills, I realized, to instructions for cajoling the elephant. If you’re not firm, it’ll do what it wants to do.
Plan? Do? Chaos? I get so swept up in systems that sometimes I just bridle and rebel. I think the problem comes up when I have too many systems that don’t have an end goal. My systems are supposed to make the space for me to get real things done. But if all I have is ongoing systems of the busy-work that’s supposed to make space, then I rebel. Because I also need real projects. I want to spend as much of my time as possible getting real things done. Real things for which I have real reasons for wanting to do them. And those real things require real planning.
Generally, I don’t have a problem with over-planning; I can do a tremendous amount of planning, but experience shows that I always do better if I resist the urge to begin… start now! Take action! It’s always better if I resist action, instead doing a brain-dump session and then setting the whole thing aside. When I return later, more ideas flow and more planning ensues. Maybe a third session. Maybe even a fourth.
Meanwhile, the elephant dozes as I plan surreptitiously.
Ever notice that the “doze” in bulldozer is the exact opposite of the elephant’s? Eventually, the planning reveals a beautiful domino setup, and it’s time to awaken the elephant who easily bulldozes them one by one.
How can Parkour business owners use financial data to better understand and grow their businesses?
Many business owners are unaware of their financial health until they see the gaps in their numbers.
Businesses want to be successful, but you don’t know what success is, if you didn’t set some kind of goal in the first place.
~ Adam McClellan (7:31)
The conversation focuses on the importance of understanding and tracking financial data for running and growing a Parkour business. It emphasizes that many business owners overlook key financial indicators, which leads to uncertainty and poor decision-making. A major theme is that budgeting, like the rules of a game, provides structure and clarity, enabling better goal-setting and resource allocation.
The discussion explores practical steps such as tracking income and expenses, creating performance indicators, and comparing data year-over-year to identify trends. The value of making assumptions, trusting them, and consistently testing them against actual data is highlighted as essential for success. The conversation also underscores the psychological benefit of financial clarity, helping owners make confident decisions about hiring, marketing, and expanding.
Takeaways
Budgeting as structure — A budget is necessary to define goals and measure progress in business.
Tracking key indicators — Key performance indicators help measure and improve critical business processes.
Assumptions in decision-making — Assumptions, when tracked and adjusted regularly, are essential for planning.
Growth as a challenge — Businesses should set achievable but slightly challenging growth goals to stay competitive.
Confidence through clarity — Knowing financial numbers provides confidence when making hiring and expansion decisions.
Empty space for growth — Unstructured time at events can lead to organic, valuable connections and ideas.
The full definition of leadership that Badaracco gradually unfolds through literature in the course is: “Leadership is a struggle by flawed human beings to make some important human values real and effective in the world as it is.”
I’ve mentioned bias to action previously, but I don’t recall having every connected it to one of Machiavelli’s best-known quotes, that fortune favors the bold. (Click through for more context.) Here I’m struck by Badaracco’s choice of, “effective,” as a critical feature of leadership. Certainly without action, there can be no efficacy. (And, yes, using my words totally counts as action, thank you.) Leaders are by definition out in front. That means acting first, and that presumes being capable of acting. If my bias is towards inaction, (gather more data, think about it more, however you want to mince those words,) I cannot be a good leader.
How can diverse physical practices and creative disciplines inform and enhance each other to foster personal growth and adaptability?
Any mind hell-bent on problem solving inevitably seeks challenge. Thea Rae discusses many things, including her movement background, coding, and stunt work. She unpacks the connections between her art, movement, aerial circus, and programming. Thea explains her varied interests: stunts, circus, cycling, climbing, and ice skating, and why cross training is so important to her practice.
Movement is also a language to me. Just as much as we can communicate with words, we can also communicate with our bodies and we can say so much.
~ Thea Rae
Thea Rae discusses her multifaceted journey through movement arts, creative technology, and life, emphasizing the significance of cross-training in her personal and professional development. She reflects on how disciplines like gymnastics, aerial arts, and ice skating have shaped her understanding of physicality and creativity. Her experience with rock climbing has also been pivotal in teaching her how to remain calm and adapt to challenging situations.
In addition to physical movement, Thea digs into her artistic pursuits, including kinetic sculpture and interactive installations. She explains the parallels between her programming and movement practices, highlighting the problem-solving mindset that underpins both. Throughout, she underscores the value of viewing movement as a language and a means of communication, shaping her approach to teaching, performing, and everyday life.
Takeaways
Movement as a language — Physical movement can communicate as much as words, offering nuanced expressions of thought and emotion.
Cross-training benefits — Engaging in varied physical practices enriches skills across disciplines and fosters adaptability.
The interplay of art and movement — Artistic and physical pursuits inform and enhance each other, creating a holistic creative process.
Resilience through rock climbing — Climbing teaches problem-solving, calmness, and persistence in the face of physical challenges.
Ice skating’s impact — Ice skating has improved Thea’s balance, core stability, and understanding of subtle movements.
Rehab and pre-hab importance — Maintaining physical health requires intentional rehabilitation and preventative exercises to stay active.
Creative problem-solving — Both programming and movement rely on structured thinking and the ability to adapt to complex situations.
It’s important to be aware of our own crystallizing experiences and how they affected us. I’m curious about what crystalizing experiences you’ve had, and I’m thinking beyond just moments, to books, people, videos, discussions, whatever left an impact. What stuck with you and changed the way you thought about things? This could be in any area of your life: work, learning, movement, writing, any hobby. What was the experience, and how did it change your practice?
The Movers Mindset team has an internal project management system. (Basecamp.com in case you’re still mysteriously using something dysfunctional, like Slack, to run your team.) Each week, in a sort of loose rotation, we take turns kicking off some discussion by posting something—anything, whatever interests us when it’s our turn.
I’ve been coming back to this post from Melissa for nearly two weeks, trying to figure out where to start on a reply. Each time I start thinking, my mind wanders down a seemingly endless sequence of formative experiences; I can’t even begin to list them as they’d sound like an intolerable bragging-list. There are some unbelievable experiences ranging from, “been there,” to “done that,” and careening between, “literally cheated death,” and “hfsyesagainplease.”
Instead of trying to pick just one, tell the story, and pull out how the experience changed me, I’m going to ask, and attempt to answer, a meta question: Is life a journey of becoming, or simply a journey?
If it’s the former, then I should be paying attention for—perhaps even actively seeking—crystallizing experiences my entire life. I should be continuously repeating the process of asking myself what I should change or improve next, and then seeking out the experiences or knowledge to achieve that change. But having bashed myself on that cold anvil, incessantly seeking change and improvement, I’m now convinced that it’s the later.
There is a Clock ringing deep inside a mountain. It is a huge Clock, hundreds of feet tall, designed to tick for 10,000 years. Every once in a while the bells of this buried Clock play a melody. Each time the chimes ring, it’s a melody the Clock has never played before. The Clock’s chimes have been programmed to not repeat themselves for 10,000 years.
The Long Now Foundation was started in 01996. They always include the leading zero in years as just another subtle way to get one to think long-term. I can’t say for sure that I’ve been following them since they started, but it’s got to be darn close. I will be going to Texas, (and to Nevada if I live long enough to see the second clock built,) to visit.
The 10,000-year clock is just one project. Grab your favorite beverage, put your phone on do-not-disturb and go spend an hour or so reading what the Long Now Foundation is up to.
There is no question that apps are here to stay, and are a superior interaction model for some uses. But the web is like water: it fills in all the gaps between things like gaming and social with exactly what any one particular user wants. And while we all might have a use for Facebook – simply because everyone is there – we all have different things that interest us when it comes to reading.
That’s from 2014, and holds up pretty well I think. That the web, “fills in all the gaps,” is insightful. Sure, the technology that defines “the Web” drives an enormous amount of stuff other than written content. But even just the smaller portion that is the written word is a huge swath of time and attention. That speaks well for us in the aggregate.
I still believe that the problem, currently, is simply that people rarely bother to figure out how things actually work. People don’t tinker and change things. Once someone gets the bug of curiosity, it’s a slippery slope from poking and prodding, to tinkering and experimenting, to building and creating; It’s a slippery slope lined entirely with reading.
