“Don’t you find it odd,” she continued, “that when you’re a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you’re older, somehow they act offended if you even try.”
~ Ethan Hawke
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Dreams →
Two things →
This sudden loss has gotten me to face my own death this week. I know it is coming, just not when. I rarely think about it, because life is so in-my-face, but it’s there, waiting. Tyler’s death is such a stark reminder that we never know how much time we have left.
~ Leo Babauta from, The Tragedy & Liberation of Death
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There are exactly two things about my life of which I am certain. I was born, and I will die. I spend a lot of time contemplating my end; Not in a fatalistic, “come at me bro’!” way, but rather with the intention of reminding myself to make the most out of every moment.
There are many moments where I’m unconscious—quite a few of those moments are while I’m sleeping, but also there are mindless moments aplenty throughout my days. But there are increasingly more mindful moments every day.
An extremely fast way to get to mindfulness—this is the fastest way I’ve found so far—is to think: This may well be the last time I do this. The last walk. The last boulder I scramble upon. The last conversation with this person. The last conversation ever. The last word I type. The last sentence I jauntily scribble with a pen. The last time I drive a car. The last time I ride a bicycle. The last time I wrench my back shoveling snow. The last time something scares the crap out of me. The last time I laugh until I lose control of my bladder. The last time I’m stuck as part of the traffic. The last time I’m part of the solution. The last time I’m the source of the problem. The last time I smash the hell out of my toe on something.
In every one of those cases, I can now enjoy it… if I can manage to remember: This could be the last time I get to experience this.
I’ve even decided that if I can manage it, my last words will be: “Well, if that wasn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” (And just maybe with a literal hat tip to Vonnegut.)
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Entering this moment →
To be in any kind of balance state, especially if it’s new is incredibly valuable to bring you into this moment, because the moment is in constant change. That’s why we call it infinite, right? You can’t grab hold of it and then be there. The second you’re there, it’s gone and you’re in the next one, and that’s this awake kind of living. Balance is the fastest way to enter into that space.
~ Thomas Droge
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Salutary →
The Victorian love letter and the text message, the memoir and the Instagram selfie — they are all fragments of self-expression frozen in time, expressing a self fragmentary and discontinuous across the sweep of a life, fragments that can never reconstitute for posterity a complete and cohesive portrait of a person, because to be a person is to be perpetually contradictory and incomplete.
~ Maria Popova from, Bridging the Island Universes of Our Experience
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Today was a good day. Any day wherein I stumble upon a word I do not know is a good day. I think it’s just right as rain that Huxley would be the source of the “salutary” which caused me to reach for my dictionary. (If it’s also new to you, I’ll give you a hint: It has nothing to do with “salutation,” as I had presumed.)
In addition to the unexpectedly salutary new word—a second hint—I was pleasantly held up in my light reading by Popova’s sentiment. I’m certainly not going to truly understand someone in one brief conversation. But I am definitely better off for each of those experiences spending time visiting another island universe. (That’s one of Huxley’s metaphors. Click thru already!)
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Connecting through movement →
Even, a lot of times, those people who you’re not connecting with on a conversational level, you start moving together though— And you find a very deep connection. And now you’re moving in their world or they’re moving in yours, or whatever it is, but you found this other way to connect with somebody that you would have never known if you just worked with them or whatever the case may be.
~ Jonny Hart
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Impact with Sanat Singhal →
What drives the creation and evolution of a podcast that inspires and educates young entrepreneurs?
The discussion highlights the role of curiosity and intentional storytelling in podcasting.
I realized I wanted to spend more time actually researching before the interview, and not just try to churn them out. But really try to find the best— find the most useful bits from, people’s story and insights, and go deep.
~ Sanat Singhal (13:17)
The conversation goes into the evolving journey of podcasting, focusing on creating meaningful, impactful content. The challenges of guest selection, maintaining enthusiasm, and crafting episodes that inspire and educate are central themes. Sanat shares insights on transitioning from broad topics to a narrower, more intentional focus to better serve an audience of young entrepreneurs. He also emphasize the importance of preparation, storytelling, and personal curiosity in driving engaging conversations.
The discussion reflects on the value of podcasts in fostering connections, such as listeners engaging with guests or guests connecting with one another. It also explores the personal growth experienced by the podcaster, who recognizes the need to shift from mechanical production to more deeply intentional creation. Themes of inspiration, impact, and curiosity are woven throughout, highlighting the transformative potential of podcasts.
Takeaways
The power of storytelling — Sharing personal journeys can inspire and motivate others.
Intentional focus — Narrowing the scope of a podcast can lead to more impactful content.
Curiosity as a driver — Following personal curiosity often leads to the most engaging discussions.
Preparation is key — Deep research enhances the quality and depth of interviews.
Fostering connections — Podcasts can create unexpected relationships and collaborations.
Balancing entertainment and education — An engaging delivery ensures listeners stay connected to the message.
Refining personal values — A clear understanding of impact can shape content direction.
The privilege of podcasting — Hosting allows sharing diverse perspectives with a broader audience.
Resources
Twenty First Century Visionary — Sanat’s podcast
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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Pain versus suffering →
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, “man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore.” The “hurt” part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.
~ Haruki Murakami
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Dissonance for the win →
The same way having a diversity of traits within a population is optimal (yet uncomfortable) in nature, and having a diversity of personalities/beliefs/backgrounds is optimal (yet uncomfortable) in society, I would argue that possessing a diversity of values, perspectives, and inclinations as an individual is optimal (yet uncomfortable) for our psychology.
~ Mark Manson from, How to Cultivate Wisdom
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That’s an insightful observation.
In certain circles there are some oft-posed rhetorical questions: What’s the work only you can do? What, if you ceased doing it, would people miss? …because there’s a lot of other stuff you could choose to do. Stuff which is easy, and which can be done by anyone. And then there’s the other stuff: The stuff that requires us to balance competing priorities, to resolve conflicting requirements, and to choose among exclusive options.
When’s the last time you made a sub-optimal decision knowing that doing so was better than doing nothing?
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Effectiveness →
Focus on effectiveness—what your actions will actually accomplish—and not self-actualization or other ways of trying to feel good about yourself.
~ Steven Pinker
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Fear →
[F]ear is not a sign of personal weakness, but rather a natural state of discomfort that occurs whenever you’re out of your comfort zone. It’s there not to sabotage you, but to help you come alive, be more focused, and put you into the present moment and a heightened state of excitement and awareness. If you push the fear away, the only version of fear available to you will be its crazy, irrational, or contorted version. If you’re willing to feel it, and merge with it, its energy and wisdom will appear.
~ Kristen Ulmer
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